Month: May 2019

Autism- Breaking the Mould

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

In the last couple of days an audition video from America’s Got Talent has gone viral featuring Kodi Lee- a blind, 22 year old autist with an amazing gift for music. If you haven’t seen the clip yet, check it out below (such an amazing voice!):

After watching this video, it’s got me thinking about our tendency to put people on the spectrum into boxes. We’re constantly talking about tolerance, acceptance and equality in the world today, but still we can be quite quick to write people off.

“You’re autistic”- this is you label, this your box, this is what we expect of you.

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Having Asperger’s is just one aspect of me. It influences quite a lot of my quirks, but it is still only one piece of my jigsaw. This one word will not tell you about my talents, my interests, my active social life. It reveals a part of me, but not the whole.

My entire life I’ve never been one to conform, and autism is no exception. I refuse to fit into any particular mould- I’d much rather be an abstract painting, entirely unique.

Moulds are for bread and fondant 😛

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Something that really saddens me is that when a parent hear’s the word autism, there is a tendency to let go of the mental picture that they have for their child’s life. They mourn the loss of a “normal” life (whatever that is!). They worry that their child won’t make friends, will struggle in school, that they won’t achieve their dreams.

Life does not always run smoothly, and rarely fits the picture we first imagine. I never thought I would still be single in my late twenties, but that’s life. Some might think that I would scrap that picture of finding love from my mind after I got my diagnosis (as so often autists struggle romantically), but why would I? Sure it can make it difficult to read romantic situations, but it doesn’t mean I won’t find love one day. There’s no real reason that I can’t break the mould.

And sometimes in life, the picture has to completely change to give birth to something greater. For example, there is some evidence that there may be a hidden portrait underneath the Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci had to let go of this original picture in order to create a masterpiece (one which he spent years editing I might add).

Our lives are like the creation of the Mona Lisa- the picture is always changing. An autism diagnosis may alter the projected picture, but it doesn’t mean that one day it won’t become a masterpiece.

The pictures we have in our heads for our lives/our children’s lives are not finite. We don’t have to let go of our dreams for the sake of one word. Look at how Kodi is breaking the mould- with one look you might think you know his story, but when he opens his mouth he paints you a brand new portrait. And let’s not forget Susan Boyle (a fellow aspie), one audition changed her life forever. Everyone laughed when she came on stage, but now she’s living her dream! (Side note- can’t believe this was 10 years ago…feeling old!👴).

And let’s not forget how non-verbal Carly Fleischmann has become a talk show host!

The world is full of stories of incredible autists breaking the mould, challenging our preconceptions of what we think autism is. As I am repeatedly saying, no two are the same, so why do we insist on these moulds?

Give us the freedom to be who we are, lend us a blank canvas and we’ll paint you a picture you could never have imagined 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 😀

Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

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Aoife

 

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Autism and Gait

Greetings Earthlings! 😀

This week I’d like to discuss another lesser known aspect of the spectrum- autism and gait.

As I’ve discussed previously, coordination issues are part and parcel with autism, however, what you may not know is that these coordination issues tie in with an autists gait- particularly for those with Asperger’s syndrome. In fact one of the lesser known diagnostic criteria in the DSM-V is that of an odd or unusual gait.

New technologies are even using gait analysis as an early means of detecting autism:

I know it seems an unusual trait, (let’s face it, we rarely notice a person’s walk) but researchers have observed that autists can have greater or even reduced step and stride length, increased step width, have unusual posturing, tend to walk on their toes, and are lacking in “motor smoothness” when compared with their neurotypical peers.

So why is an autists gait so unusual? What does the science have to say?

Thus far only a few studies have investigated the underpinnings of gait and autism (although the association has been known for decades), but as usual, the evidence points back to the brain. There has been a lot of debate as to which region is responsible for gait differences, however there is evidence to suggest that neurological alterations in the cerebellum (regulates motor movement) and the basal ganglia (a group of nerves involved in voluntary control of motor movements) in autists are the likely culprits.

Furthermore, those autists who tend to toe walk can develop a leg length discrepancy which can also contribute to their odd gait. Gait issues such as this can have a negative impact on the body as this can shorten your Achilles tendon. Research shows that children with ASD’s tend to have a reduced range of motion in the knee and ankle when walking which may imply weakness around these joints.

It’s not all bad news however, as special orthotics can be used to help improve some of these issues.

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Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings! 🙂

Have a lovely weekend!

Aoife

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Pica and Autism

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

This week I’d like to briefly talk about an aspect of the autistic spectrum which you may not be familiar with- pica.

So what exactly is pica?

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No not that guy! 😛

Pica is a type of eating disorder where a person has an appetite for things that are not considered to be food such as dirt, dust, chalk, hair etc.

It’s often seen in pregnancy however, almost 25% of autists display signs of this behaviour.

Thankfully I’ve never really had any weird cravings like that, however as I child I did like to eat toothpaste on occasion…what can I say Aquafresh just looked too much like sweets!! 😛

Those red, white and blue stripes were just too tempting! I even think I used to recreate this Werther’s Original ad in the mirror pretending the toothpaste was the sweet! 😂

Anyway less of my weirdness, back to pica!

Joking aside, pica can be very serious if the substance that is ingested is toxic such as lead or if the item can cause an intestinal obstruction like hair ingestion.

So what does the science have to say? Why is this behaviour found in autism?

There does not seem to be one uniform cause of pica, however, pica has been associated with nutrient deficiencies (such as iron) and is thought to be the body’s subconscious way of replenishing the missing nutrients, which would be consistent with the often restrictive nature of an autists’ diet.

It’s also thought that pica may be a sensory response to stimuli in autists to relieve stress, anxiety, pain and discomfort or the item simply has a pleasurable texture. Pica may equally be interpreted psychologically as a means of seeking attention.

Science aside, experts say that the cause of pica may simply be that the autist is unaware that they are eating an item that is unconventional/unsafe.

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That’s all for this week Earthlings, hope you enjoyed this post! 😀

Have a great weekend! 🙂

Aoife

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Autism on Screen- Pablo

Greetings Earthlings! 🙂

Today I’m going to take a look at the latest live-action/animation sensation, the acclaimed children’s TV show ‘Pablo‘.

Pablo is a five-year-old boy on the autistic spectrum in a new TV show (BBC/PA)

So what’s so special about it?

Co-produced by RTÉjr and CBeebies in Ireland and the UK, ‘Pablo‘ is a unique kids TV show about a 5 and a 1/2 year old boy with autism who with the help of some magic crayons, creates an elaborate world of animals to help him to cope with and make sense of the world around him.

Here’s a quick video about the show:

The really cool thing about ‘Pablo‘ is that the stories are based on the real life experiences of several people on the spectrum, and not only that, but all of the characters in the show themselves have autism! 😀

52 10-minute episodes have been created thus far, and several countries have expressed interest in broadcasting the show. Even Netflix wants to broadcast it!

So what’s the show like?

Granted I’ve only caught a few episodes of the show, but I found it to be an excellent and lighthearted show that both educates and entertains.

One of the things I really liked is that the show highlights the diverse nature of spectrum traits by personifying them as animal characters in Pablo’s imagination. Each character possesses different autistic traits as narrated in the catchy theme tune:

I really liked how in one particular episode the writer took literal thinking and turned it into something fun. Pablo spilled a bag of crisps which his mother said “went everywhere.” Following this, Pablo embarks on an adventure to locate the crisps in such far reaching places as the moon and at the bottom of the ocean! A new and inventive way to spin autism! 🙂

All in all this is an excellent show for the youth of today which should help to educate the next generation and make them more accepting of autism 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this post dear Earthlings!

Have a great weekend!

Aoife

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