In previous posts, I have made some references as to how you can support someone you may know that has autism however here are 4 detailed ways in which you can help them. Please note, this is a general list I have compiled with the help of some friends who are also autistic.
1. Structure - For as long as I can remember, structure has always been incredibly important to me. For example, I went through a stage of getting out of bed at 7:24am every morning and having to do everything in set time intervals. I find that myself and many others with autism are happier when we know what is happening in our day because I have had far too much experience of sudden changes to my daily routine and I have to say, it does mess with my head quite a lot. To help, you could try as hard as possible to not cancel activities without prior warning and warn your friend or family member of any changes which could possibly increase their anxiety to give them change to prepare themselves.
2. Positivity - By having a positive approach, you are enabling an autistic person to develop their skills as they feel like they are in a safe and supportive environment; for me this is incredibly important as sometimes negative approaches that people have can lead to feelings of over thinking and worry, none of which is wanted!
3. Caution - Many people with autism, including myself, are sensitive to light, noise, heat or smells(If you wish to find out more, I have written a post previously about sensory issues). Of course, this can be a problem for us and therefore, an environment in which is free as possible from disruption and noise and is calm would be incredibly beneficial. As well as this, sometimes the tone of your voice or perhaps your body language can cause a lot of anxiety and I find it best when people speak calmly and use slower body actions.
4. Empathy - This, for me, is one of the most important ways in which you can support someone with autism. Obviously, it's difficult to understand everything in an autistic persons mind and how they function however being willing to listen and adapt things for us makes it so much more bearable to be in places and situations that we are perhaps not comfortable with. In my experience, one of the things I struggle with most is when I do have an autism attack and people are just stood there glaring and evidently judging me; it's not nice! Just be wary because you never know who could be struggling and that goes for all things.
Well, that's it! Thank you a lot if you have read this and I hope that I have been able to provide you with more information towards fully understanding autism. Also, thank you to anyone that raised money/awareness for World Autism Awareness Week 2015; you're all wonderful!
If you have any more queries or suggestions for future blog posts, please contact me on laurynmathews2@gmail.com or if you just want to say hi, that would be cool too!
Thank you again for reading.
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