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.)
3…and even your friends probably won’t understand.
“Can he leave?” It’s a whispered sentence that breaks my heart every time I hear it. Frequently, my brother will walk into the room where my friend and I are hanging out. After being exposed to his often-erratic behavior, friends may ask me, sometimes politely and sometimes not-so-politely, if he can leave. But it’s very important to make your sibling feel welcome in your personal life – and something as small as “hanging with his cool big sister’s friends” gives my brother a smile I wouldn’t trade for the world.