by Rebekah Maguire

Contents

1. A refresher on Autism

2. Tackling the myths about Autism

3. Support needs for individuals on the Autism Spectrum

4. Practical strategies

Autism is a spectrum condition. Individuals fall somewhere along the spectrum.

One of the best known forms of autism is Asperger syndrome. People with the condition are often of average or above-average intelligence.

Autism is much more common than most people think. There are over half a million people in the UK with autism – that’s around 1 in 100

people.

At TCS, we have 13 students on the Autism Spectrum.

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by a triad of impairments:

social imaginative difficulties

restrictive and repetitive interests

social & communication difficulties

Autism Spectrum Conditions

1. Social, communicative difficulties:

• Difficulty socialising + preference for their own company.

• Problems with verbal and non-verbal language.

• Can be inclined to take things literally.

• Socially ‘odd’ behaviours.

• Have difficulty with humour.

2. Social Imagination Difficulties:

• Find it difficult to see situations from others’ points of view.

• Have difficulty imagining and so preparing for situations outside their immediate routine – change is problematic.

• Rigid thought patterns + single mindedness.

• Do not know how to join in with others / find ‘games’ problematic.

MIND-BLIND-NESS

3. Restrictive and Repetitive interests:

• Often have an overwhelming interest in a particular topic e.g. transport systems, animals, Dr. Who etc.

• Stick to specific routines or rituals i.e. always going to the shops the same way.

• Repeat the same movements / insist on the same foods.

• Be hypersensitive to certain sounds, smells or lighting.

Executive Functions

Executive function deficit (an umbrella term for cognitive processes) means that individuals with Autism often have

difficulty with:

• Working-memory• Planning• Organising• Shifting attention / multi-tasking• Regulating their emotion.

Have you noticed any of these characteristics / behaviours in the

ASD students that you teach?

True or False?

• Most individuals on the Autism Spectrum are male.

• Individuals on the Autism Spectrum find school one of the toughest environments.

• Those on the Autism Spectrum do not particularly want friendships.

• Most individuals on the Autism Spectrum are male;

(False)

• Many individuals on the Autism Spectrum find school one of the toughest environments to be in;

(True)

• Those on the Autism Spectrum do not particularly want friendships;

(False)

Prevailing Stereotypes?

SHERLOCK

Myth: Most individuals on the Autism Spectrum are male.

Girls with Autism: The forgotten part?

• Undiagnosed / misdiagnosed due to different presentation.

• Judged against the male profile of Autism.

• Girls are better at mimicking socially acceptable behaviors and so go unrecognised. Linked to how girls are socialised.

• Tony Atwood, a leading clinician, has challenged the prevailing gender ratio of 1 in 4.

Research on Belonging

• Involved 15 girls on the Autism Spectrum (aged 11-17) and their families;

• Focused on their sense of belonging in an “out of school”, community context;

• Not directly focused on the schooling environment but there were huge ramifications for scholastic context.

• All girls found belonging at the groups but this was defined against an absence of belonging in mainstream schools.

• In schools, they felt that they had no friends----at most, a single male friend.

• School was where they had to ‘hold in’ or conform to the norms manufactured in mainstream school.

‘……always wandering around the playground

alone’ (11)

‘The people at school think that Asperger’s is a disease which

they’d catch…..so no-one wants to be my friend anymore.’

This made her feel like: ‘an endangered animal in a zoo….’

(12)

‘I think that you will find that a lot of people with Autism won’t

be themselves at school. You are there for quite a long time and people judge you; people

are mean’ (15)

‘The people at school don’t understand when

I say that I have Asperger’s and don’t

know how to play games…’ (11)

Lack of Belonging suggested: ‘Normalstream/ Mainstream’?

Inclusion?

The National Curriculum

BUT ALSO

The Hidden Curriculum? (Aston-Smith)

She didn’t know how to ‘deal with the ebb

and flow of conversation’ (15)

The girls were highly motivated to socialise but under particular conditions:

• Restricted time frame;

• Environmental features such as low-lighting and reduced noise;

• Small-group settings;

• Structured activities, where ‘special interests’ where harnessed. A ‘doing’ rather than a ‘talking’ group structure;

• Sought to be part of a group but not working as one.

• Meeting other girls with Autism meant that they no longer felt isolated as Autistic girls.

Practical Strategies

How can we implement strategies to help individuals with ASD in the classroom?

Strategies to promote a greater sense of school belonging:

• Great attentiveness to peer relationships and the potential for bullying (all girls in my project had been bullied, and were aware of being judged socially by peers);

• Being attentive to who their friends are, and being aware that individuals with Autism are more likely to have a single friend;

• The need for schools to raise the profile of Autism generally.

• Finding out what students’ special topics / interests are.

• To increase social participation, special interest clubs could be set up during school lunch-breaks.

• Challenging our own ideas of what it is to be social.

• To be aware that group work can be a significant barrier to curriculum access / belonging for this demographic.

• Parents in my research project corroborated that group work in school caused anxiety for their children.

• Could try letting the young person work ‘for’ the group on a task rather than with them;

• Being sensitive to environmental features of the classroom such as noise levels.

• Providing retreat spaces for individuals with Autism to account for social saturation points.

• Being sensitive to how tiring school can be for individuals with Autism (i.e. can lead to melt-downs at home……)

• Structured, rather than open-ended tasks are best. Individuals with Autism can find it hard to tell what it is demanded of them. Explicit instructions are best.

• P.E and Drama can provoke anxiety because they involve open-ended tasks / group-work. Individuals with Autism struggle with ‘getting’ the rules.

• Change can provoke extreme anxiety. Change in routine must be managed carefully. Talk them through why the change has to happen / what it will look like.

• Can have poor self-help skills – check in with them on tasks.

• Inappropriate social behaviours can be sensitively challenged. What individuals with Autism cannot intuit, they can be taught.

For example: Talking at length about their interests……..

• Visual learners?

Resources:A documentary by a teenager with Autism): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpWWP1HNGQ

A upcoming TV documentary on girls with Autism: Wednesday 15th July 10: 40pm.

Questions