Is this what parents of autistic children want you to know?
THE majority…have heard of autism but less than a third actually feel confident interacting with and supporting autistic people and their families.
“IF YOU’VE met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.”
This well-known quote by Dr Stephen Shore, internationally renowned for his research surrounding autism, shows that living with the condition can mean different things to different people.
Because autism is a spectrum disorder, no two autistic people are going to be affected in exactly the same way, which can make it difficult for other people to really understand what autism is.
For people at the severe end of the spectrum it can be extremely debilitating for both them and their family, but for others it may be more mild and less pronounced.
Research commissioned by Victoria’s peak autism body, Amaze, found that while the majority of Australians have heard of autism, less than a third of those actually knew how to support someone with autism.
And it found that only four per cent of Australians with autism believe people in the community know how to properly support them and more than half feel socially isolated.
WHAT PEOPLE WISH YOU KNEW
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