J'ai essayé de résumer le spectre autistique
:
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by troubles with social interactions and by repetitive behaviour. An autistic person treats all the informations on a same plane when a non-autistic person automatically orders the informations. For example, when several people are talking at the same time, an autistic person has difficulty separate conversations and, therefore, will be quicklier tired by the social interactions. Some other factors can make communication really difficult and exhausting for autistic people : many autistic people don't understand the nonverbal (gestures, posture, facial expressions, clothing, tone, etc.) and implicit (irony, tropes, bluff, pretending, etc.) communication and, consequently, don't use it (when many non-autistic persons do use it unconsciously).
Autism is a spectrum. It means many things can vary from an autistic person to another one. For example : Asperger people (DSM-IV) aren't language delayed, unlike people with "Kanner's autism" ; persons with high-functioning autism are language delayed during their childhood, but this delay dims in adulthood. That's why it can be difficult to differentiate Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism with autistic people in adulthood. Many other features can vary within the autistic population : hypersensoriality or hyposensoriality to noise, light, scents, touch, pain, emotivity, etc. For all these reasons, we should talk about autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Autistic population is NOT homogeneous.
The prevalence may be of about 1 per 100 but it's probably underestimated, especially as Asperger people - especially women - often pass unnoticed on account of their better adaptability to society. The factors that favour autistic spectrum disorders are rather genetic or caused by a de novo mutation. It is now acknowledged that autism is NOT caused by refrigerator mothers (a sort of fundamental attribution error). Psychoanalytical theories are pseudosciences that harmed and, regrettably, are still harming people with autistic spectrum disorders, amongst others.
There are several treatments that can help spectro-autistic people. However, we must consider their use on a case-by-case basis, because the symptoms of autistic disorders and comorbidities (attention deficit disorder, dyslexias, eating disorders, anxiety, etc.) are miscellaneous. Moreoever, some - many ? - persons with autistic spectrum disorders don't need medication but help to acquire social skills and to understand social codes. Autism must no be cured but accepted.
Finally, even if autism is a handicap, it's before everything a difference, sometimes an invisible difference - Asperger people often seem strange because they don't go in category (representativity bias). And, like any other difference, we must respect it. Many autistic people, many different people, are victims of harassment and other social discrimination because of their skin colour, of their sexual orientation, of their religion, etc. Harassment is not a fatality. It must not be considered as a prerequisite. Let's make autistic spectrum known. Let's empower it.
Bon, il y a sûrement des fautes d'anglais.
Si on me demandait de résumer le spectre autistique en moins de trois-cents mots, j'aurais bien de la misère. J'ai tendance à vouloir donner plein de détails, surtout sur des sujets qui me semblent importants.
