Autism Soccer: Autism: Getting to Know the People in the Spectrum

You can start by learning about the autism spectrum and get to know the people affected by it.

Over the years, much has been said about autism, and one of the main topics of conversation goes around this being one of the diseases without origin than even years after its discovery, it still baffles doctors and scientists. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), at least 1 in every 68 children is diagnosed within the Autistic Spectrum. This is, by definition, the group of developmental disorders that has different levels of pervasion into the lives of the ones who suffer it, which affects mildly or severely their abilities to socialize with others. This, however, doesn’t totally limit their interaction skills, which allows them to work with therapists to improve their quality of life. But there’s more beyond the diagnoses of these individuals, and I want you to learn about people within the autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Most of them are diagnosed with this disease as kids, around the time they start showing signs of this disorder. The first signs might show when they are toddlers, so it's important to learn about the main indicators in order to take action right away. There are certain behaviors that you should pay attention to:

Socialization problems: As people with ASD don’t pick up the usual social cues that indicate anger, disappointment, and emotions in general, it’s hard for them to communicate and socialize. This means they could be baffled by human behavior, which sometimes can make them feel self-doubtful.
Difficulty responding: Names are a common way of addressing people, but for kids and people with ASD, these are not easily interpreted as ways of being called into attention. They have difficulty responding to their names, and even to direct calls of attention, and as such, these are interpreted as signs of being drawn back and introverted.
Emotional outbursts: Difficulties dealing with emotions can lead to frustration, and those, in turn, can lead to bursts of rage, anger and overall aggressive behaviors triggered by things that we often consider menial. They can respond incredibly strong to small problems, which can lead to emotional meltdowns.
Obsessive routines: People with ASD often require organization and routine to feel comfortable. As a result, they usually have precise and repetitive routines without alterations, which can transform into obsessive behavior. Any change in them makes them feel extremely anxious and could even generate self-harm.
Echolalia: This is an infant speech pattern that can permeate into ASD patients’ lives even after their formative years. Repetition of words might help them comprehend and communicate, as sometimes, they are unable to respond directly to people addressing them.
Voice tone: In some cases, these kids keep the usual small child way of talking in a sing-song tone with not completely connected phrases, or display a grown-up speech pattern. In other instances, they develop a robot-like tone, without the inflections that they can not pick up in tone, such as questions, scoldings and so on.
Over Stimuli: People with ASD have problems dealing with emotions and big crowds, and many have problems with noises too, as these are seen as strong stimulants for them. This affects them and causes them to feel overly saturated, making them prone to burst or shutdowns, where they retract even more. They might feel this way about interactions that we often consider normal social settings, but for them turn to be very uncomfortable.
Eye contact: One of the most frequently talked-about symptoms of ASD is the lack of visual interaction with others. People within the autism spectrum don’t pick up that social clue either, and most of the time they avoid making eye contact, which makes them look drawn back and reclusive and works as a red flag to their condition.
Physical interaction: Behaviors like hugging, touching and overall physical touch might be a little too much for kids within the spectrum, and they will withdraw from interacting with people that way. They are respectful of their personal space and don’t appreciate people invading it. They can react more aggressively than expected to this, but flinching and stepping back are the main responses.
Extreme behavior: They are either too passive or too active and there usually is no in-between, which is also met with extreme responses to situations, specially when those are changes they had not contemplated or weren’t given any indication, nor time to adjust.
Repetitive movements: Rocking back and forth, hand flapping, toe curling, pacing and such are often considered key symptoms of ASD and can be found in almost the totality of kids with that condition. This also works as a red flag and can be triggered or permanent, depending on the severity and particular condition of the child.

These are just a few of the signs that people within the autistic spectrum disorder showcase, and they work as frequent indicators that the kid needs to be examined by a doctor to corroborate the diagnosis. If that’s the case, and you want your kid to interact with others in an inclusive sport setting that makes them feel comfortable, you need to visit Autism Soccer. This organization exists solely with the purpose of teaching kids the love for sports in a fun and creative way, so that you can be sure that your kid is working with professionals to make the most out of practicing a physical activity!