Imagine for a moment that
you are unable to communicate. That you are trapped in a bubble,
where no-one can hear you, no-one can understand you and you
cannot learn – not even the most basic of life skills.
Just as you think you are beginning to understand the world
around you, everything changes, throwing you into a flurry
of anxiety and panic. To cope, to feel safe, you may scream,
shout, or hit out. Alternatively you may withdraw and sink
into depression.
You may be particularly talented at something yet be unable
to hold a simple conversation or understand someone else’s
point of view.
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You might have a routine
which you pursue rigidly and repetitively, sometimes to the
point of ritualism.
Coping with the outside world is baffling. You may suffer
from sensory overload – sight, sound, smell, touch,
taste – all too overpowering. The unpredictability causes
confusion, making the most ordinary activities simply overwhelming.
Imagine the frustration, the isolation, the desperation.
What you have just experienced, in one single moment, is what
thousands of people with an autistic related disorder face
each and every day of their lives. |
