Interaction and communication play a vital role in the life of every human being. With their help, people can build relationships, transfer knowledge, receive the things they need or want to have, etc. Mainly, the representatives of the general public got used to the fact that all people can easily share information and are willing to do this. Still, some individuals perceive the world in the other way. They do not want to communicate with people around them even if they are a member of their families. These people have a kind of disorder that cannot be cured and is often considered to be a peculiarity of one’s identity. It is called autism. Autistic individuals do not always have the same condition. Some of them just find it difficult to communicate with those who are not their nearest and dearest, and some have mental issues or learning disabilities. In this way, each person with autism requires a unique approach, specific kinds of support. It is critical to remember that these people also learn and develop just as others but in a different manner. When receiving assistance, those who have autism get an opportunity to live a happy life they want. As the representatives of the general public get involved in the provision of aid for people with autism, the society turns out to be greatly affected by this disorder. Even though it is not a communicable disease, autism influences society, increasing expenditures, requiring new educational and working opportunities, and altering behavior.
Many people tend to believe that if something bad happens, it will not affect them. However, children with autism are born rather often, and this issue is more common than adults used to think. Voluntary organizations and governmental agencies encourage the representatives of the general public to assist people with such lifelong developmental disability and their families (Davis, White, and Ollendick 10). As a result, people gather to spread information about autism and its peculiarities for others not to be afraid to interact with them. Various campaigns are created and supported by citizens who are willing to help. Many refer to donating and fundraising. Ganz researched to find out how much money is spent to assist individuals with autism during their life and concluded that “the lifetime per capita incremental societal cost of autism is $3.2 million” (343).
The researcher emphasized that the majority of the costs are needed when a person with this disorder becomes an adult and turns out to be not able to gain the money for basic needs and treatment even though the expenditures are higher when one is still a kid. In this way, it can be claimed that even though society tends to associate autism with childhood, a large amount of its money is spent to support adults. When being children, autists depend on their families, but when parents become old, they are not already able to cope with everything. This is when society starts to provide more assistance than usual. If there were no people with autism, millions of dollars could be spent for other purposes that some may believe to be more vital. In this way, autism affects society’s finances and their allocation.
Just like all other people, those who have autism should be provided with educational and working opportunities, as they are the members of the society. However, they are not able to operate in the same environment with others because their disorder prevents them from maintaining some things. Denning and Moody considered that teachers and policymakers should take into consideration the fact that autists require special treatment and the educators should be ready to meet their needs (5). Realizing that many children have problems with general education, special education was developed. Professionals who work in this sphere do their best to help students to cope with the tasks and receive all the provided information. For example, a lot of educational establishments practice classes that are held by two teachers (general and special). In this way, children with autism (but not in its advanced stage) interact with other kids and adults. They share knowledge and affect the way the representatives of the general public treat them, communicating the idea of them being equal and normal.
Autists also have many problems related to employment. The majority of them can work efficiently and reach excellent performance; moreover, they are willing to do so. Still, many of them remain unemployed, as organizations prefer to select individuals who do not need any alterations and can work without external support that is not provided generally. Hendricks found out that such tendencies are found because “behavioral difficulties which may include tantrums, aggression, self-injury, property destruction, ritualistic behaviors, or pica can create an employment barrier” (127). Employees have a general image of a person with autism, and they rarely try to think about each one separately. However, those who turn out to be courageous enough to hire an individual with special needs do not only reduce unemployment rates and help autists but also affect others. They allow one’s coworkers to see that even people with disorders can manage the tasks that are commonly undertaken by others. In this way, society gets to know more about autism and people who have it. It starts implementing alterations that can improve their quality of life and encourage various initiatives that help to find a job.
Depending on the situation, the representatives of the general public interact with autists when being at home, in the educational establishment, workplace, or other locations. All this time, they need to bear in mind the fact that these people may unexpectedly react to the actions and events that seem to be normal to others. Brown and Elder emphasize that even environmental factors can make individuals with autism anxious and distracted (222). For example, bright lights and ringing phones in the office or the waiting room may become a great obstacle during the working hours. The texture of the exam paper may distract one and prevent from writing, which will affect academic results. The smell of medicine and touching can be a problem in the framework of the healthcare facility. In this way, interaction with autists makes other people avoid unnecessary eye contact for it not to cause anxiety. They start using literal language as often as possible to be understood. Some may even refer to writing or typing more to minimalize spoken communication that can cause problems.
All in all, they start behaving calmer and speak slower. Thus, interaction with autists makes an enormous influence on the way people behave in their ordinary life. In this way, their emotional and physical state can also be affected greatly. Based on the personal experience, it can be also said that constant interaction with children who have autism increases stress greatly. Even though the parents are fond and affectionate, they face problems with taking care of a child with special needs. It turns out to be rather complicated to prepare meals, go shopping, or bath. Except for that, many stressors deal with kid’s well-being, as it is difficult to understand why one is crying, etc. Similar issues may often occur in educational establishments or at work as people may not know how to understand what made an autist frustrated or aggressive and how to react.
All in all, it can be claimed that autism affects our society enormously. Regardless of the fact whether people communicate with individuals who have directly it or not, they turn out to be involved in initiatives and activities that are targeted at taking care of artists. A part of money gathered with the help of taxes or received by volunteer organizations is allocated for the needs of these people, which means that it is not spent for some other purposes also vital for the members of the society. Educators and policymakers develop special programs that provide an opportunity to involve children with autism in classroom activities. Special education requires additional resources and creates new workplaces. Organizations that provide working opportunities for individuals with autism also need to implement particular changes in their operations and provide appropriate workplaces. Interacting with artists, other members of society alter their behavior. They try to act so that not increase autists’ anxiety and adapt to the environment for their needs.
Works Cited
Brown, Amanda, and Jennifer Elder. “Communication in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Guide for Pediatric Nurses”. Pediatric Nursing 40.5 (2014): 219-225. Print.
Davis, Tomphson, Susan White, and Thomas Ollendick. Handbook of Autism and Anxiety. New York: Springer, 2014. Print.
Denning, Christopher, and Amelia Moody. (2013). “Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Inclusive Settings: Rethinking Instruction and Design”. Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education 3.1 (2013): 1-21. CORE Scholar. Web.
Ganz, Michael. “The Lifetime Distribution of the Incremental Societal Costs of Autism”. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 161.4 (2007): 343-349. Print.
Hendricks, Dawn. “Employment and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Challenges and Strategies for Success’. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation 32.1 (2010): 125–134. Print.