Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of the most misunderstood diagnoses in the world today, is a mental condition referring to the wide range of social difficulties that many people of all ages face. Common symptoms include habitual physical behaviors or “tics,” hardships in communicating with others, repetitive speech, and a lack of emotional expressiveness.
You may, like me, have a sibling with autism. If your sibling has just been diagnosed with ASD, chances are you’ll learn all of these through experience over the years, but it’s good to keep them in mind now as well. (Note that all people’s cases with autism are very different. This just happens to be my story, but most of these will be true regardless of the specific manifestations of autism that your sibling exhibits.)
10Your sibling is an absolutely brilliant person.
Many autistic people have other savant-like talents and abilities. My brother, for instance, can name the day of the week if you give him the day, month, and year for as far back as 2009. Other autistic people may have photographic memories, amazing math abilities, or spectacular musical talent. Even if they don’t have any of these, you will learn that your sibling is extremely bright and special in their own way.