Welcome back to Reading the Research, where I trawl
the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects,
then discuss it in brief with bits from my own life, research, and
observations.
Today's article covers a really basic quality of life upgrade for future autistic people. This is one of those, "I guess we have to shout this from the rooftops to make it obvious to everyone" type studies. Bullying tends to have a lasting effect on people. Especially autistic people.
So you have an autistic kid. Statistically speaking, they will struggle a bit more with school, and also have a sensory sensitivity. Perhaps they can't stand being touched, which makes casual body contact with their peers at recess nightmarish. Perhaps the fluorescent lights flicker to their eyes, distracting them from the teacher's lesson. Or perhaps little sounds from other classrooms or even their peers inside the classroom are loud and un-ignoreable, detracting from their focus on anything at all. Dietary complications or gastro-intestinal problems are also common, so our hypothetical child may have to stick to a dairy-free diet, or have painful bowel movements regularly.
All of this makes our hypothetical kid struggle a bit more with life. And all of it is innate to them and probably not shared with anyone else, meaning they can't get away from it and people won't intuitively understand. Following so far?
Now we add in the rest. Having such different experiences from one's peers tends to have an isolating effect. We don't act quite normal, and do see, hear, or feel things others don't. Our reactions don't make sense to an average person. In additional, we may lag behind our peers in development of some aspects, like emotional control or organization. This further isolates us. That in itself is damaging, but...
The isolation leads to bullying. Every child gets picked on at least once in their lives, but those without a support network, those who are isolated, tend to become the favored targets. If nobody will stick up for you, you're an easy target, and bullies like easy targets. They come back for them regularly. And this can start very young. I was bullied in elementary school, starting either in Kindergarten or in 1st grade, I can't remember precisely.
The end result is, effectively, kicking someone while they're down. The person's struggle becomes exponentially more difficult as they have to juggle more and more factors. The social component of living is extra difficult for us, but those of us with more awareness will try to work extra hard in hopes of becoming "good enough" to be socially accepted. Which I hope I don't have to point out, just makes our lives harder (and doesn't usually solve the problem, either).
Personally? I'm pretty sure I helped myself develop an anxiety disorder by learning to take in too much social and sensory input at one time. It's overwhelming to look someone in the eye, but it's required for correct social performance. So I do, and it's like being hit in the head with a baseball bat. I kind of stop doing it if I'm sufficiently upset, or upset with someone in particular. Not really on purpose, but why suffer further if you're already past a certain point?
The fix is theoretically simple: educate the children and the adults. Make "unusual" into "normal." Promote understanding of neurodevelopmental differences. You don't have to be autistic to have sensory difficulties. I've run into a few people at my church that also have them even though they aren't autistic. And they usually had no idea that sensory sensitivities are a thing, until they were told.
I'm well aware it's easier said than done to change how schools work, but I believe it's doable. And should be done, lest the depression comorbidity rate and suicide rate for autistic people continue to rise.
Today's article covers a really basic quality of life upgrade for future autistic people. This is one of those, "I guess we have to shout this from the rooftops to make it obvious to everyone" type studies. Bullying tends to have a lasting effect on people. Especially autistic people.
So you have an autistic kid. Statistically speaking, they will struggle a bit more with school, and also have a sensory sensitivity. Perhaps they can't stand being touched, which makes casual body contact with their peers at recess nightmarish. Perhaps the fluorescent lights flicker to their eyes, distracting them from the teacher's lesson. Or perhaps little sounds from other classrooms or even their peers inside the classroom are loud and un-ignoreable, detracting from their focus on anything at all. Dietary complications or gastro-intestinal problems are also common, so our hypothetical child may have to stick to a dairy-free diet, or have painful bowel movements regularly.
All of this makes our hypothetical kid struggle a bit more with life. And all of it is innate to them and probably not shared with anyone else, meaning they can't get away from it and people won't intuitively understand. Following so far?
Now we add in the rest. Having such different experiences from one's peers tends to have an isolating effect. We don't act quite normal, and do see, hear, or feel things others don't. Our reactions don't make sense to an average person. In additional, we may lag behind our peers in development of some aspects, like emotional control or organization. This further isolates us. That in itself is damaging, but...
The isolation leads to bullying. Every child gets picked on at least once in their lives, but those without a support network, those who are isolated, tend to become the favored targets. If nobody will stick up for you, you're an easy target, and bullies like easy targets. They come back for them regularly. And this can start very young. I was bullied in elementary school, starting either in Kindergarten or in 1st grade, I can't remember precisely.
The end result is, effectively, kicking someone while they're down. The person's struggle becomes exponentially more difficult as they have to juggle more and more factors. The social component of living is extra difficult for us, but those of us with more awareness will try to work extra hard in hopes of becoming "good enough" to be socially accepted. Which I hope I don't have to point out, just makes our lives harder (and doesn't usually solve the problem, either).
Personally? I'm pretty sure I helped myself develop an anxiety disorder by learning to take in too much social and sensory input at one time. It's overwhelming to look someone in the eye, but it's required for correct social performance. So I do, and it's like being hit in the head with a baseball bat. I kind of stop doing it if I'm sufficiently upset, or upset with someone in particular. Not really on purpose, but why suffer further if you're already past a certain point?
The fix is theoretically simple: educate the children and the adults. Make "unusual" into "normal." Promote understanding of neurodevelopmental differences. You don't have to be autistic to have sensory difficulties. I've run into a few people at my church that also have them even though they aren't autistic. And they usually had no idea that sensory sensitivities are a thing, until they were told.
I'm well aware it's easier said than done to change how schools work, but I believe it's doable. And should be done, lest the depression comorbidity rate and suicide rate for autistic people continue to rise.
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