ABSTRACT
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by difficulties in social communication and interaction alongside repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, interests, and activities (APA, 2013). We use the terms “autism” and “autistic people” throughout this chapter, in line with recommendations from the autistic community (Kenny et al., 2016). Recent reports concerning prevalence rates provide estimates of up to one in 59 children having autism (Baio, Wiggins, & Christensen, 2018), and autism is reported to cost the US government $175 billion per year (£32 billion per year in the UK). This is more than any other medical condition and greater than the cost of cancer, strokes, and heart disease combined, highlighting the impact of autism in society and the need for a better understanding about how to support autistic people to reach their full potential (Buescher, Cidav, Knapp, & Mandell, 2014). The criteria for diagnosing autism includes a lack of intuitively understanding nuances and rules within social interactions and communication, alongside excessively circumscribed interests involving perseverative behavior pursuing specific restricted topics (APA, 2013). An interesting aspect of autism is that it is not only associated with deficits, but that it can also involve strengths in other areas, and in some cases, talent in certain “islets of ability” (Baron-Cohen, Ashwin, Ashwin, Tavassoli, & Chakrabarti, 2009; Happé & Vital, 2009). The weaknesses in autism have been characterized as generally pertaining to areas of social functioning, and the strengths to areas of non-social functioning. Thus, autistic people can have both relative weaknesses and strengths within different domains, making it a paradoxical condition (Baron-Cohen, Ashwin, Ashwin, Tavassoli, & Chakrabarti, 2011).14
