What is the cause of autism? Expand There have been many theories around autism that have come and gone, or moved on. But some of these theories have become ingrained in our cultural and professional way of thinking and, in turn, reinforced notions that autism has a ‘cause’ and can, therefore, be cured. In actual fact, autism is ‘caused’ by hundreds of different genes working together, is genetic, and becoming more widely accepted as heritable.
How does autism affect people? Expand In essence, an autistic person will see, process and understand the world in a different way from someone who isn’t autistic, for all of their life. While there may be some commonalities between autistic people - such as finding it difficult to be in or read social situations - it's important to remember that an autistic person is still a person and will therefore have their own personality, as well as different strengths, abilities and interests, as do all humans.
How many people are autistic? Expand Previously it was thought that around 1% of the population will be autistic - which is one in 100 people. However, it’s now widely accepted that these statistics are outdated, and certainly from our experience, we believe this to be much higher.
How can the North East Autism Society help? Expand We use a person-centred approach to understand and support autistic people. This helps us to develop and deliver strategies for each individual to help them to grow and develop according to their aspirations. We have schools, a further education college, residential homes, short breaks accommodation, day services, employment services, family support, supported living and free services that include toddler groups, parent workshops, youth groups and online groups.