A number of pupils within the Conceptual Department are on the Autistic Spectrum. We use our extensive understanding of Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) to ensure that pupils' needs are met in mixed classes including pupil who are not autistic but experience other learning difficulties.
Strategies we commonly use include:
Visual Timetables
Many people with Autism find it extremely difficult to see the connections between things, especially connections in time. Therefore they find it incredibly useful and stress-relieving to have a visual schedule of what is going to happen that they can cross off or take away as they finish each activity. This way they can see the sequence of necessary activities that will lead them to a rewarding activity that they can look forward to. This is usually the single most effective strategy to reduce anxiety in people with autism and teach them to cope with change.
Sensory Diet
Many people with Autism as either much more, or much less, sensitive to different stimuli than non-autistic people. Often they can be over sensitive to external stimuli- especially having to be with other people- and under sensitive to internal feedback from their body (sometimes feeling almost numb and having to move and stimulate themselves to get sufficient feedback). We can assess these needs and work to make sure that we both avoid over stressing the pupil and begin to help them to cope better with these sensory needs. One way in which we meet the need to have a greater degree of privacy from other people is the use of screened work-stations. This can give the pupil a 'base' from which they can feel more confident to cope with the wider school world.
Social Stories
Many people with Autism do not pick up the usual social rule and cues that many mainstream people do. This is not intentional it is part of their autism. We therefore use social stories to explain how the social world works and to teach pupils to cope in a range of situations.
Written explanations
Literate pupils with autism- no matter how verbal they are on the surface- often find it much easier to understand an explanation when it is written down. This can be extremely effective in calming tensions.
