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New scientific research has been released demonstrating how they envisage autistic people see the world around them.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/05/26/scientists-discover-people-autism-may-literally-see-world-differently/

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Autism may be driven by unusually wired visual circuits in the brain which make babies literally see the world differently, scientists believe.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) scanned the brains of six-month-olds who were at high risk of developing autism because their siblings had already been diagnosed with the condition.

They found that those babies who went on to develop autism by the age of 24 months had weaker connections between brain networks involved in object recognition and steering the attention to things happening in the wider environment.

"We think aberrant visual circuitry is a fundamental cog in the cascade of events leading to later autism," said Dr Joe Piven, of the Carolina Institute of Developmental Disabilities (CIDD) at UNC.

"We think this circuitry alters how infants experience the world, and how they experience the world alters how their brains subsequently develop.

"It's this secondary altered brain development that may result in what we call autism that typically emerges in the latter part of the first and second years of life."

The early years of life are crucial for brain development and babies lock eyes with their parents to learn how to communicate before that ability gets generalised to other people.

The new research suggests that in babies who go on to develop autism, something goes awry in the brain's visual system that impacts this usual visual interplay.

Previous studies have shown that communication often breaks down between children at risk of autism and their parents because youngsters often seek attention without holding eye-contact.

Coaching parents could reduce chances of diagnosis

Coaching parents to spot when babies are trying to communicate reduced the number of children being diagnosed with autism at the age of three, from 20.5 per cent per cent to 6.7 per cent.

In the new research, scientists scanned the brains of 384 babies with brothers and sisters who had already been diagnosed with autism. Studies have shown that younger siblings have a 14 times higher risk of developing autism if an older sibling has the condition.

In youngsters that went on to develop autism, brain differences were found in two parts of the visual processing system - the occipital gyrus, which is important for object recognition, and the splenium, which is important for communicating between different hemispheric parts of the visual system and orienting attention.

They found the brain differences were present well before the youngsters began showing symptoms of autism as toddlers.

Researchers said behavioural interventions aimed at the visual and related brain systems in the first year of life in infants could prevent children developing more severe autism traits.

The research was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

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Scientists discover why people with autism may literally see the world differently

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Autism may be driven by unusually wired visual circuits in the brain which make babies literally see the world differently, scientists believe. Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) scanned the brains of six-month-olds who were at high risk of developing autism because their siblings had already been diagnosed with the condition.

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Football Clubs Welcoming Autistic Players

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Football Clubs Welcoming Autistic Players

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Wrexham FC have launched ASC friendly football sessions, this becoming a growing trend across many football clubs too!

It's great to see that sessions are being tailored to suit everyone's needs.

https://www.wrexhamafc.co.uk/news/2022/may/autism-friendly-football--book-onto-next-weeks-sessions-now/

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Wrexham AFC's Autism Friendly football sessions will return next week, and are available to book onto now.

Taking place at the Wrexham Glyndwr University Sports Hall, the sessions are organised by Disability Liaison Officer Kerry Evans, in conjunction with the Wrexham Branch of The National Autistic Society, and run by the Wrexham AFC Community Trust.

Due to the growing popularity of the sessions, which have been run successfully for a couple of years now, this half-term we will again be splitting them into two age categories.

Secondary-age children can attend our session on Monday May 30, from 2pm-3pm.

Primary-age children can attend our session on Wednesday June 1, from 2pm-3pm.

The sessions are free of charge, with the Wrexham Branch of the National Autistic Society covering the cost of each child attending.

If you are interested in attending, or would like to find out more about what to expect at each session, please ensure you register your interest with Kerry Evans at kerry.evans@wrexhamafc.co.uk .

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AUTISM-FRIENDLY FOOTBALL | Book onto next week's sessions now

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Wrexham AFC's Autism Friendly football sessions will return next week, and are available to book onto now. Taking place at the Wrexham Glyndwr University Sports Hall, the sessions are organised by Disability Liaison Officer Kerry Evans, in conjunction with the Wrexham Branch of The National Autistic Society, and run by the Wrexham AFC Community Trust.

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An interesting documentary following the life of Paddy McGuiness and his family and how the family have had to adapt to the realisation they have an Autistic Household... it's a good watch and emotional at times as they get to grips with their new found knowledge.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00122vl

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Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine have three children who have been diagnosed with autism. In this documentary, they meet other parents, experts and people on the autism spectrum.

Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine have three children: eight-year-old twins Leo and Penelope, and five-year-old Felicity. All three have been diagnosed with autism. This raw and intimate documentary follows Paddy and Christine at home and as they meet other parents, experts and people on the autism spectrum, including footballer Paul Scholes, who has a 16-year-old non-verbal autistic son.

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BBC One - Paddy and Christine McGuinness: Our Family and Autism

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Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine have three children who have been diagnosed with autism. In this documentary, they meet other parents, experts and people on the autism spectrum. Paddy McGuinness and his wife Christine have three children: eight-year-old twins Leo and Penelope, and five-year-old Felicity. All three have been diagnosed with autism.

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https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2017/06/15/teachingautism/

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Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

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This information is sourced from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Programming for Individual Needs : Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2003)

Provide a structured, predictable classroom environment

A structured, predictable environment is not to be confused with an authoritarian approach. The environment should be structured in order to provide consistency and clarity, so that students know where things belong, what is expected of the min a specific situation, and can anticipate what comes next.

Provide a customized visual daily schedule

The individualized schedule for a student with ASD should fit comfortably into the overall classroom schedule. Vary tasks to prevent boredom, and alternate activities to reduce anxiety and possibly prevent some inappropriate behaviours. For example, alternate familiar, successful experiences with less preferred activities. Large group activities may be alternated with opportunities for calming down in a quiet environment. Incorporating physical activity and exercise throughout the day is helpful. Planned activities can be charted in a visual form and posted at or near the desks of students with ASD so that they can understand changes in activities and know what to expect. The student can be helped to learn to use the schedule independently. Staff can direct the student to the schedule when it is time to change activities ,which should smooth the transition times

Note aspects of the tasks and activities that create frustration

Examine the instructional plan and non-instructional activities for problem areas that may result in sensory overload or frustration for the student. Accompany sensory experiences that are calming for the student with potentially frustrating tasks. Adapt tasks and materials to promote successful participation. Decrease environmental distractors and reduce activities that confuse, disorient, or upset the student and interfere with learning.

Provide relaxation opportunities and areas

A calm, quiet, designated area where the student can go to relax can be helpful. Relaxing for some students with ASD may mean engaging in repetitive behaviours that have a calming effect on them. In some cases ,students who crave certain repetitive movement, such as rocking or other self-stimulating movements, can be provided with a time and space where this movement is permitted. This could be included as an activity in the student's schedule. Other relaxation techniques to help students may include counting to 10, taking deep breaths, as well as tensing and relaxing muscles

Provide opportunities for meaningful contact with peers who have appropriate social behaviour

Students with ASD must be taught appropriate social behaviour and provided with situation-specific expectations for behaviour.Opportunities for contact with peers may include:

involving the student in shared learning arrangements

pairing the student with buddies for walking down the hall, on the playground playing games, and during other unstructured time

varying peer buddies across time and activities, to prevent dependence on one student

involving peers in providing individualized instruction

arranging cross-age peer supports/buddies by assigning an older student to assist the student with ASD

pairing students while attending special school events such as assemblies and clubs

facilitating involvement in after-school or extracurricular activities

If your school has an arrangement in which a class of older students is paired with a younger class, ensure that the older student with ASD is also paired, and provide the necessary supports for success.

Plan for transitions and prepare the student for change

Students with ASD often find changes in activity, setting, or planned routine stressful. Visual schedules can be used to help them understand and co-operate with necessary changes. Social stories with illustrations can also be used to prepare the student for new situations.

Consider the impact of sensory factors

An inventory of possible sensory factors can help minimize the negative effect that sensory information may have on students with ASD. Parents and others who have experience with the student are valuable sources of information about sensory difficulties. Here are some questions to ask and points to consider when developing an inventory:

Are there fans, loudspeakers, fire alarms, several people talking at once, air conditioners, bells, dogs barking, or scraping?

What is the general sound level and the predictability and repetitiveness of sounds?

What can be done to minimize the negative effect these stimuli may have on the student with ASD in the class?

What is the individual's comprehension of verbal information?

What is the time typically required by the student to process auditory information and/or to shift attention between auditory stimuli?

Are there distractors, such as light, movement, reflection or background patterns, that affect the student's ability to attend to the learning activity?

What is the eye level of the student ,the position of the teacher in relation to the student, and the distractors that may interfere with attention?

How much time is required to shift visual attention?

What effort is given to reducing the effects of aversive visual stimuli, so that the management of the student's behaviour is facilitated, and his ability to learn is enhanced?

Are there textures that seem to be abrasive?

Are temperatures appropriate to minimize negative effect on the student?

Does the student demonstrate a need to explore through touch, and yet avoid being touched?

What is the level of ability or defensiveness in the use of certain objects intended to support instruction?

Vestibular:

How is the student's need to move and exercise accommodated?

What are the individuals reactions to movement?

How can the students program incorporate needed movement without unduly jeopardizing the attention and learning of other students in the class?

Gustatory and olfactory:

What are the students preferences in taste and smell with foods and other materials?

How are the students responses to the smell of materials incorporated into decisions made about activities?

-What is the appropriate behaviour, as affected by these smell preferences, suitable to teach for snack or mealtimes?

A number of resources outline multi-sensory activities to target tactile, vestibular and proprioceptive development. Strategies based on sensory integration theory can accommodate sensory needs and help prevent some inappropriate behaviours .Input from an audiologist and/or an occupational therapist may be helpful.

This information is sourced from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Programming for Individual Needs : Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2003)

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Strategies for Classroom Management - Autism Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

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This information is sourced from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Programming for Individual Needs : Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2003) A structured, predictable environment is not to be confused with an authoritarian approach.

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The Curious incident of the Dog in the night-time

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The Curious incident of the Dog in the night-time

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Although never stated the fiction book is written from the perspective of a 15 year old by the ASC. It help the reader understand how somebody with ASC views the world. The story is centred around his relationships with his parents and linked to an incident.

This helped me understand how people with severe ASC view the world.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zqwq7ty/revision/1

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I JUST read that passage last night! It is something that Siobhan says to Christopher because she is not sure of how he is really processing this new I JUST read that passage last night! It is something that Siobhan says to Christopher because she is not sure of how he is really processing this new piece of information that he found out about his mother. She mistakenly thinks that he is hiding his true feelings about this news and she is trying to explain how he may be feeling about this new revelation. (She really should listen to him; he's told her countless times that he is incapable of telling a lie.) groovykismet...more

It's in chapter 109 on page 75.(less)

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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I JUST read that passage last night! It is something that Siobhan says to Christopher because she is not sure of how he is really processing this new I JUST read that passage last night!

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https://autisticuk.org/neurodiversity/
https://autisticuk.org/neurodiversity/

Instead of thinking of normal and abnormal these terms aims to celebrate our differences. Neurotypical is the term used to describe somebody who has the cognitive ability and behavior that society expects.

Neurodiverse is the term used to describe somebody who does not think in the way society expects.

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There are plenty of support networks out there for ASC, please feel free to look through some of these links for advice and support:

www.autism-anglia.org.uk
www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk
www.autism.org.uk
www.childautism.org.uk

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There are a variety courses and training available from free to paying courses:

Training for Schools - Child Autism UK - releasing potential
Bedford College (Part of The Bedford College Group) » Understanding Autism TQUK Level 2 Certificate
Professional development (autism.org.uk)
All our courses are now fully CPD accredited - Autism Education Trust AUT_1 -
OpenLearn - Open University - AUT_1

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Yes, our national treasure of nature has Asperger's...

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Difference Between Asperger's and High Functioning Autism | Difference Between

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Everyone's favourite lorry mechanic and part-time traveller also has Asperger's...

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Here are a host of links which will take you through to some strategies and useful resources for ASC / ASD students...
Strategies and interventions (autism.org.uk)
Strategies | Autism Anglia (autism-anglia.org.uk)
Information Resources | Autism West Midlands
Information Resources | Autism West Midlands
Information & guidance » Autism Bedfordshire

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A handy mind-map