Understanding autism better
JOBURG – 'Autism is not a processing error; it's a whole different operating system.'
American stage director Anne Kauffman aptly described autism. “Autism is not a processing error; it’s a whole different operating system.”
According to the website of Autism South Africa, autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong, extremely complex condition that appears to result from a genetic predisposition that is triggered by environmental factors.
Randburg resident and founder of auSOMEtism Shaun Murphy explained that this non-governmental organisation based in North Riding, was started in 2011 when his autistic son Nicholas started to attend the Key School for specialised education.
“The school was in financial trouble at that time and a teacher approached me to help him raise awareness and funds for the school and thus auSOMEtism was born. We did and awareness and fundraising cycle from Johannesburg through the Northern Cape with the goal of reaching Cape Town.”
He added that they reached Cape Town and managed to raise around R100 000.
AuSOMEtism had 80 riders participating in the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge on 17 November, where they raised R40 000.
Murphy said people with the autism spectrum suffer from sensory processing disorder that makes it difficult for them to be in certain situations.
“Noisy restaurants, strong smells and tastes can cause a sensory overload and lead to a meltdown which is often mistaken for a tantrum. The senses become so overloaded that there is no other option than to have a meltdown.” explained Murphy.
“Most can get stuck in repetitive behaviours also known as ‘stimming’ and this happens when they repeat certain words or actions when a certain situation gets too much for the individual.”
He said that his son Nicholas used to stand on his head, spin and flap his arms or roll on the ground whenever he got excited. “What this means is that people on the spectrum’s brains are just wired in a different way.”
“At auSOMEtism we are trying to show that kids and people on the spectrum are awesome and that they might do things differently to the rest of us, but they can still achieve the same – or even better – results in our society and this explains our mantra perfectly, ‘Different not less’,” concluded Murphy.
Details: www.ausometism.co.za
