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When we examine 100 random teenagers,

NOTE Paragraph

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we would find that while
they all look different,

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their minds work in very similar ways.

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One or two however, have minds 
that are atypical in a particular way.

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They could be diagnosed with autism.

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This happens to boys four times as much,

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perhaps because diagnosing them is easier.

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Children and adults who are on the autism
spectrum experience the world differently

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because they were born with various 
degrees of neuroatypical traits.

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Most autistic children have 
more refined senses

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and share a deep desire to bring 
the logic into their surroundings.

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Some seek repetitive behaviors
that follow specific patterns

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and many appear to be asocial
and avoid eye contact.

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Autism is not a disease and
therefore cannot be cured.

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Since all our brains are different 
and there is an endless range

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of nuances in their architecture,
autism is defined as a spectrum.

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On one side of the spectrum
is high-functioning autism,

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also known as Asperger syndrome.

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These children are highly intelligent,
and have extreme abilities

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and interest in specific areas.

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In the middle, are those with average
intelligence and some problems

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learning new things in school.

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On the far end of the spectrum

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are children with severe
learning disabilities

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who may require 
support in their daily lives.

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Timo, a young boy,
can help us understand

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how living with a 
neurodivergent mind can be.

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His mum noticed early on that
her boy would avoid eye contact

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and that he would often become
upset if she hugged him.

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He never returned smiles
and engaging him in play

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with friends often ended in a tantrum.

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His mother suspected something to be
wrong, when Timo still wasn’t speaking

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more than two or three words at a time
even after turning four years old.

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She sought help and Timo was diagnosed 
with autism spectrum disorder,

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or ASD for short.

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Timo has an atypical perception.

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When reading books or watching 
movies, Timo’s brain picks up

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and organizes the information differently.

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While his neurotypical peers
categorise things and form schemas,

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for example, they identify everything
with four legs that barks as a dog,

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for Timo, each type of dog is unique and 
categorised in Timo’s mind individually.

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His attention to detail and inability
to generalize makes Timo more

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objective in his perception of the world 
and less prone to a framing bias.

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However, it also makes all sorts of
new experiences incredibly complex,

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which is why he loves to follow a rigid 
daily routine to limit his sensory input.

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Timo is highly sensitive.

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His brain amplifies whatever
input it perceives.

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He hears everything and 
has a heightened sense of touch.

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However, this superpower makes
situations where many people speak

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simultaneously very challenging. Timo 
hears everyone but understands nothing.

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The sensitivity to touch makes 
eating an intense experience.

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If a texture or flavour is too much 
to handle, Timo won’t eat it.

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Also walking barefoot on wet grass
or playing in dirt overwhelms his brain.

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He has a fascination with logic.

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Timo naturally looks for patterns
that bring logic into this world.

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Sometimes he also tries
to bring order into his own

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behavior and ways 
of moving his body.

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When structured patterns 
are broken, he gets upset.

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It freaks him out when someone counts
to 8 but doesn’t continue to 10.

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Doctors call it an obsessive-compulsive
disorder or OCD.

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Timo experiences social disconnection.

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He has trouble connecting
with others, because social settings

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overwhelm his sensitivity 
and desire for order.

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Because human emotions
are incredibly complex

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and don’t follow a set 
predictable pattern,

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Timo often finds himself 
misreading situations

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and upsetting people around him.

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As a consequence, he avoids
people and rarely makes eye contact.

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Which doesn’t matter that much to him,
since most of the things

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other people talk about, are illogical, 
irrelevant, and boring anyway.

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For 4 years, his mother had him
treated by a therapist who would

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show him images of faces to help
him learn to identify feelings.

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This meant he got better at 
identifying facial expressions

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and corresponding
emotions.

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However, personally, he is still not 
interested in reading faces,

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or establishing new social contacts.

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He has two friends who share the same
interests and couldn’t wish for more.

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Since Timo’s autism is not 
an illness we can treat,

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but rather a different way of
him experiencing the world,

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the question remains whether we
should try to change him through

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therapy or accept him for who he is.

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So what do you think?

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Should we treat children with
autism with therapy or

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celebrate them for who they are?
Or perhaps do both?

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Maybe it’s not their atypical
minds, but our stereotypical

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way of looking at them
that needs correction?

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To get a three-dimensional glimpse
of how an autistic girl experiences

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her own surprise birthday party,
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