In connection with the forthcoming World Autism Awareness Day (2nd April), which kicks off the World Autism Awareness Month, people in Poland were asked about perceptions of this increasingly more frequently diagnosed condition. The overwhelming majority of respondents had heard of autism (83%). The condition is most often associated with being locked in a world of one’s own, with withdrawal and isolation (36%), difficulties with human contact (18%) and with communicating with other people (13%).

Opinions about social attitudes towards autistic people were divided. The belief that people were kindly disposed towards autistic children was a little more prevalent than the opposite. When it came to autistic adults, however, respondents were of the opinion that aversion or dislike were more common than kindness.