Visual stimming is one of the self-stimulatory behaviours that children with autism often present with. It may include repetitive behaviours such as: Staring or gazing at objects, such as ceiling fans or lights.
With that being said, Autism Parenting Magazine describes how light affects autistic children by stating, “Children's moods are strongly affected by lighting: for some it provides a calming, soothing effect and for others, it acts as a stimulant. Harsh lighting can often hurt the eyes of a person with autism.
Still, it's normal to worry that staring at a lightbulb could somehow cause vision damage. In fact, your baby is probably staring at the lights because his or her long-range eyesight is still developing (depending on the age, of course), and lights provide wonderful contrast between bright and dark.
Many autistic people experience hypersensitivity to bright lights or certain light wavelengths (e.g., LED or fluorescent lights). Certain sounds, smells, textures and tastes can also be overwhelming. This can result in sensory avoidance – trying to get away from stimuli that most people can easily tune out.
Many children on the autism spectrum are fascinated by animals, trains, or other aspects of the real world. Selected TV and videos, such as "Animal Planet" and the "Eye Witness" videos can build on those interests.
Research says that autistic children spend more time on screen than children who do not have autism. About 64.2 percent of young adults with ASD spend their free time on TV, and video games and 13.2 percent of young adults with ASD spend time on social media sites, emails, and chatting.
Autistics tend to be detail-oriented and highly observant, able to spot issues that most would overlook.
Autistic children can have particular sleep and settling problems, including: irregular sleeping and waking patterns – for example, lying awake until very late or waking very early in the morning. sleeping much less than expected for their age, or being awake for more than an hour during the night.
Mild autism is classed as being at the milder end of the spectrum. In other words, someone with this form of autism displays only a few signs of it such as difficulty in following a conversation or understanding a non-verbal gesture.
Among those with autism, common triggers include disturbing breaks in routine, lack of sleep, jarring “sensory stimuli” (noises, lights, or smells) or even undiagnosed mental health problems. Clearly, it's important to look beyond the behavior itself to identify the underlying cause.
The behaviors that are attributable to both autism and vision problems can include lack of eye contact, staring at spinning objects or light, fleeting peripheral glances, side viewing, and difficulty attending visually. Autistic people may also have problems coordinating their central and peripheral vision.
Children can be misdiagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and not actually be autistic. It is concerning enough for a parent to be told their child is on the Autism Spectrum, but for a child to be misdiagnosed as having autism can cause unnecessary stress and worry for the family.
Science fiction and fantasy are often of great interest to autistic people. Depending on their interest levels and abilities, people on the spectrum may learn every detail of a particular "universe," write their own stories, watch and rewatch movies, read comics, attend conventions, or even make their own costumes.
Similarly to red, yellow can be overstimulating for people with autism and therefore should also be avoided as it could trigger a reaction in a person with autism. Both colours must be avoided in an autistic person's sensory space to make the user feel more comfortable and fully benefit from their sensory experience.
Greens, blues, pinks, soft oranges and neutrals can be very comforting. Keeping the colors muted, these tones can quiet the mind and create calm.
Defining the Traits and Behaviors of Level 1 Autism
Difficulty switching between activities. Problems with executive functioning which hinder independence. Atypical response to others in social situations. Difficulty initiating social interactions and maintaining reciprocity in social interaction.
Some developmental health professionals refer to PDD-NOS as “subthreshold autism." In other words, it's the diagnosis they use for someone who has some but not all characteristics of autism or who has relatively mild symptoms.
A recent study, “Association Between Screen Time Exposure in Children at 1 Year of Age and Autism Spectrum Disorder at 3 Years of Age,” showed that longer durations of screen time among 1-year-old boys was “significantly associated” with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years old.
Here's the reality: every child will throw a tantrum at some point, whether they have an autism diagnosis or not. But for children with autism, tantrums can be more frequent, distressing, and difficult to quell.
They found that although the autistic children did not differ from the younger, typically developing children in the amount of time spent looking at their own faces, but that they did spend a lot more time looking at objects in the mirror, and that their behavior toward their reflections differed from that of either ...
Children with autism play differently than those who don't have autism. They often like to repeat actions over and over and line up objects, rather than playing pretend. They usually prefer to play alone and have challenges working together with others.
A broader top face, a shorter middle face, wider eyes, a wider mouth, and a philtrum are some of the common facial features seen in children with ASD [16,17].