Episode 46: Autism and Weather Communication

Hype of the Week: 
 Castle and Minh are joined by Matt Bolton to talk about communicating weather information to vulnerable populations, specifically the autistic community.

Matt Bolton, Undergraduate Student at Saint Leo University
Matt Bolton, Undergraduate Student at Saint Leo University

Autism Fact Sheet 

Autism Facts & Stats (some of this information borrowed from the U.K. National Autistic Society at https://www.autism.org.uk/about.aspx)
  • A neurodevelopmental condition, autism impacts typical brain development in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. People on the autism spectrum typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication alongside unusually (but not problematically) narrow interests, and sensory sensitivities. 
  • Five times as many males as females are diagnosed with autism. The proportion of males as opposed to females diagnosed with autism varies across studies, but always shows a greater proportion of males. Fombonne at al (2011) found a mean of 5.5 males to 1 female in their research review. Its prevalence (1-in-59 in the U.S. as of 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control) is not affected by race, region, or socio-economic status. 
  • The co-occurrence of various medical conditions alongside autism is common, including but not limited to environmental and food allergies, asthma, epilepsy, digestive problems, sensory integration differences, and sleeping disorders such as insomnia.
  • Autism itself does not affect life expectancy. However, research has shown that the mortality risk among autistic individuals is twice as high as the general population, in large part due to drowning and other accidents. Recent and ongoing research has also linked higher suicide risk among autistic people to this trend.
  • Between 44% - 52% of autistic people may have a learning disability. Research findings on the proportion of autistic people who also have learning disabilities (IQ less than 70) vary considerably as they are affected by the method of case finding and the sample size. Fombonne et al (2011), in their research review of 14 prevalence studies that mentioned IQ, found a range of 30% to 85.3%, with a mean of 56.1%, of people without learning disabilities. Emerson and Baines (2010) in their meta-analysis of prevalence studies found a range of people with learning disabilities and autism from 15% to 84%, with a mean of 52.6%. Explanation of why these findings are so variable and the reliability of the figures can be found in both Emerson and Baines (2010) and in Fombonne et al. (2011).
  • Some autistic people don't speak. Some autistic people are non-verbal and communicate through other means. However, autism is a spectrum condition, so everyone’s autism is different. Autism greatly varies from person to person (no two people with autism are alike).

Articles about Autism and Weather Communication 

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Songs of the Week
Castle: "No Tears Left to Cry" - Ariana Grande
Minh: "Solo" - Clean Bandit feat. Demi Lovato
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