How To Deal With An Autistic Person

Discover how to deal with an autistic person in this article!

When you think of a child with autism, you may be imagining a child who is locked inside his own world and who does not want to play or talk to anyone. They ignore the rest of the world, including their parents and immediate family. That is why it is so important to know how to relate to an autistic person.

Autism is a generalized developmental disorder that affects people throughout their lives and manifests itself before the age of three. The large, psychological encyclopedia DSM-5 states that autism is characterized by difficulties in communication and social interaction, altered behavior patterns, as well as limited, monotonous and one-track interests.

Explain your feelings

People with autistic spectrum syndrome (ASD) suffer from what is also called mental blindness. Mental blindness is a term that refers to an inability to register the mental state in oneself and others.

It is closely linked to lack of empathy. In other words, autistic people cannot read emotions in others, or figure out how to express their own.

Therefore, patience and understanding are essential when dealing with an autistic person. When you are with them, it is important that you explain to them how you are feeling and explain the reasons for your feelings. 

If you manage to establish a good contact with an autistic child or adult, it may be that their introversion and lack of mutual and emotional reactions will diminish in favor of this contact.

Adapt social rules to their values

Autistic people often have a strong sense of justice, which sometimes gets extreme. For example, imagine an autistic teenager going to a concert to see their favorite singer, and there is a long queue at the venue.

This child may find that he or she is actually at the front of the queue, rather than at the back, even though he or she has arrived last. Because they are the singer’s biggest fan. This belief may cause some to skip the queue. But here we must keep in mind that for the child this is not to skip the queue. It’s just doing what’s fair.

Therefore, the person who is accompanied by an autistic person must be patient and explain that when you arrive somewhere, you have to stand at the back of the queue. It may help to explain how this social rule can be adapted to their values .

Make gradual changes

Another distinctive feature of autistic people is their desire to preserve their surroundings as they are. Because of their hypersensitivity to change, they may feel uncomfortable with changes that other people think are insignificant or very small.

For example, they may become uncomfortable if you pull the curtains off, or they find that their favorite chair has been moved a few inches to the right.

It is absolutely necessary to tell about or explain these small changes in their surroundings. If you do not warn them or ask for “permission” for such changes, they may overreact and even harm themselves.

Respect their habits when dealing with an autistic person

Hypersensitivity is closely related to the importance of established habits for people with autism. In fact, these routines are a necessary part of their lives. Without them, they often find it more difficult to engage in social contexts.

Therefore, when dealing with an autistic person, pay attention to their routines. Respect their time, their space and their way of doing things.

Pay attention to their abilities

About 60% of people with autism have an IQ of less than 50. That is, a significant intellectual deficiency. But it is also true that these children perform better in tests that measure spatial and visual skills. The same goes for tests that measure automated memory.

When dealing with an autistic person, do not prevent them from stimulating themselves

Behavior that stimulates oneself (repetitive and one-track) is characteristic of this disease. Some examples of such behaviors are rocking from side to side, clapping, flipping things, always wearing the same clothes, obsessing over a particular topic, or repeating words they have heard.

This behavior gives the child some kind of sensory or bodily feedback. It is persistent, and usually gets worse with time. But be careful.

If you want to have a proper relationship with an autistic person, keep in mind that disrupting that kind of automatism can backfire. Therefore, it is best to systematically ignore this behavior or encourage other patterns of behavior that can motivate the child.

As you can see, understanding this disease is the first step on the path for those who want to create a relationship with autistic people.