Social exclusion

People living with Autism have difficulties with communication. This can lead to challenges in making friends and keeping friendships.

What are the challenges for a person with Autism communicating?

• The individual may not understand how to start a conversation, keep a conversation going or how to behave within a group of people.
• A person with Autism may have difficulty understanding facial expressions, sarcasm or if the person they are talking to is not interested in the conversation.
• Impulsive behaviours and emotional outbursts may cause the person you care for to feel isolated if they are not invited to events or if they do not have friends.

Stimming (self-stimulating behaviour) such as rocking, hand flapping, clicking fingers or jumping are a way the person with Autism feels safe in a place or situation that they are uncomfortable with. However stimming actions are repetitive and can sometimes cause other people to avoid the person with Autism as they see stimming as unusual.