Understanding autism

Autistic people have preferences about how autism is talked about. Some people prefer ‘person with
autism’. Others prefer ‘autistic person’. We respect everyone's views. When communicating with an
individual or family, it is important to respect their preferred language.
Autism is a lifelong condition that affects how a person learns and interacts with other people and
their surroundings throughout their lives (from childhood to adulthood).
Every autistic child and young person has different strengths, interests and abilities. No two autistic
children are the same. But there are some common characteristics of autism.

Autism and education rights

All children have the right to enrol in their designated neighbourhood mainstream government
school. Autistic children have the same education rights as other students.
If needed, school staff must make reasonable adjustments to support autistic students’ participation.

Considering a child’s learning and behaviour

You play an important role identifying if a student:
 is having difficulties in the classroom
 requires support for behaviour.
If you have concerns about a child’s development or behaviour you should talk to the child's family,
who may wish to consider speaking to their child’s doctor.

How schools support autistic children

Best practice is a ‘whole school approach’ for autism. This means the school community should
work together to support autistic children.
To achieve this, schools make sure:
 they have an inclusive culture
 staff have up-to-date knowledge about autism
 teachers use student strengths and interests to plan the curriculum
 everyone who works with a child communicates and collaborates with each other
 they proactively prevent and address any instances of bullying
 autistic children can take part in and contribute to their local community.

Student learning
No two children are the same. If needed, you must make reasonable adjustments to support
students’ participation. For example, depending on a student’s needs, a teacher could:
 use visual timetables so your student knows what work is coming up
 break big tasks into manageable chunks
 use the Abilities Based Learning and Education Support (ABLES) tool to support learning.
Support is also available if students have learning difficulties.
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/learningneeds/Pages/eduprofessionals.aspx

Do you want to know more about autistic children in

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What is autism?
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According
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Autism doe is a pervasive development disability, often referred to as Autistic Spectrum Disorder
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flexible thinking and sensory processing.

April is Autism Awareness Month - a globally recognised awareness campaign used to educate the
public about autism and the prevalent issues faced by the autism community. Autism Awareness
Month and Autism Awareness Day (April 2nd) are vital in educating the public on something that
affects a large number of people, but very few have a working knowledge of.

Autism and the education system

Education is a key part of every child’s life but too many children with autism in England are not
getting the education and support they need. Whilst there are specialist schools available, 71% of
children with autism attend mainstream schools.

Research has shown that mainstream schools are frequently neither fully educated nor equipped to
deal with the needs of an autistic child and give them the necessary support. This is particularly
alarming as such a high proportion of children with autism do attend mainstream schools,
suggesting a large number of autistic children are not getting the educational experience they
deserve.

How do autistic children learn differently from other children?

Priory Group Director of Autism, Allison Hope-West, highlights the different teaching methods
autistic children need: “Pupils with autism require bespoke multi disciplinary packages which
include therapeutic support to help them to engage with learning. They need predictable
environments with structure and high levels of routine along with packages of social learning and
interaction.”

Allison highlighted the importance of specialist teaching: “The curriculum needs to be

compensatory developed with an understanding of the triad of impairment, sensory processing
issues and psychological theories to make it meaningful. Many pupils are highly visual learners and
require instruction to be given in this manner.

“Without these individualised supports across the school environment it is highly unlikely that a
pupil with autism will make the academic and social progress that they should.”
Steve is a blogger and was diagnosed with autism at the age of 48. He is also a tutor at the National
Autistic Society. He highlights the difficulty he finds when communicating with others: “I really
don’t understand people. It’s like not being able to connect with what’s going on around you, it’s
like I’m on one planet and the rest of the world is on another. “

Steve highlighted the difficulty autistic children may face at school: “Verbal instruction is almost
impossible, it’s like the words come towards me and then they disappear before I get the chance to
process them so it makes it really hard at work.”

Steve also has difficulty in social situations: “Anything to do with social situations is very
difficult. Loud noises such as a fire engine going past or if someone drops a plate is like an
explosion going off inside my head”

“Not being able to read people’s emotions is a really big issue. I just always assume people are
really angry with me all the time. If you don’t understand something you always take a negative
view.

“I completely shy away from any kind of social life, it’s too complicated to work out what’s
happening and sometimes means that we are quite naive.”

Do mainstream school teachers feel comfortable teaching autistic children?

According to a 2013 survey by the charity Ambitious About Autism, 60% of the teachers in England
do not feel they have had the adequate training to teach children with autism.

Furthermore, it seems that this is not improving, as 35% of teachers think it has become harder in
the last 12 months to access specialist support for children with autism. These statistics highlight the
lack of understanding for such a common issue that affects so many.
A 2012 survey conducted by The NASUWT (National Association of Schoolmasters Union of
Women Teachers), the largest teachers’ union in the UK, highlighted the extent to which teachers do
not feel comfortable teaching autistic children. Over 70% of mainstream teachers disagreed that
their initial training adequately prepared them to teach pupils with a range of special educational
needs in mainstream schools.

It is clear that there is a lack of understanding of autism in mainstream education as well as little
structure in the education system to ensure autistic children get the best education possible. This is
reinforced by the significant amount of young people who have a bad experience of the education
system.

Bullied and Expelled

Research by the Autism Education Trust showed that 40% of children on the autism spectrum have
been bullied. In addition to this, 56% of parents of children on the autism spectrum who had been
bullied said that it caused their child to miss school or even change schools.

Additionally, thousands of autistic children are being illegally excluded from schools. Ambitious
About Autism found that four in ten children had been informally excluded from school
temporarily. The charity claimed children with autism were being asked to miss school trips and
activities and to attend lessons on a part-time basis.

The report also uncovered that two fifths of parents had been asked to collect their child at an
unscheduled time, while three in ten said they had been asked by the school to keep their child at
home.
In a BBC article, parent Clare Moore said, “I have lost count of the number of times different
schools have rung and asked me to collect my son early or keep him at home because they could not
support his needs.”

Moore went on, “It has been really distressing for him because it interrupted his routine and he
never knew how long he would be in school for each day.”

More than half of the 500 parents said they had kept their son or daughter out of school because
they were concerned that the school could not provide the necessary support for their child.

Parents

It appears that it is not only teachers who feel the training provided to autistic children is not
satisfactory. According to research by the National Autistic Society, 30% of parents feel their child’s
educational placement is not adequate.

Additionally, only 30% of parents of children with autism in mainstream education are satisfied
with the level of understanding of autism across the school – a staggering 70% of parents are not
satisfied with the level of understanding of autism in their child’s school.

The Priory Group provides specialist education and care for young people aged 5 to 25. Helen
Sharpe, Managing Director of Priory Education Services, said: “Almost all young people we
provide education for, have experienced difficulties in their previous education placements and
many have had numerous care placements. We aim to quickly improve attendance and to engage
every young person in learning activities.”

A parent of a child who attends the Priory’s specialist education services highlighted the difference
the specialist education has made: “Having had some very unhappy experiences at her previous
school, ‘C’ arrived at school that morning feeling sad, withdrawn, angry and with the perception
that she could trust nobody. She left school later that day with a huge smile on her face and that
smile has never faltered.”

https://www.priorychildrensservices.co.uk/news-blogs/unqualified-and-unstructured-autism-in-
mainstream-education/