Today we shall discuss the characteristics of autistic people. What all individuals diagnosed on the autism spectrum have in common are delays or disabilities when it comes to social skills such as ordinary conversation, eye contact and emotional understanding of others. These issues are likely to lead to impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Most people with autism also share delays in fine and gross motor skills. It’s important to note, too, that “symptoms” of autism can also be strengths. For example, a child on the autism spectrum may have better observational abilities a typical child of the same age.

Social impairments
Social impairments become apparent early in childhood and continue through adulthood. Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name. Autistic toddlers have more striking social deviance; for example, they have less eye contact and anticipatory postures and are less likely to use another person's hand or body as a tool. Three- to five-year-old autistic children are less likely to exhibit social understanding, approach others spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, communicate nonverbally, and take turns with others. However, they do form attachments to their primary caregivers. Contrary to common belief, autistic children do not prefer to be alone.

We interviewed the parents of 67 children with ASD and it was reported that about two-thirds of the children had periods of severe tantrums and about one-third had a history of aggression, with tantrums significantly more common than in children with a history of language impairment.

Communication
About a third to a half of individuals with autism does not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs. Differences in communication may be present from the first year of life, and may include delayed onset of babbling, unusual gestures, diminished responsiveness, and the desynchronization of vocal patterns with the caregiver. Autistic children are less likely to make requests or share experiences, and are more likely to simply repeat others' words. Autistic children may have difficulty with imaginative play and with developing symbols into language. They are more likely to have problems understanding pointing; for example, they may look at a pointing hand instead of the pointed-at object. As people are often sized up initially from their basic language skills, people speaking to autistic individuals are more likely to overestimate what their audience comprehends.
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John tells us this today:
I do not like to be touched. I also do not like loud noises like people shouting. It makes my brain hurt and I end up groaning on the floor. My parents understand this and do not shout at me nor hug me. Instead, my parents and I hold hands with our fingers together, spreading out like a sun. This is how my parents tell me they love me.
I like dogs. I feel that they are easier to understand than other humans. Dogs only feel three emotions: happy, sad or cross. I can understand them easily. Sometimes I cannot understand what people are saying to me, so I keep quiet. They wait awhile, but in the end they always leave, leaving me all alone.
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Repetitive behavior
Autistic individuals display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior, which the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) categorizes as follows.
Stereotypy is apparently purposeless movement, such as hand flapping, head rolling, or body rocking.

Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in a certain way.

Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.

Ritualistic behavior involves the performance of daily activities the same way each time, such as an unvarying menu or dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.

Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program.

Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as biting oneself. It was reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD.

No single repetitive behavior seems to be specific to autism, but only autism appears to have an elevated pattern of occurrence and severity of these behaviors.

Other symptoms
Autistic individuals may have symptoms that are independent of the diagnosis, but that can affect the individual or the family. A small fraction of individuals with ASD show unusual abilities, ranging from splinter skills such as the memorization of trivia to the extraordinarily rare talents of prodigious autistic savants.

Thus concludes our research on the characteristics of autistic people.

Si Chun