Autism is a diagnostic term that refers to a specific way that a child or adult’s brain processes and understands the world, other people and the future. The result of seeing things in this particular way can mean that a person might struggle with social interaction/communication/imagination in conventional sense. It can also mean that people find it difficult to function in environments with conventional expectations such as school or the workplace. Having this type of ‘operating system’ can also mean that person’s physical behaviour is sometimes observably different with repetitive behaviours or pronounced movements. It can also cause a person to be very much more (or very much less) sensitive to certain senses such as light or sound.
Processing language and understanding facial expressions can be very difficult for people with Autism and like anyone else; when faced with things that don’t make sense, they can become anxious. This can make certain activities, particularly social ones like school, work or parties quite distressing and aversive.