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• What is autism?
  
• Associated strengths
• General information
  
• Aspergers Syndrome
• Impact on Employability Skills and Attributes
• Areas where ‘reasonable adjustments’ may be required
• General advice
• Resources/references

What are autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs)?

Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder that affects the way an individual communicates and relates to people around them. Children and adults with autism experience difficulties with everyday social interaction. Their ability to develop friendships is generally limited due to their capacity to understand other people's emotional expression.


Associated strengths

Some of the characteristics associated with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) can also be seen as positive attributes. These can include the following:

• Some individuals with ASDs have unusual memories and/or a natural gift in ICT - both of these can give the learner or employee a head start.
• They generally have the ability to study an area in great depth.
• They can be very motivated and independent in their study or work.
• They can be very single minded and highly focused in working to set goals.
• These students are often original and creative in their thought patterns.
• They have good attention to detail and work with precision.
• Many people on the autistic spectrum bring enthusiasm, punctuality, determination and reliability to their study or employment.
• Some are excellent at finding imperfections and make top notch editors.
• With excellent research abilities, many make outstanding technical writers.
• Often they have a wealth of knowledge and have excellent computer skills.
• Some have excellent catalogue and sorting skills.
• Some excel in routine work.
• Typically, people with autism are punctual, loyal and dedicated employees who prefer to remain in the same company for a long period of time.

General information

Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a relatively new term to denote the fact that there are a number of subgroups within the spectrum of autism. There are differences between the subgroups and further work is required on defining the criteria.

People with autism often have accompanying learning difficulties but all individuals share the same common difficulty in making sense of the world around them. Students with autistic spectrum disorders can experience a number of difficulties which may affect their studies. People with autism generally experience three main areas of difficulty; these are known as the triad of impairments:

• Social interaction - difficulty with social relationships, e.g. appearing aloof and indifferent to others.
• Social communication - difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication, e.g. not fully understanding the meaning of common gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice.
• Imagination - difficulty in the development of interpersonal skills and imagination, e.g. having a limited range of imaginative abilities, possibly copied and pursued rigidly and repetitively.

In addition to this triad, repetitive behaviour patterns and resistance to change in routine are often characteristic.

Aspergers Syndrome

Individuals with Aspergers Syndrome are often called people with ‘high functioning autism’ and have an average or above average IQ. Despite this, they find it difficult to read communication signals that most of us take for granted and, as a result, find it more difficult to communicate and interact with others. Aspergers Syndrome is a form of autism, and a number of traits  are common to both:

• Difficulty communicating: individuals may speak fluently but they may not take much notice of the reaction of the people listening to them; they may talk on and on regardless of the listener's interest or they may appear insensitive to their feelings. Despite having good language skills, people with Aspergers syndrome may sound over-precise or over-literal. Jokes can cause problems, as can exaggerated language, turns of phrase and metaphors.
• Difficulty forming social relationships - unlike the individual with classic autism, who often appears withdrawn and uninterested in the world around them, many people with Aspergers Syndrome want to be sociable and enjoy human contact. They still find it hard, however, to understand non-verbal signals, including facial expressions, which makes it more difficult for them to form and maintain social relationships with people who are unaware of their needs.
• Lack of imagination and creativity - while they often excel at learning facts and figures, individuals with Aspergers Syndrome often find it hard to think in abstract ways.

However, people with Aspergers Syndrome usually have fewer problems with language than those with autism.  They may speak fluently, though their words can sometimes sound formal or stilted. People with Aspergers Syndrome do not usually have the accompanying learning disabilities that can be associated with autism. Because of this, many individuals who have been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome as children have often been through mainstream schooling and, with the right support and encouragement, have made good educational progress.

Individuals with Aspergers Syndrome often develop an almost obsessive interest in a hobby or collecting. Usually their interest involves arranging or memorising facts about a special subject, such as train timetables, Derby winners or the dimensions of cathedrals. With the right encouragement, interests can be developed so that people with Aspergers Syndrome can succeed in work or study.

Individuals can find change unsettling and upsetting and often prefer to schedule their day according to a set pattern. If they work set hours then any unexpected delay, such as a traffic hold-up or a late train, can make them anxious or upset.

It is important to remember that all individuals are different and the characteristics described above will vary greatly between individuals.


Impact on Employability Skills and Attributes

Students with ASDs may experience difficulties with the following abilities:

• Flexibility
  
• Empathy
  
• Information Processing
  
• Managing Stress
  
• Self Organisation

Although most people depend on the above abilities in the following employability skills, this does not mean that people who have autistic spectrum disorders cannot possess these skills; rather, they may need reasonable adjustments to practice to enable them to develop or evidence the skills.

Click below for further information about reasonable adjustments that may be made for each of the employability skills/attributes shown:

• Flexibility and Adaptability
• Flexibility and Problem Solving
  
• Flexibility and Teamwork
  
• Flexibility and Work Under Pressure
  

• Empathy and Oral Communication
• Empathy and Interpersonal Skills
  
• Empathy and Teamwork
  

• Information Processing and Information Literacy
• Information Processing and Literacy - Reading
  
• Information Processing and Numeracy
• Information Processing and Oral Communication
  
• Information Processing and Written Communication
  

• Managing Stress and Time Management
• Managing Stress and Working under Pressure
  

• Self Organisation and Adaptability
• Self Organisation and Information Literacy
• Self Organisation and Problem Solving
  
• Self Organisation and Self Management
• Self Organisation and Time Management

NB: The experience and characteristics of different impairments/conditions are highly variable between individuals. For this reason it is really important that you never make assumptions about what a person can or cannot do. Though someone may have significant difficulties, they may also have devised sophisticated means of compensating for these, so talk to the person concerned and make judgements only on an individual basis.


Areas where ‘reasonable adjustments' may be required

Communication - Interacting with other students, tutors or work based mentors may prove difficult since people with ASD frequently have difficulty understanding social interactions and therefore lack confidence in social situations. They may have difficulty seeing the other person’s point of view or even recognise that the other person HAS a point of view. They are likely to have difficulty with 'team working ' and/or the concept of the 'greater good’. In team working the tendency can be to either dominate (My ideas are the correct ones) or total withdrawal (If they're not listening to me, what's the point?).

Reliance on routines - People with autism/Aspergers Syndrome love routines and can be very upset by sudden changes.

Organisational skills – People with autism/Aspergers Syndrome may have difficulty appreciating or imagining the outcomes/repercussions of decisions made unless they are clearly explained. . They have difficulty making decisions when too many options are given. (Three options should be the absolute limit offered) and with prioritisation (Which do I do first?), sequencing (In what order do I do this?). They may also not know ‘when to stop’ -  have difficulty knowing when the job is finished.

Concentration - They may have difficulty distinguishing between relevant and irrelevant information and be unable to see the 'big picture', concentrating on minutiae instead.


General Advice

Students with autistic spectrum disorders may find group work situations problematic due to their difficulties with social interactions. Specific group work difficulties might include: missing unspoken messages given through body language, facial expression, or tone of voice; making remarks that appear to be inappropriate to the context of the conversation, and/or difficulty accommodating to different audiences.

Students with autistic spectrum disorders are more likely to use language literally, finding it difficult to understand metaphors, jokes or abstract concepts. Their difficulty with the abstract and their inflexibility in thinking can extend to other areas, for example, heavy reliance on fixed routines or demonstrating repetitive behaviour such as wishing to sit in the same seat. They may experience distress when these routines are disrupted.

When working with people with autism/Aspergers Syndrome, say what you mean and mean what you say. Do not use ambiguity, metaphors, irony or sarcasm. Make the implicit explicit. These people are black and white thinkers and accept words at their face value.


Resources/references:

Autism/Aspergers - Good Practice Guidelines for Universities

Autism Spectrum Disorders: a resource pack for school staff 

DES (2002) Autistic Spectrum Disorder - Good Practice Guidance, DfES Publication

Meyer R.N. (2000) Asperger Syndrome Employment Workbook: An Employment Workbook for Adults with Asperger Syndrome: A Workbook for Individuals on the Autistic Spectrum, Their Families and Helping Professionals, Jessica Kingsley Publishers

The National Autistic Society

University: how to support students with Asperger Syndrome. The National Autistic Society

A survival guide for people with Asperger syndrome by Marc Segar

University Students with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)