Rather like ADHD, ASD or Autistic Spectrum Disorders are something which, although they effect over 1.5% of the population, are conditions many people know little about. That said, most of us will have heard of two of the disorders which fall into the ASD bracket, Asperger Syndrome and Autism. People who suffer from ASDs usually have IQs commensurate with their age or higher. They are often very intelligent, with the ability to retain and assimilate complex information.

A Popular Misconception

Many people have a stereo typical image of Autism taken from the film "Rain Man" starring Dustin Hoffman, who played a character called Raymond Babbitt who was autistic and possessed a photographic memory. While many of Raymond's traits in the film accurately mirror those of someone with Autism, his difficulty in understanding the world and communicating, his phenomenal ability to calculate numbers and remember information was due to him suffering a second extremely rare disorder called "Savant Syndrome" and were not a direct result of his being Autistic.

The Professional's Perspective

Once again, we called on Helen Fairless, our expert in this field to help us understand these disorders better.

Helen told us:

"ASD's change the way people see the world around them and interact with others. They can find it difficult to be in a social situation and often find it hard to maintain relationships and friendships. They can find things we take for granted very hard to unravel, such as making conversation, and often react emotionally to stress."

Helen's support group, "Outside In" is there for any parent or carer who has a child with ASD. They meet in a very informal setting at Shefford Lower School and the group not only get help and practical advice from Helen and her colleagues, but they can also chat to each other. You can find more information on this support group in the Best Advice section entitled "Outside In".

Mick Child, the Extended Services manager and one of the BEST Advice team said

"This group has been an amazing success from the day it started and has been a great help to parents who have children who suffer from ADHD and ASDs. We are already looking at securing funding to run similar groups at other venues. Any additional groups which are set up will be advertised on Best Advice, so check back from time to time to see if one is coming to a venue near you."

(Once again BESTAdvice would like to thank Helen for her contribution to this section)