Understanding the world of people living with autism

The purpose of World Autism Awareness Month is to draw attention to the challenges that people with autism and others who live with autism encounter daily.

Jeanè Kolbé, an occupational therapist in private practice for 13 years and based in Randburg, Morningside and Sandton, spoke to the Sandton Chronicle with the hope of creating a greater understanding of the condition.

Autism can affect children and adults and is a condition that exists on what is known as an ‘autism spectrum’.

She explains that she has dealt with children and adults with autism since she was an undergraduate.

“Autism is a spectrum disorder and a neurodevelopmental condition. This means that you can find people on either side of the spectrum. Some people might be completely functional with the diagnosis and could excel in certain areas of life or have certain cognitive abilities, but their main difficulty might only be social skills and interpersonal relationships. While others may not be able to attend a mainstream school due to the diagnosis.”

She explains that the diagnosis can be made at the age of 2 by an experienced professional, but generally children receive a diagnosis later in life.

“The characteristics of someone on the autism spectrum that the layperson might see include difficulty with social interactions, among others, but this is the main one.”

She tells the Chronicle that she is a firm believer that everybody has the right to be treated with kindness.

“You might not be able to identify that a person has ASD, but if you stay kind and try to be engaging, you are already giving this person an opportunity to practice their skills. Do not demand eye contact and lower your social expectations.”

Kolbé states that one must understand that they might come across as rude or disrespectful, but this is not their intention. Reading social cues is hard for them.

She shares how to encounter a person with non-verbal ASD; she says one must get down on their level, wait for them to approach you, or slowly try to engage with them with whatever they are busy with.

Initially, just play next to them and later try to interact with them by passing a toy or merging the games. For example, play with your own toy car and later try to join them by driving the car closer to theirs or on the path they are using.”

She explains that the autism spectrum is a very complex diagnostic system, with a diagnosis taking many factors such as senses and communication into consideration.

“As April is Autism Awareness Month, I think the biggest advocates for ASD are the parents of children with this diagnosis. I do not think there is enough awareness around ASD provided by the health department. Children often go undiagnosed for a very long time before they receive the help they need.”

Related Article:

https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/329070/residents-of-sandton-draw-attention-to-autism/