Love Island star, Niall Aslam, who is autistic, talks about his diagnosis and his time at school.
Lived experiences
Disclosing an autism diagnosis at school
Should a child with autism disclose his/her condition in school? There is no straight answer to this question. On one side there are clear benefits of coming out in the open to generate understanding and acceptance. But on the other, there is the fear of being labelled and only seen as “the child with autism”. Raising autism awareness within school is key to promote peer acceptance and helping these students talk openly about their condition.
This video shows Holly, a young student on the spectrum, who took the step of telling everyone in her school.
Signs of autism in children
https://player.vimeo.com/video/284953008
This film shows the behaviour of three autistic children during a birthday party. Each child behaves in a different way, however each of them struggles with difficulties in the same area:
S: social interactions
I: imagination
G: gestures
N: non verbal communication
S: sensory responses
These form the signs of autism. These signs have to be taken as a cluster (i.e., a difficulty in only one or two of these areas cannot be taken as a sign of autism).
Bonding over food?.. No thanks!
Socialising around food (or talking over a meal) is an enjoyable experience for most neuro-typical people, but not for people with Asperger. In this article, the author, recently diagnosed with autism, talks about the importance of emotional understanding.
“We cannot ever fully understand another person’s life experience and how they perceive the world. What we can do is open our awareness to others’ experience and listen to what it means to them.”
Asperger Support Spain 