The Superpower of Autism by Ms.

Rachel

I will never forget the first time that I look at my baby brother’s cute little face.
That was the day I became an elder sister. I also remember vividly the day my
parents trying to explain to me, “Felicia, we hope you would love and accept your
brother just the way he is. Felix, is an autistic child.”
Good morning to the chairperson, honourable judges, respected time keeper
and fellow contestants. It is indeed an honour to be given the chance to stand here in
front of you today, sharing my thoughts and view on a topic that is very dear to me,
which is The Superpower of Autism.
Ladies and gentlemen
Autism doesn’t discriminate. It touches children from all families. My brother
has autism and yes, it’s impacted my life in many many ways. He has taught me a
lot. Felix was born in the year 2018 and diagnosed at 2 years old. For me, I think that
Felix has special capabilities rather than being disabled. I would like to ask, how
many of the audience here know about autism?
According to psychiatry.org, autism spectrum disorder or ASD is a complex
developmental condition involving persistent challenges with social communication,
restricted interests, and repetitive behaviour. Autism is considered a lifelong
disorder, the degree of impairment in functioning and challenges varies between
individuals with autism.
What causes autism?
Honestly, ever since the 1980s there’s been a growing interest in the genetic
causes of autism but despite mass and financial investments, no gene for autism has
been found. Instead, scientists think that hundreds of genes are interacting with each
other and the environment a phenomenon we call genomic styles of thought. Now
scientists are investigating entire genomes and their interaction with environment
such as prenatal exposures and paternal age.
Ladies and gentlemen
Early signs of this disorder can be noticed by parents/caregivers or
paediatricians before a child reaches one year of age. However, symptoms typically
become more consistently visible by the time a child is 2 or 3 years old. In some
cases, the functional impairment related to autism may be mild and not apparent
until the child starts school, after which their deficits may be pronounced when
amongst their peers.
Autism spectrum is estimated to affect about 62.2 million globally as of 2015.
A data from Malaysian Ministry of Health says that the number of diagnoses for
autism spectrum disorder in Malaysia have risen steadily over the past decade. The
latest annual figure for 2021 showed a total of 589 children aged 18 and below being
diagnosed with ASD. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers screener found
out that male children are four times more likely to get ASD than female children.
 The Superpower of Autism by Ms. Rachel

Experts suggest that the rising rates of autism globally could be attributed
to growing awareness of autism and changes to the condition’s diagnostic criteria.
Repetitive behaviour...impairment… persistent challenges...lifelong disorder…
I know, it sounds hard...sad…bad...unlucky... I don’t know how to describe my
parents’ feelings but what I noticed about Felix that he likes to learn, brave, brilliant
imagination and he sometimes obeys to our parent. Well, he is only 4.
No matter what traits of autism you or your loved one may have, a person with
autism has their own unique strengths and abilities. There are many famous people
with autism spectrum disorder who have used their strengths and abilities to achieve
success, fame, or to accomplish amazing things.
People like Charles Darwin, Bill Gates, Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci,
Elon Musk…uggghh… a lot of them. They have been recognized for the amazing
things they have accomplished in this world. They have touched the lives of so many
people in a positive way.
It’s true that autism spectrum disorder looks different in every person with the
condition. Although it’s important to remember that many people with autism will
need much more

More recently, individuals with autism are beginning to challenge us to think

about it as a different way of being not as a gene that needs to be fixed or disabilities
that need to be cured. It is time for us to think about the way we view those with
autism. Time to try to respect, understand and find ways to include them into our
society.

Ladies and gentlemen,