i have autism and i need help explaining it and the things that come with it (the sensory issues, eating problems, stimming, physical aspects of it, etc.)
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Another way to say “have autism” is to say that you are “on the spectrum”.
That’s the best way I can think to describe it. There’s a spectrum of human behaviors, and literally everyone is on it.
There’s a spectrum of tolerance to noise. Some people can hear a cacophony of different sounds at jet engine volumes and be unaffected; some people can’t tolerate the sound of water droplets falling. Now when someone talks about someone “on the spectrum” in terms of noise tolerance, they usually mean that there is something specific that that person cannot tolerate that someone with a typical noise tolerance could tolerate.
Another big one is the spectrum of socialization. Some people can small talk and flirt like walking or riding a bicycle; with a natural ease. Other people have to think about and calculate how they are going to socialize with others, in a way that can cause anxiety and paralysis. What people might consider being “on the spectrum” for this behavior are either people that are quiet, reserved OR people that are boisterous to the point of not reading social cues. Both people are “on the spectrum” of social behavior, even though they manifest drastically differently.
And you can do this for so many things. There is a spectrum for auditory processing, a spectrum for tolerance to touch, a spectrum for saying things people consider appropriate. With all the spectrums together, it forms more of a circle than a line, with various intersecting spectrums that branch out in every direction. A neuro typical person would form a smooth circle in this “spectrum”. Someone that might be considered to be “on the spectrum” would form more of a jagged star, with some spectrums being push to the outside of the circle, and some being pulled near the center.
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