Introduction
Autism is a lifelong condition that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them. Autistic people see, hear, and feel the world differently to other people.
Autism is a spectrum condition. All autistic people share certain difficulties but being autistic will affect them in different ways. Some autistic people also have learning disability, mental health issues or other conditions, meaning people need different levels of support. All people on the autism spectrum learn and develop. With the right sort of support, all can be helped to live a more fulfilling life of their own choosing.
Being autistic does not mean you have an illness or disease. It means your brain works in a different way from other people. It's something you're born with. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. If you're autistic, you're autistic your whole life. Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a "cure". But some people need support to help them with certain things.
Autistic people may:
- find it hard to communicate and interact with other people
- find it hard to understand how other people think or feel
- find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable
- get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events
- take longer to understand information
- do or think the same things over and over
Most autistic people are adults, but most autistic adults are not diagnosed, or some can be diagnosed later in life. Receiving a diagnosis of autism can provide long-awaited answers and insight into a person’s strengths and difficulties, enabling them and others to make reasonable adjustments to improve their well-being.
Between two thirds and three quarters of adults wait longer than the recommended 13 weeks in NICE guidelines for an assessment and diagnosis, with one third waiting longer than 18 months