What life is like for people living with profound autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) impacts one and 36 children in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While some people living with ASD are very high-functioning, others with severe or profound autism may need assistance with most aspects of day-to-day life.

[@moxiehalo86]

This is what community and love look like. I’ve witnessed first hand the heart of Candace and the joy that she spreads to anyone that crosses her path.

[@reanimationeas342]

People with special needs should be treated with dignity and respect. Human Rights should be respected

[@Gurly23Anti-UTTP]

Hi. A few days ago at school, a (I DONT MEAN TO OFFEND, THIS IS JUST A THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME, I DO NOT MEAN TO GENERALIZE) autistic kid in my class (I’m in 6th grade) tried to put many pieces of broken glass from a bottle in my eyes. And when I backed away, he started screaming and tackling me. But of course, he is autistic, so he was baby talked and PRAISED by the teacher, and I got a huge punishment for, “BOTHERING HIM” I guess since I don’t have a disability, I shouldn’t be respected.

[@annabanana16465]

yeah that never happened ​@@Gurly23Anti-UTTP

[@SkyenNovaA]

Complete and utter respect to people who dedicate their time to support people with ASD.

[@scottschauer7088]

A beautiful story. Going through a similar situation right now. It’s tough. The love the young man’s father expressed is so real. Us parents of these angels struggle with the constant worry. This is an incredible place

[@5SkittlesSuper]

Wow. What a beautiful story. Amazing

[@timorhotak3938]

I can realize you sir 😢😢. I can see my tears in your eyes

[@np100]

Where is this program? Who funds it? I live in CA and would love to see a program like this.

[@Stalemarshmallow]

Candace is literally an angel.

[@lovelyswimmer1]

Are the parents somewhere on the spectrum too?

[@anthonysavala5539]

Way to go puppy! 🐶 lol 😂

[@jordanbailey2790]

can anyone enlighten me on why people with severe autism like this are physically handicapped as well. like he cant function his arms or walk properly. bad posture hunched over. bad teeth too. i thought autism just affected the brain.

[@SikGamer70]

Mind and body are intertwined, you cannot separate the two. He is not physically handicapped, he is able to function when taught the right skills and coping mechanisms for sensory difficulties (for example him playing with string is how he soothes his mind, known colloquially as "stimming", which almost everyone does to some degree). He can walk fine. He is just holding his body in a way that most people interpret as "weird" or "dysfunctional" when it's actually harmless. Also hunching over is not bad for your back, this is a myth debunked by numerous studies related to back health. The goal of these places is to teach autistic people the skills to function in a society that, by and large, fails to understand, accommodate for and educate autistic people. No offense intended, but your idea of autism is very outdated and I suggest doing more research on how autism affects people, ideally from advocates who are actually autistic.

[@jordanbailey2790]

@@SikGamer70 1) You really could have just said body and mind is intertwined and a lot more would make sense. 2) he is 100 percent physically handicapped. Can he run like you or I? Can he swim like you or I? Can he jump like you or I? The answer is no. I was simply wondering why that is, completely harmless question. 3)Hunching over is 100 PERCENT bad for your posture and back. Please type in "is slouching bad for your back" into Google and see what comes up. It IS NOT a myth. I suggest YOU do your research before answering like such an esoteric block head. Thanks for nothing mate 👍 👌

[@SikGamer70]

​@@jordanbailey2790 I wasn't expecting such a defensive reply. Sorry, I didn't mean to offend. You asked for enlightenment on autism so I gave my view of autism as an autistic person myself who has met people similar to the man in the video. I still stand by the things I wrote earlier, if you're willing to re-read it. We absolutely can run, swim, do all the things a typical person can do, we just need extra support with certain things depending on how autism affects us specifically. Sometimes autistic people also have physical handicaps, but most don't, including the young man here as the video shows. You can see in this video that he is able to pick up objects, move things around, walk around without much issue, etc. A physical handicap is when someone is physically unable to use their body in a certain way, like when someone can't control their legs or is missing limbs, or can't run for more than a few seconds, all of these disabilities are unrelated to autism or learning disabilities, but someone can be autistic AND physically disabled. The reason I suggested you do more research is because the literature on autism has changed a lot in the last decade, previously it was understood to be a learning disability but now that is not the case and there are many autistic advocates on KZbin (like Orion Kelly) that are willing to explain in further detail. As for the slouching thing, my information is based on an article by New Scientist (which, funnily enough, also popped up when I googled "is slouching bad for your back"): www.newscientist.com/article/mg25333741-000-why-everything-you-thought-you-knew-about-posture-is-wrong/

[@strawbzzzombie]

I believe the reason is that autism affects the brain and nervous system which can affect things like posture, but autistics are also much more likely to have co morbid physical illnesses or disorders /nm

[@korsecrow]

Because it's not about autism, it's about severe intellectual disability he has. People with severe and profound intellectual disability often have significant motor impairments, since their central neural system is damaged.

[@user-do7ll8nn4y]

lol

[@wlong3868]

Till he freaks out on them

[@noellewest4347]

Autism is autism. There is no such thing as profound or high-functioning autism anymore than there is profound or high-functioning left-handedness. People can be profoundly disabled with co-occurring conditions that may occur with autism, but the autism itself is not the reason for high support needs. I commend these parents and caregivers/teachers at the Faison Center for their commitment to Ben's quality of life. I feel that Ben has a lot to offer to society, regardless of his challenges and support needs.

[@lucyllewellyn2850]

There are different degrees of autism.

[@aspiechan420]

@@lucyllewellyn2850 no, people are just all different lol stop promoting ableism.

[@lucyllewellyn2850]

@@aspiechan420 do you know what autism is because you sound clueless

[@hazelwilkinson8864]

It’s not necessarily correct to view the intellectual disability and the autism as separate co-occurring conditions if they are biologically intertwined and come from the same underlying etiology. 60% of autistic people have an ID or a borderline ID, so the ID is very unlikely to be unrelated to autism.

[@summerwest3099]

@@hazelwilkinson8864 I'm well aware. I conduct autism research for my PhD, and I'm quite familiar with the abundance of literature supporting the high co-occurrence of ASD with ID. My comment is about "profound autism". Based on the more current clinical research from Alvares et al (2020), this term can be arguably invalidated in the same way that "high-functioning autism" can. ID is only a co-occurrence and a correlation . It should not be equated with autism, and autism itself should not be regarded as "profound". These misnomers can create significant barriers for those of us seeking an autism diagnosis who do not have an ID or outwardly obvious limitations with social and/or executive functioning.

[@user-do7ll8nn4y]

lol