Understand more about autism, including diagnosis, the autistic spectrum and life with autism, with this online course. First identified over 70 years ago, autism is a lifelong developmental disability affecting how a person communicates with and relates to others, and how they make sense of the world. It is a spectrum condition; all people on the spectrum share certain difficulties, but their condition will affect them in different ways.
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Around 700,000 people in the UK are on the spectrum, 1 in every 100 people. There are no blood tests or brain scans that will detect autism - so what exactly are we talking about? Does autism actually exist?
What topics will you cover?
-What is autism… and does it exist?
- Social communication skills
- Sensory sensitivities and repetitive behaviours
- Co-occurring conditions
- Strengths and difficulties of people on the autism spectrum
- Lived experiences of people on the autism spectrum
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
- Explain what autism is, and evaluate whether it really exists
- Identify social communication skills and explain what happens if they do not develop as expected
- Summarise knowledge of sensory and repetitive behaviours, and whether such behaviours are advantages or disadvantages
- Explain why many people on the autism spectrum have co-occurring conditions
- Identify the origins of strengths and difficulties experienced by people on the autism spectrum
- Explore and discuss lived experiences of people on the autism spectrum
