Last year, for Autism Awareness Month, we wrote about how we at Care work to provide housing that supports autistic people to live in surroundings which enhance their lives and how we adapt homes to cater for someone’s specific autistic needs. We also looked at how we train our staff to think and work creatively, aiming to bring about a positive and supportive living situation for someone. (See Care’s website articles from April 2021 and ‘My Magic House’ from March 2022).
This year, we want to highlight the real positives that autism can bring to the world.
This article is in no way intended to discount the challenging and far-reaching effects that autism has for many families. It’s more to show a different aspect, to talk about how autism is all around us and how it has enabled some people to access things within themselves that they might not otherwise have been able to utilise. Subsequently, our world is a better place for that…
No one autistic person will identify with every feature of autism. We all have individual skills, attributes and characteristics that are as unique as our personalities – this is the power of neurodiversity. Understanding, embracing and celebrating different ways of thinking and doing can release the true power of the autistic mind.
Features That Some Autistic People Have:
- Acute accuracy and thorough attention to detail. Deep concentration and freedom from distraction. Observational skills. Drive for perfection.
- Logical thinking ability. Methodical Approach. Memorising and learning information quickly. Extraordinarily good memory. Superior recall. Excelling in academic areas such as science, engineering and mathematics as they are technical and logical subjects.
- Unique thought processes. Creative thinking. Expression of ideas. A freshness in approach.
- Exceptional honesty and reliability. Dependability. Often strong adherence to rules.
Famous People Who Have Autism
Satoshi Tajiri – Creator of Pokemon
Clay Marzo – Professional Surfer
Daryl Hannah – Actor
Elon Musk – Entrepreneur
Dan Ackroyd – Actor and Film Writer
Susan Boyle – Singer
And some who, had diagnosis been available at the time, may well have been diagnosed with autism:
Charles Darwin – English naturalist, geologist and biologist
Albert Einstein – Scientist and Mathematician
Michelangelo – Sculptor, Painter, Architect, Poet
Ludwig van Beethoven – Musician
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Musician
This shows that autism can be an advantage in every walk of life: In music, sport, science, the arts, business, architecture, nature. These people have been recognised for the amazing things they have accomplished in this world. They have touched the lives of so many people in a positive way and they have brought to the world some wonderful ideas and things that we would not otherwise have.