Autism

Autism is a brain difference that is fundamental to who a person is. It affects the way a person develops in childhood, the way that they think, and the way they live their life. All Autistic people are unique, but some of the areas where Autistic people develop differently to non-Autistic people include:  

• Communication 

• Socialisation and interaction with others 

• Thinking and processing  

• Sensing and perceiving the environment  

• Moving, playing and having fun 

Autism is not a disease or an illness, and it cannot be treated or cured. Instead, autism is a different way of ‘being’ in the world, and can be a source of strength, diversity, and beauty.  

Autism is a spectrum

Although autism is a spectrum, it is important to understand that this spectrum is not linear. Each Autistic person will have a different set of strengths and challenges. This means we don’t think about Autistic people as fitting somewhere on a spectrum from ‘more’ Autistic to ‘less’ Autistic, or from ‘higher functioning’ to ‘lower functioning’. Instead, an Autistic person’s needs and experiences can change from one day to the next, depending on the environment they are in and how well they are able to cope with day-to-day demands. Autistic people also develop new skills and encounter new challenges as they grow up, just like everyone else. Therefore, functioning labels do not capture the complexity and variability of an Autistic person’s experiences. 

Autism is a developmental difference, so an Autistic person’s differences might change or become more or less obvious as they grow up. Autistic people also often have ‘spiky profiles’. This means that the difference between how strong someone’s strengths are and how much they struggle with their weaknesses is more pronounced than it would be in a non-Autistic person. Whilst research and professionals have historically focussed on the challenges Autistic people face, it is also important to recognise and foster Autistic people’s strengths.  

No two Autistic people are the same. However, for someone to be diagnosed as Autistic, they must display: 

• Differences in social communication and social interaction; and 

• Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities – this includes sensory differences. 

Differences in social communication and social interaction

‘Differences in social communication and social interaction’ refers to the way an Autistic person behaves in social situations and how they use language and non-verbal communication. There are a lot of ways that these differences can manifest, but some common ones include: 

• Being less likely to initiate and sustain interactions with other people 
• Being less likely to respond when other people initiate interactions 
• Feeling tired or anxious in social situations 
• Difficulty with the back-and-forth of conversations Reduced eye contact in social situations 
• Differences in the way a person shares their thoughts, feelings, interests etc. with other people 
• Struggling to understand non-verbal communication like gestures, facial expressions and body language 
• Difficulty with friendships and relationships 
• Using body language, sign language or electronic devices that support communication, rather than spoken language (these methods of communication are collectively known as Augmentative and Alternative Communication, or AAC) 
• Speaking less frequently or less fluently than non-Autistic people 
• Having a flat or monotonous speaking voice 
• Using more complex language than most non-Autistic people 
• Needing extra time to process and respond to spoken language 

 Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities

‘Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities’ refers to the fact that many Autistic people behave in ways that may seem odd or idiosyncratic to observers. However, these behaviours often serve an important purpose for the Autistic person – they might calm anxiety or be a source of pleasure, for example. The following are examples of restrictive, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities: 

• Repetitive movements and sounds, known as stims (for example, bouncing your knee, tapping a pen, flapping your hands, rocking back and forth, clicking your tongue, humming) 

• Lining up/organising/categorising objects 

• Sticking to a routine and following rules precisely 

• Struggling with unpredictability and change 

• Strong and intense interests (sometimes called special interests or spins) 

Sensory differences

Autistic people often perceive and process the environment around them differently from non-Autistic people. Humans have eight sensory systems: vision, touch, taste, hearing, smell, proprioception (our sense of where our body is in space), interoception (our sense of our body’s internal states) and vestibular (our sense of balance). Autistic people can be hypersensitive (more sensitive) to some sensations and hyposensitive (less sensitive) to other sensations. Examples of sensory differences include: 

• Finding bright fluorescent lights painful 

• Being overwhelmed by the sound of many voices talking at once 

• Disliking the texture of certain foods 

• Finding it hard to tell when you are hungry 

• Being clumsy 

• Loving bright colours 

• Enjoying really spicy foods 

• Needing to move around a lot 

Information from: https://www.altogetherautism.org.nz/what-is-autism/

Updated: 9/4/2026