Understanding Autism

Children with Autism find lots of things at school very stressful and difficult to cope with, for example, they:

• May find it difficult to sit still for long periods of time.
• May not realise they are being spoken to if someone doesn't say their name at the beginning of a sentence – particularly in a group setting. 
• May listen but not look when they feel overloaded with information.
• May find it difficult to filter out and ignore background noise which makes concentrating difficult leaving them tired and stressed.
• May not cope well with change or things that don't usually happen e.g. having a different teacher or timetable change.
• May need a visual timetable to keep track of what’s happening and avoid feeling worried.
• May need a timer to get started and constant encouragement.
• May not always know what to do at recess and lunchtime because of the lack of structure - they may need help to play with the other children or may need time alone.
• Preventative breaks e.g. jobs in the classroom, drink breaks, quiet time, headset, beanbag - especially when long listening periods
• Time-out for inappropriate behaviours or distract in redirecting to another activity.
• May find it helpful to have a ‘quiet corner’ to go to when they need a break/feel overloaded with the stress and noises of the classroom.
• May not be able to keep up if others speak quickly and may need processing time.
• May need explicit instructions i.e. ‘Tidy up’ may be too general.
• May need pictures or diagrams to explain things and help them to remember.
• May feel stressed and upset if they make a mistake or misunderstand what people want of them.
• May get frustrated or angry because they haven’t understood something and may need to be encouraged to ask questions for clarity.
• May need to chew on a ‘chew toy’ when they get anxious or need to calm down.

Open Letter from a Child with Autism

Hi, for those of you that didn’t get to meet me last year. I was the one often holding my teacher's hand at morning line–up.  At times I was also wearing a necklace. The necklace I now describe as an ‘Amulet’ as it has the power to protect me from danger and harm as chewing the rubber can assist in calming my anxiety and protect me from having meltdowns.

Having a label such as ‘Asperger's’, High functioning Autism, Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) or being on the spectrum hasn’t changed who I am. What it has done is help those around me understand how I learn. Asperger's is one of those invisible disabilities as we appear normal however we often see things differently… I have described it to my mum as it’s like my brain is wired differently.

Something you often hear is, ‘If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism’. Whilst we share some similarities, we are all very different as a whole. We share the need for clear expectations, often have fixed interests (mine is Mine Craft) and visual supports also help us. I catch-up with mates, ‘Aspi’s’ like myself, on a Saturday morning where we do Social Group. This has helped me create a network of like-minded mates, expanded my understanding about how to read facial expressions, developed an ability to discern appropriate and inappropriate behaviours, and understand the ‘green zone’ so I don’t keep moving the conversations back to talking about Mind Craft or Star Wars.

Many of the things that I find challenging are not unique to me, such as wait time and taking turns especially when there is a big reward at the end. On an off day which mum calls ‘social overload’ days, waiting my turn to go on the flying fox at the park can be too much to cope with and I will have a meltdown. This is mostly because I can’t articulate what I am experiencing. I am learning to remove myself from these situations to create a quiet space. My body has a way of lounging everywhere, a little like my mum on a Friday arvo after work.

Visual supports help me stay motivated and on task, helping to reduce my anxiety as I can see what is coming next. Simple explicit instructions also help such as using words like ‘first’ and ‘next’. It is much easier for me to stay on task when there is a motivation to learn… oh yes rewards are great! But also, just knowing why I’m doing a task really helps.

As well as going to ‘Social Group’ I go to my Occupational Therapist (OT). She really gets me and what I am going through and comes up with great strategies to help me make the most of school life.  Strategies like building in preventative breaks after sitting, listening or working for some time help me too. These breaks might be in the form of a drink break or doing an errand for the teacher. My OT has also helped me develop my writing skills and suggested using a headset, which helps block out a lot of background noise to reduce sensory overload, supporting me to complete tasks. I find it difficult to self-regulate or find my off button and too much noise and movement can have the same effect on me as a can of coke. To help me find this off button, my OT has taught me strategies such as deep breaths, counting, and deep pressure massage which is really helping.

My mum has read me a book to me called ‘The Red Beast’ and this clearly reflects what happens to me when I lose it…my ears and eyes get small and my mouth gets big.  So, when I become the Red Beast there is no point trying to reason with me, in fact just by giving me space and time the Red Beast shrinks…oh yes, I forgot to say that within all of us is a sleeping little Red Beast. It is just about learning not to wake the beast and to learn to deal with it when it grows bigger.

Socially I had a fab year! Play dates, parties, karate and little nippers lifesaving. These experiences gave me wonderful opportunities to exercise my newly learnt strategies and skills. Mum is also a big believer in early intervention. I guess she has seen the difference that getting all the right supports in place makes, and it has given me a bag full of magic tricks.

As they say in Star Wars, ‘May the force be with you’… because it sure is with me.

Although after watching Empire Strikes Back, I was wondering how Luke feels the force through his robotic arm?

Once again thanks for taking the time to get me!