BC SCHOOL
Saved by @Alex1Powell

Why do #autistic students get excluded so frequently from school?

Some thoughts, based on my own experiences. If we have an understanding of the 'why', it's easier to address the results.

Please read and share! /1

 Autistic students often find themselves being punished more than average at school. Frequently this can escalate to temporary exclusion and similar 'punishments'. Are autistic students generally just more naughty? Of course not. So what's the deal? /2
Everything about the fundamentals of a school day is designed around neurotypical children. Most school day elements are also very old, and have been around since long before people became more 'autism aware'. /3
What we see as the core experience of doing subjects for around an hour, before moving to the next subject, between the ages of 5 and 18 dates back *decades*. So where do autistic students fit in? /4
Well, they don't. Students with an autistic or ADHD neurotype quite simply do not slot into this structure. The only way they can is by essentially squashing their own needs in order to fit in with the majority. If they can't do this? That's where the 'punishments' come in. /5
So what we end up with is a sizeable portion of the demographic either masking themselves into depression or fighting against the system. Not ideal, is it? /6
So what aspects of a school system do autistic children struggle particularly with? There are hundreds of things, but here's the main stuff. /7
1. The quick fire change between lessons and subjects is not brilliantly suited to an autistic brain. It's too sudden, too rigid, too huge a change (no more drawing, now sums!) This can cause a low level stress that goes through the whole day. /8
2. Schools can be far too predicated on social interaction. Group work, paired work etc are not necessarily going to help autistic students. Viewing social break time as a 'rest' period is a huge misunderstanding of how an autistic child may view it. /9
3. Behaviour management systems can be punitive to autistic students who have a strong sense of justice. Hypocrisies, unfairness and cheating can be extremely serious triggers for autistic people, and how adults interact with this can be toxic. /10
4. Blanket, unchangeable expectations over the school day are unrealistic for many autistic students who drain their energy quickly just trying to fit in. By midday thryre exhausted and by 2pm they may be ready to explode. /11
5. Overemphasis on attainment and scores can cause disproportionate damage to anxious autistic children who are terrified of yet another failure. Arbitrary grades can be a problem too. /12
6. Lack of clarity about what work should look like is a huge problem. 'write as much as you can' sounds reasonable but to an autistic student is infuriatingly vague and meaningless. How much can I write anyway? No idea. /13
7. Social interactions can be incredibly toxic for many autistic students. Bullying can be rife, endless low level mockery of isolation can make a student quick to anger or retaliate. Autistic students need different advice to neurotypicals. /14
8. Noise and busy visuals in a typical school can drain an autistic student's batteries very quickly, causing meltdown. /15
Ultimately the biggest issue is that too many things in the typical school day seem designed to induce meltdown in most autistic students. It becomes a case of adapt or collapse. /16
Considering that adapting (masking) leads to enormous problems down the line, there are no good outcomes here. Something has to change. /17
Schools need to be more aware and alive to what it actually *is* to be autistic. They need more empathy with how it actually feels, rather than just trying to mould the kids into an unsuitable format. /18
This needs to come from the top and bottom - from government initiative to school initiatives. /19
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30 things you can do that might help #autistic people in your lives.

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#autism #autistic

1. Let us decompress in quiet areas when we need to. Our desire to be alone is not judgement on you, it's simple self preservation. #autism

2. If you need us to do something, give us very clear, unambiguous instruction. Don't feel like you're being rude doing this, but don't sound irritated or patronising! #autism

3. Do not expect us to react to things in a way you would expect. That way lies disappointment. We often show our emotions in very different ways to what you might expect. #autism

4. Don't assume we aren't capable of thought and feeling if we're non-verbal. Don't assume we're incapable of communicating in other ways either. #autism
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Autism and meltdowns - what are they and how can you help?

A thread. Please read and share widely. As always, based on my own experiences.

#autism #autistic #Meltdown

Autistic people are stressed. *Very* stressed. Take it from me - our existence is generally peppered with moments of calm on a backdrop of continual tension and intense stress. The reasons for this are complex. /2

Our senses are often way too sensitive, meaning we live assaulted by intense sensory input - sound, vision, smell, touch and so forth. This means our base level stress is always much higher than most folks. /3

We are also usually struggling to make sense of social communication in a way neurotypical people don't need to worry about. Often we have to put actual brainwork into every interaction, as nothing seems to come naturally to us. Even with friends or loved ones. /4

So our glass of stress is very frequently filled to the absolute brim, and it doesn't take very much for us to spill over into a kind of 'post-stress' state, and I guess that's what we call meltdown. /5 #autistic
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Things You Need to Know About Autism - a thread for sharing.

I try to raise awareness, understanding and acceptance of #autistic people. Have a read and hopefully it will help.

#thread #autism

1. Autism has always existed, as far as we can tell. Any increase in the number of autistic people is due to better diagnosis and growing population. There are historic figures who display many autistic traits, such as Isaac Newton. #autism

2. Autism is not an illness or disease. It cannot be caught, nor does it appear to spontaneously happen. You are born autistic and you will die autistic - it is not 'curable'. #autism

3. Autistic people do not lack empathy, nor are we emotionless robots. We often struggle to communicate emotion, and we can have alexithymia, making identification of emotions hard, though. #autism

4. Autism affects the entire demographic - doesn't matter your gender, sexuality, age, class, skin colour, culture. Autism is a human condition. #autism
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Pete 'stay' Wharmby 'the fireplace'
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 't...
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How to help the #autistic people in your life get through Christmas - a practical thread of advice.

Please read and share!

(This is based on my own experiences of being autistic)

#autism #christmas

1. Give #autistic people an easy escape route they know they can take without judgement - knowing you can dash off to recharge without being questioned can help so much!

2. Don't play Christmas music really loudly around the house. No one needs that anyway but if you must, make it not too intrusive as it can be difficult for #autistic people to handle. Christmas music is *so* 'busy'!

3. Don't expect clear and unambiguous response to Christmas presents when opened. Many #autistic people struggle to show the appropriate emotional reaction, and are also terrified of making you feel bad. We show appreciation in our own way.

4. Don't forget #autistic friends and relatives may not be as excited about meeting up with family members as you are. There is likely a lot of anxiety there, especially this year. Be mindful of this and don't force it.
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@commaficionado
Autistic behaviours that are generally discriminated against, despite being harmless and just how we are.

A thread🧵

1. Stimming - repetitive physical movement to help regulate our stress levels. They feel nice and are really helpful but people seem to hate to see it. #autism

2. No eye contact. We generally find this too intimate and intense, and will avoid. It can even cause pain if forced. But people don't trust us even though we inform them we're autistic. #autism

3. Sitting in 'odd' positions. We're often very bendable - remember Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a common comorbidity - and loads of feel more comfortable in slightly contorted positions. People always comment 'you can't be comfy like that'.

Yes. Yes I can. #autism

4. Stammering when excited. We can get so passionate about some subjects that we struggle to get the words out as they all get caught in the annoying bottleneck of actually having to leave our mouths. But it irritates people, makes them assume we're somehow lesser. #autism
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