The problems:
For me, I think the biggest problem is not having correct structure and routine in lessons and just in general school life, it gets so frustrating when you get told that something is going to happen and then it doesn't and something completely different happens or when you don't have the correct instructions so you are left feeling confused and unable to do a task and being too scared to ask for help because you don't like drawing attention to yourself, it's really hard when this happens so many times a day.
Another area of difficulty is group work in lessons, especially when you are put into a group of people that you do not know and therefore are not comfortable with. I find that I really struggle to join in with the discussion of what to do because I feel incredibly isolated and then this results to me not knowing what to do which finally ends up in me getting scared and upset because of the fear of attention being drawn to me when I'm unable to do anything. After speaking to other people on the autistic spectrum, I have discovered that this is a common problem.
I briefly mentioned this issue in my last post which is sensory problems, I find that my sensory problems get a lot worse in school because of all of the noise and chaotic behaviour. This often leads to my mind completely shutting down because I get scared of all the noises and shouting, particularly in the corridors between lessons. A quick anecdote which will help support this point is a few days ago, a fire drill went off and I got so scared by the constant noise, my ears wouldn't stop hurting for hours after and it made me feel so incredibly uncomfortable.
Rules affect people on the autistic spectrum in different ways. For example, some people could be extremely rule binding and want to do everything correct and right but I've learnt that I'm completely the opposite, it's unintentional and it affects me badly in ways that are unimaginable. Teachers often think of me as being rude and disrespectful which upsets me greatly because I never understand what they mean because I don't see what I'm doing as being wrong and therefore it confuses me(it really doesn't help that most of the teachers at my school are incredibly not understanding about autism).
Now something which happens in and out of school but often affects me more in school because of all of the other problems going on at the same time too; facial expressions, (another thing that I briefly mentioned in my previous post). Talking to someone and not being able to tell what they think by their facial expression or tone of their voice is one of the most difficult things to cope with because I do not know whether someone is annoyed with me or not which creates even more extreme anxiety.
Now moving on to how you could help to teach or just support someone with autism:
Visual aids are always helpful for younger children. I wasn't actually diagnosed with autism until I started high school but I remember being in primary school and always finding it so much easier to understand things when I saw them visually, whether that would be a clear timetable of the day ahead or simple drawings of the activities that I would have to partake in, being able to see what was going to happen always made it a lot more bearable.
Setting clear classroom rules: everyone knows the basics but making sure they are clear to a child with autism will make such a difference. It'll help them to understand right from wrong in a much more simple way.
Support in the playground: I remember as a child, the playground and time on it was one of my most feared times of the day. This wasn't introduced properly when I was younger but after research, I have discovered that "the buddy system" and "circle of friends" are effectual ways to make sure that a child with autism has somebody to talk to and to not feel isolated during their free time in school.
If you're in the same class as someone with autism, don't be afraid to get to know them. You'll realise they are like you but they just like things to be done a little differently. I know from experience that autistic people sometimes struggle to make friends but this doesn't mean that they do not want them. Aswell as struggling to make friends, studies show that children with autism can be the target of bullying, this could be because some children are just spiteful or simply not educated enough on the effects that autism can have on someone but nevertheless, bullying is something nobody should have to deal with.
I recently read an article about a young boy with aspergers who was bullied continuously because of his condition and he was left in tears every single night. There have been many cases where bullying has become a serious issue due to autism, it has been proven that 49% of people with autism get bullied per month and if they were to be asked if they have "ever been" bullied, the number sadly increases to 63%. Some of these cases have sadly been found to have ended in somewhat of a suicide attempt and/or self infliction.
Some of the reasons that children with autism get bullied is because they do not understand a joke or because they find it so hard to communicate with others and to relate with them so to be a good friend, all you need to do is explain a joke every so often and just look out for your friend, it'll make their school life so much better, believe me.
My final point is to people who are friends with someone who has autism, sometimes we prefer to be with just one person instead of a whole group because it's hard to keep up with all of the voices at once and the loudness is incredibly distressing so if you see your friend feeling uncomfortable or panicky, take them somewhere quiet and calm them down.
In a nutshell, being autistic in a school environment is never easy and once again, if you know an autistic person, let them know you are there for them, it'll mean the world to them, I promise.
If you're having any problems or have another reason to contact me, please feel free to email me on laurynmathews2@gmail.com
Thank you for the wonderfully positive feedback that I recieved on the previous post, you guys really made me feel better about myself:)
Rules affect people on the autistic spectrum in different ways. For example, some people could be extremely rule binding and want to do everything correct and right but I've learnt that I'm completely the opposite, it's unintentional and it affects me badly in ways that are unimaginable. Teachers often think of me as being rude and disrespectful which upsets me greatly because I never understand what they mean because I don't see what I'm doing as being wrong and therefore it confuses me(it really doesn't help that most of the teachers at my school are incredibly not understanding about autism).
Now something which happens in and out of school but often affects me more in school because of all of the other problems going on at the same time too; facial expressions, (another thing that I briefly mentioned in my previous post). Talking to someone and not being able to tell what they think by their facial expression or tone of their voice is one of the most difficult things to cope with because I do not know whether someone is annoyed with me or not which creates even more extreme anxiety.
Now moving on to how you could help to teach or just support someone with autism:
Visual aids are always helpful for younger children. I wasn't actually diagnosed with autism until I started high school but I remember being in primary school and always finding it so much easier to understand things when I saw them visually, whether that would be a clear timetable of the day ahead or simple drawings of the activities that I would have to partake in, being able to see what was going to happen always made it a lot more bearable.
Setting clear classroom rules: everyone knows the basics but making sure they are clear to a child with autism will make such a difference. It'll help them to understand right from wrong in a much more simple way.
Support in the playground: I remember as a child, the playground and time on it was one of my most feared times of the day. This wasn't introduced properly when I was younger but after research, I have discovered that "the buddy system" and "circle of friends" are effectual ways to make sure that a child with autism has somebody to talk to and to not feel isolated during their free time in school.
If you're in the same class as someone with autism, don't be afraid to get to know them. You'll realise they are like you but they just like things to be done a little differently. I know from experience that autistic people sometimes struggle to make friends but this doesn't mean that they do not want them. Aswell as struggling to make friends, studies show that children with autism can be the target of bullying, this could be because some children are just spiteful or simply not educated enough on the effects that autism can have on someone but nevertheless, bullying is something nobody should have to deal with.
I recently read an article about a young boy with aspergers who was bullied continuously because of his condition and he was left in tears every single night. There have been many cases where bullying has become a serious issue due to autism, it has been proven that 49% of people with autism get bullied per month and if they were to be asked if they have "ever been" bullied, the number sadly increases to 63%. Some of these cases have sadly been found to have ended in somewhat of a suicide attempt and/or self infliction.
Some of the reasons that children with autism get bullied is because they do not understand a joke or because they find it so hard to communicate with others and to relate with them so to be a good friend, all you need to do is explain a joke every so often and just look out for your friend, it'll make their school life so much better, believe me.
My final point is to people who are friends with someone who has autism, sometimes we prefer to be with just one person instead of a whole group because it's hard to keep up with all of the voices at once and the loudness is incredibly distressing so if you see your friend feeling uncomfortable or panicky, take them somewhere quiet and calm them down.
In a nutshell, being autistic in a school environment is never easy and once again, if you know an autistic person, let them know you are there for them, it'll mean the world to them, I promise.
If you're having any problems or have another reason to contact me, please feel free to email me on laurynmathews2@gmail.com
Thank you for the wonderfully positive feedback that I recieved on the previous post, you guys really made me feel better about myself:)
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