Some of the attendees at the Autism Conference.UKZN Community Engagement Conference on Autism
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As part of UKZN’s bid to spread awareness about autism, the School of Education’s Community Engagement team partnered with Action in Autism to host a community engagement conference.
Action in Autism is a non-profit organisation which offers information, services, learning, and research detail on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) for sufferers and their caregivers to improve their quality of life.
Academic Leader in Community Engagement and co-ordinator of the event, Professor Angela James, outlined the importance of hosting these types of events at the University, while Mr Prashant Parusnath of Action in Autism said he relates to being misunderstood, often finding it difficult to understand what others are thinking or feeling, and that he always feels anxious about interacting in social situations.
Parusnath defined the characteristics of autism, delving into the serious situation of sufferers with high support needs who require assistance with everything they do, including dressing and eating.
He spoke on how people with low needs lived experiences were different from those with high needs. ‘Caregivers for autistic people, especially those with high needs, require all the necessary information to groom sufferers to be independent,’ he said.
During the session, Ms Liza Aziz, Chairperson of Action in Autism, asked participants to break up into couples and communicate using sign language about what each person had for breakfast to get some idea of the challenges an autistic person experiences every day.
She said autistic people often did not speak or said only a few words. Those who did converse sometimes sounded unusual, such as in intonation and repeating phrases.
‘Conversational timing and rhythm may be difficult for an autistic person to learn or use and they may struggle. For instance, some have difficulties using pronouns or learning the rules of conversation,’ said Aziz, who also highlighted how autistic people sometimes battled to understand jokes and metaphors as well as struggling to communicate in an expressive or receptive way.
Autistic people were often not interested in social relationships. Aziz quoted Mr John Elder Robertson, who is autistic, who said: ‘I played by myself because I was a failure at playing with others. I was alone as a result of my own limitations, and being alone was one of the bitterest disappointments of my young life.’
Learn more about the work of Action in Autism at: https://www.actioninautism.org.za
For a podcast on the presentation, click here
Words: Sinoyolo Mahlasela
Photograph: Supplied