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Autism Understood: A New Resource from Spectrum Gaming

Autism Understood is a website about what autism really is created for autistic young people by Spectrum Gaming, a registered charity and online community for autistic young people.

A cartoon strip that reads as follows: ‘When you google autism, most of what appears is nonsense. People may talk about autism being a ‘disorder’ – but this doesn’t make sense. 15-25% of people have brains that work differently to most! Autism is included in this – so, autism is actually pretty normal. The problem is, people rarely talk about what autism is, so they start to think autism is a scary, unknown thing. There are a lot of myths about autism that people believe… but there are a few things it is really important to know: 1) There is no such thing as ‘mild’ or ‘severe’ autism. While autistic people share the same core traits, we are still incredibly unique and have our own sets of strengths and difficulties. 2) Autistic people don’t need to learn to ‘fit in.’ Life is about finding a place in the community that fits you as an individual. 3) If you are finding some tings hard right now, it isn’t you who is the problem (even if others say otherwise) . You are just living in a way that doesn’t fit how your brain works. When you find things that do work, things get a lot easier. It is hard when most people think there is one way to be, especially when people often won’t allow you to do things differently. But there is more than one way to be, and the happiest autistic people are often the ones who dream big, follow their interests and live a life that fits them instead of impressing others. It’s important to find place in the world where you can be you. Lots of difficulties you face aren’t actually autism. Anger, huge levels of anxiety, and meltdowns are not part of autism. They are part of struggling as an autistic person – but people don’t always tell you that. With the right support and understanding, you can recover from the challenges you have experienced and thrive as an autistic person. This doesn’t mean you will be like everyone else, it means you can live life in a way that works for you.’
A cartoon strip created by the makers of Autism Understood.

When young people receive an autism diagnosis, many are not told what it is or what it means, so often they will go online to look for answers. Most of the information generated by internet search engines is outdated and can be harmful. Therefore, at Spectrum Gaming we have worked hard over the past year to create a new website called Autism Understood that offers young people meaningful and correct information about autism.


On 3rd July 2023, the accessible, free resource went live, with content created by Spectrum Gaming's staff team, over 30 other autistic professionals and advocates, and all reviewed and edited by 54 autistic young people (aged 7 - 17 years).


We’ve had an abundance of positive feedback from the public, not just from autistic young people and their families, but also many late-diagnosed adults who have also been finding the website helpful.


“Such a fab resource. Many thanks for creating this. I know it is really going to help some of the youngsters I work with to understand and to accept themselves more positively.”

One of our goals at Spectrum Gaming is to make sure as many autistic people as possible are able to accept their differences and live the happiest lives possible. We're so glad that Autism Understood is already managing to increase self-acceptance for the autistic people who have viewed it in the first month.


Visit the new website here for information about what autism actually is, including spiky profiles and sensory differences.


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