Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges in social interaction, communication, and repetitive behaviours. The term ‘spectrum’ in Autism reflects the wide range of symptoms, severity levels, and types of Autism that may show up. Before we look at four types of Autism, it’s crucial to understand that while Autism comes along with a young adult it doesn’t define who they are as a person. Autistic young adults are unique, built for a purpose, valuable, and should never be reduced to a “label”. The types of Autism can overlap and are meant to assist with pointing to an approach taken on how to support the young adult’s needs.
The first type of Autism refers to “Rulemaking Ryan”. Having a set of rules to live by is an important issue to Ryan. Once he has a set of rules to follow, there tend to be few, if any, concerns, except in areas where you have not yet established rules. If there is a gap where a rule has not been established, Ryan is not happy because he doesn’t know what to do in that situation, so he makes up his own rules. Ryan must have rules to live by and he will create his own if they aren’t provided, which will probably not match what others are thinking. This will cause conflict and upset him until someone steps in and clarifies the rules.
If Ryan is a more passive and a people-pleasing type of person, then he will not like it if you are mad at him. He is cooperative and reluctant to be assertive. He doesn’t like to stand out. He can become distressed by others who do not follow the rules. In fact, he will watch to make sure rules are being followed. Ryan manages his anxiety by following the rules and making sure others are following the rules too. In order to reduce stress, Ryan needs structure, routines, schedules, and assistance with setting up visual prompts for himself in order to create appropriate rules for any given situation or context. If Ryan experiences an environment where he has consistently had rules made for him growing up, then he likely has rules for everything! He has learned to control many situations and requires flexibility. Flexibility requires that Ryan learn decision-making and problem-solving skills, so he can become a more independent thinker.
The second type of autism refers to “Logical Larry “. Larry needs to know the reasons for the rules before he is okay. Accepting rules without a reason increases stress. Larry wants to know the reasons why you’re doing what you’re doing, why something is done a certain way and it must make sense. If Larry can’t assign a reason to do something or why you’re doing something, then he won’t listen, question you as to why you are doing what you are doing, or decline your request to follow through on something. Larry is coping by trying to make sense of things through logic, reasoning, and rational thought. He wants things to be in place and with order, which reduces his anxiety. Larry effectively asks the question, “Why would I do that? “. That goes to say that when Larry knows the reason for something, then he is able to be more flexible and more likely to follow through. When Larry is inflexible, even while given a reason for doing something, he may not accept your reason unless it is very convincing because he may have his own reasons. It’s because Larry is being over-analytical. He struggles to function appropriately because he never gets past analysis, moving on to taking action. Larry requires support in that you must explain why something needs to be done or why something cannot be done in order to increase cooperation and follow through. If your explanation provides Larry with information he didn’t have, might have overlooked, or didn’t understand, you will have helped Larry clarify the way the world works and how an action taken benefits him. That goes to say that helping Larry understand during analysis how a decision he makes works against getting what he desires or generally does not serve him well is important for helping him increase flexibility. With flexibility, creating options allows Larry to make decisions that serve him better.
The third type of autism refers to “Emotional Evan”. Rules and reasons mean much less to Evan. Emotions tend to control Evan’s behaviours and he is more prone to acting out strong emotions when he feels them. Evans’ struggle comes with coping strategies not developed enough to meet the demands of the world. One version of Evan may see his world as being against him and, therefore, struggles to trust anyone. The only coping strategy he has is to attack before others do or say anything. The “attack” can be relentless until it runs its course. The young adult may talk in terms of wanting to “fire”, “murder” or “destroy” as a way to express strong emotions. Evan may be diagnosed with mental health conditions that include oppositional defiant disorder, bipolar disorder, or other kinds of psychotic conditions. It’s important to understand that appeasing Evan will only grant a momentary reprieve. Supporting Evan includes seeking professional help in terms of both medication and behavioural interventions. It’s important to work on maintaining calm during interactions and providing a highly structured environment with firmness, persistence and patience. Supporting Evan is not done alone.
Another version of “Emotional Evan” relates to inattention. Evan may be inattentive much like a person diagnosed with ADHD because he is not focused on any one thing for very long. He is distracted by anything new or different and his interest moves from one thing to another and he cannot easily control his focus. He may also be disorganized, forgetful, impulsive, and even hyperactive. He is effectively “nowhere” in his environment. Inattention may also look obsessive and compulsive in that he is somewhere else. This means Evan is preoccupied with something else that is of greater interest to him, usually related to some preferred activities like screen time, numbers, or how things are placed in his environment. The common denominator between the two is Evan lacks awareness of what is going on around him. In the case of being “nowhere,” Evan will find it hard to stay focused on most tasks. Learning how to take frequent breaks, adding structure to tasks, and learning the skill of supervising oneself are all necessary. Medication is one tool that may reduce inattention, but overreliance typically will not produce the results one hopes will occur. In the case of being “somewhere else,” Evan must be taught how to be more flexible by changing his routines. That is done by expanding his interests. Think of it like Evan’s interest being the colour blue, but Evan is working on different shades of blue in order to increase his flexibility.
Even another version of “Emotional Evan” being somewhere else is in regard to his fascination. Think in terms of fascination with any interest associated with screen time, characters related to video games, cartoons, and dialoguing characters on all platforms on the internet that provide the space for the fascination to occur. Not only is there a preoccupation with the electronics, but the fantasy reoccurs without the electronics or media platform as well. That means away from the source that provides the fascination he doesn’t need the actual source to experience its pleasure, so he replays, recreates, or in some way engages in the preoccupation in his head. This may occur during typical social scenarios that include activities like eating a meal, sitting among others, doing a task, or while speaking with you. Fantasy serves many functions besides being enjoyable. The fantasy removes him from the unpleasantness of the real world demands that otherwise increase stress and challenge his ability to cope. Consequently, reality is avoided, interactions with others don’t occur, and life goes on without him. Interfere with his preoccupations with fantasy and you will experience pushback. Leave him to his preoccupations and he can entertain himself for hours. Supporting this version of “Emotional Evan” must go further than assisting him with understanding the difference between fantasy and reality like how to recognize both, what each looks like, and how to be in the present moment. Supporting Evan additionally requires that he is shown how to limit fantasy time and replace it with how to enjoy real-time activities. This requires explicit visual, auditory, or tangible cues that assist Evan with shifting his focus from the fantasy he is enjoying in his mind and attending to something or someone outside of his mind that is based on real-time activity in his environment.
The fourth type of Autism refers to “Anxiety Andy”. This young adult differs from all other types because he has no coping strategy. While every other type experiences anxiety to some degree, they cope with it through rules, rituals, obsessions, or fantasies. Andy is severely challenged with his ability to use problem-solving skills. As a result, his anxiety overwhelms him and he “shuts down”. This means he retreats to what he believes is comfortable and safe after falling apart emotionally. Ask him to step outside of his comfort zone and he will respond as if the problem is happening right now. His anxiety is internally ignited by the confusion he feels about how the world works. Andy typically needs more time to handle even the smallest issue. You cannot give him too many issues to deal with at once, even if they are small or he will be overwhelmed. Bigger issues are too much as he will emotionally fall apart. Andy will cry under the weight of his anxiety, cling to what is comfortable, has a strong preference for staying home, and when away from home often tells you he wants to go back home sooner than what would appear reasonable. Once he gets used to something, someone, or a routine, then he has the capacity to do better. Supporting Andy means assisting Andy with developing a great deal of structure, routine, and front loading how to respond to possible troublesome situations that might arise. Andy needs lots of warning on what is going to happen, preparing him for any potential change. He needs you to go slowly and without expecting him to accomplish more than what he agrees to do. Telling Andy he must “get over it” or to “move on”, will build up stress quickly and ignite the next issue that will cause Andy to emotionally fall apart. Teaching Andy Stress management, optimism, how to reassure himself, and having realistic expectations for him uniquely as a person is how Andy will have a realistic opportunity to learn how to reduce anxiety and thrive without being overtaken by strong emotions that reinforce a negative outlook on growing his independence.
It’s crucial to understand that when you have met one person living with autism, you have met one person living with autism. Young adults living with autism have the challenge of entering adult life with challenges that are magnified compared to typical young adults. They need compassion, support, and understanding with approaches to their challenges that are thoughtful, address their needs, and honour them uniquely as people. A supportive network is crucial to ensure that the young adult has the best shot at growing Independence and maximizing a meaningful life.
For those looking to empower young adults with autism through dedicated coaching and support, explore our Autism Coaching services to learn how we can assist. Click the connect button below to schedule a call with Steve Gundy today.
