develop and test an autism public understanding and acceptance initiative, working with autistic people and their families, and the voluntary sector His book is in part his autobiography, but a large proportion of the book is advice for people with autism and Asperger’s. In it, he talks about topics ranging from how to prepare for an interview for a job, to when you talk about the fact that you have autism and Asperger’s and when you don’t. He’s very focussed on helping people with autism and Asperger’s to succeed in life. He’s one of the many people who say that we put all of this money into early intervention but what about the appropriate support for people once they’re out of school? Another issue not too many people have focussed on in autism, and Michael is a leader in this area, is mental health issues that arise when people with autism are not supported appropriately. When he was based in New York he ran support groups with people on the autism spectrum who had problems with alcoholism, with drug addiction, were chronically depressed or bipolar. All of these additional mental health issues are sometimes a direct consequence of having autism and, in other cases, are called co-morbid conditions. For example, bipolar is a co-morbid condition that unfortunately is not uncommon for people with Asperger’s and more capable people with autism. Environment. Certain environmental factors, such as air pollution or low birth weight, may cause ASD in a child who was already susceptible to it. Scientists aren’t entirely sure yet if autism is the result of biological or environmental factors. But the answer could be both. Some of the possible causes they’re exploring include:

What is autism? | Ambitious about Autism What is autism? | Ambitious about Autism

Some autistic people have little or no speech or delayed language development – or they communicate in a different way - using pictures, sounds or gestures for example. This doesn't mean that they don't understand what is being said, often an autistic person can take in more information than they give out, this creates a disparity in what someone understands and what they communicate. People with Asperger's do not have the same learning disabilities that many people with autism have, but they might have a specific learning difficulty. Neurotribes lays down the history and the philosophy of our need to respect people with autism, to understand them better, to understand the family experience and contribution of people with autism to our society, and the contribution of parents to our understanding of autism and advocacy for autism.We will significantly improve the public’s understanding and acceptance of autism, and show that autistic people feel more included and accepted in their communities. We also want the public to understand how autism can affect people differently, including the difference in how autistic women and girls present, and to help change people’s behaviour towards autistic people and their families. We want many more businesses, public sector services and different parts of the transport system to become more autism-inclusive, so that autistic people can access these spaces and services, just like everyone else. Improving autistic children and young people’s access to education and supporting positive transitions into adulthood Autism affects the way a person communicates and how they experience the world around them. It is considered a spectrum condition. While autistic people share some similar characteristics, they are also all different from each other. The autism spectrum isn't linear from high to low but varies, just as one person might vary from another. take action to strengthen and promote pathways to employment, such as Supported Internships, Traineeships and apprenticeships, and work to support all local areas to develop Supported Employment Forums

Autism Spectrum Disorder? | CDC What is Autism Spectrum Disorder? | CDC

Below, we set out our vision for what we want autistic people and their families’ lives to be like in 2026 across 6 priority areas, and the steps we as national and local government, the NHS and others will take towards this within the first year of our implementation plan (2021 to 2022). We will refresh this implementation plan for subsequent years of the strategy, setting out further actions we will take across government, working in partnership with local authorities, the NHS and the voluntary sector, as well as autistic people, to enable us to move closer towards our vision. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how people perceive, communicate and interact with others, although it is important to recognise that there are differing opinions on this and not all autistic people see themselves as disabled. With an estimated 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK – approximately 1% of the population – most people probably know someone who is autistic. In addition, there are an estimated 3 million family members and carers of autistic people in the UK ( National Autistic Society). This is the first of the last two books I recommended—both of which are written by people on the spectrum. Stephen has written four books, including his autobiography which is called Beyond the Wall. Stephen has a doctorate in Special Education, he is a professional and a special educator and currently works part-time at Adelphi University in New York, but he is a man with autism. He really tried to be as non-opinionated as possible in Understanding Autism for Dummies, where he speaks about a number of different treatments and approaches and does not really come out in favour or against any of them. He does have strong opinions but, in this book, he intentionally wanted to present information about understanding autism from as neutral a perspective as possible. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, we will be able to continue making our Jobcentre network more welcoming and supportive to autistic customers. We will continue to upskill staff and increase the number of Disability Employment Advisers to support our Work Coaches. We are also looking at ways of adapting physical spaces and ways of working to better support autistic people. We will be taking this forward through our Health Model Offices, which are Jobcentres that provide more intensive support to disabled people and test innovative approaches to disability employment support. In addition, we will continue to promote the Autism Centre for Research on Employment’s (ACRE) free Autism Employment Profiling Service, which went live in October 2020 and enables Jobcentres to signpost and provide appropriate support to autistic people without a learning disability. It’s also possible that women with ASD have repetitive behavior tendencies and narrow interests that aren’t seen as unusual. For example, a woman with ASD who feels the urge to neatly organize dishes or who is only fascinated with music theory may pass as “neurotypical”. Diagnosis and causesLet’s move away from this tendency to pathologize both the experience of autism as well as the behaviour of people with autism.”