Autism-some facts

MESH
Apr 12, 2024
2 min read

Some years ago I visited Nav Prabuthi Trust (NPT), an Indian organization training and employing men and women with autism. It was an amazing visit and I have the sweetest memory of one of the staff (several are mothers of young people with autism) being gently pushed out the door by her son who knew it was time for her to go home. She wanted to stay late to meet us and so each time he sent her on her way she went out the gate and then quietly sneaked back in. He did it several times but she knew that he would not be able to deal with her explanation that today she needed to stay late.

That same young man loves to be involved in block printing but is not precise enough to place the blocks so another young man whose autism manifests as precision, placed the blocks whilst his friend/colleague bashed down hard to make sure the design fixed to the fabric.

FAQS

Autism manifests in many different ways which is why it is regarded as a Spectrum. A child or adult might have problems with social interaction and communication including any of these signs:

Fails to respond to his or her name or appears not to hear you at times
Resists cuddling and holding, and seems to prefer playing alone, retreating into his or her own world
Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression
Doesn't speak or has delayed speech, or loses previous ability to say words or sentences
Can't start a conversation or keep one going, or only starts one to make requests or label items
Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm and may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
Repeats words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them
Doesn't appear to understand simple questions or directions
Doesn't express emotions or feelings and appears unaware of others' feelings
Doesn't point at or bring objects to share interest
Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive
Has difficulty recognizing nonverbal cues, such as interpreting other people's facial expressions, body postures or tone of voice

When I visited NPT I also met a young man pasting paper bags in a slightly wild and frantic manner at a high rate of knots. Elsewhere was someone making strange keening noises.

More FAQS

A child or adult with autism spectrum disorder may have limited, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests or activities, including any of these signs:

Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand flapping
Performs activities that could cause self-harm, such as biting or head-banging
Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes, and has odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
Is fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn't understand the overall purpose or function of the object
Is unusually sensitive to light, sound or touch, yet may be indifferent to pain or temperature
Doesn't engage in imitative or make-believe play
Fixates on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
Has specific food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or refusing foods with a certain texture

April is Autism Awareness month and we are sharing some basic facts, together with pictures from Nav Prabuthi Trust and some of the lovely work that they do which we have been exporting around the world.

By combining the facts with the people and the products we hope you will garner a fresh view of autism and will want to buy what they make.

We are really delighted that NPT have been block printing fabrics for MESH for several years which we get stitched into products in a leprosy community near Delhi. This year we have exported to Germany hundreds of tea towels that were printed in NPT.