Karl102
Journeyman Pro
Today is National Autism Day. I know its close to a few forummers hearts. The NW crew did a great job raising money last year for a superb charity.
For those than do not know, I am an Assistant Head teacher in a Secondary School. Below is an account from one of our pupils that he said he would like to share with our whole school and also with any friends and family. I have changed his name and for the record he is 14 years old.
It is a nice read.
Life with Autism – By Jimmy Harrison
Today 2nd April is Autism Awareness Day. I would like to try to explain to people how I see the world/life.
Quite often I do not sleep at night. There is no pattern to my sleep. Regardless of the time of day/night, I can only sleep when my body tells me to. Various remedies have been tried but nothing seems to work, so sometimes when I come to school I am extremely tired.
Peoples body language/facial expressions do not tell me how they are feeling. I may notice the use of them but do not understand what they mean.
I do not have a sense of fear or danger. Unless people explain to me, I wouldn’t realise any implications.
My hearing is very good and I can hear things that most people can’t. This sometimes causes distractions and I am not able to block these noises out. If more than one person talks at the same time, I cannot process anything that is said.
If I am asked to do something, I need time to process what I have been asked. This may appear that I am being ignorant or rude but I am not. If I do not understand what I am being asked I would not tell you. You could ask me if I understand and I would answer yes or no. This is because I do not like confrontations.
When I am asked to imagine something, I cannot do this. If it is not something I have experienced by touch, sight, smell or taste then I am unable to picture this is my mind.
I will shut down if someone shouts or raises their voice to me as I do not like this.
If I see someone breaking a rule I will report it regardless of being called a snitch or grass, as I know this is the right thing to do.
I do not understand jokes and take things literally. When asked once if I had finished writing something down, I replied no. This was true because I hadn’t wrote anything as Miss had scribed for me.
Just because I like to do something one day, does not mean I may like to do it the next. It all depends on how I am feeling on that day.
Autism is not something that you can see, so people are not always aware who has it. People with Autism are still individuals and should not be stereotyped.
For those than do not know, I am an Assistant Head teacher in a Secondary School. Below is an account from one of our pupils that he said he would like to share with our whole school and also with any friends and family. I have changed his name and for the record he is 14 years old.
It is a nice read.
Life with Autism – By Jimmy Harrison
Today 2nd April is Autism Awareness Day. I would like to try to explain to people how I see the world/life.
Quite often I do not sleep at night. There is no pattern to my sleep. Regardless of the time of day/night, I can only sleep when my body tells me to. Various remedies have been tried but nothing seems to work, so sometimes when I come to school I am extremely tired.
Peoples body language/facial expressions do not tell me how they are feeling. I may notice the use of them but do not understand what they mean.
I do not have a sense of fear or danger. Unless people explain to me, I wouldn’t realise any implications.
My hearing is very good and I can hear things that most people can’t. This sometimes causes distractions and I am not able to block these noises out. If more than one person talks at the same time, I cannot process anything that is said.
If I am asked to do something, I need time to process what I have been asked. This may appear that I am being ignorant or rude but I am not. If I do not understand what I am being asked I would not tell you. You could ask me if I understand and I would answer yes or no. This is because I do not like confrontations.
When I am asked to imagine something, I cannot do this. If it is not something I have experienced by touch, sight, smell or taste then I am unable to picture this is my mind.
I will shut down if someone shouts or raises their voice to me as I do not like this.
If I see someone breaking a rule I will report it regardless of being called a snitch or grass, as I know this is the right thing to do.
I do not understand jokes and take things literally. When asked once if I had finished writing something down, I replied no. This was true because I hadn’t wrote anything as Miss had scribed for me.
Just because I like to do something one day, does not mean I may like to do it the next. It all depends on how I am feeling on that day.
Autism is not something that you can see, so people are not always aware who has it. People with Autism are still individuals and should not be stereotyped.
