AUTISM NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2019 COMMENT

Autistic and funny with it Comedian Hannah Gadsby - how an autism diagnosis changed her life More

At home with autism Why do so many parents home-school their children with autism? Ofsted’s recent report says that special educational needs, medical, behavioural or other well-being needs were the main reasons behind such a move for parents and their children More

Autistic mother and daughter “She’s still the same girl she was before she got diagnosed,” I said, tears dripping down my face. “And I’m still the same woman you married, too.” More

Autism at work Our brains don’t all work the same way. One New York-based software company sees that as a competitive advantage. More

Need is different from want "My eldest autistic son lives with daily and debilitating levels of anxiety, most probably on account of engaging with an intolerable and inflexible neurotypical world which bombards him endlessly with noise and communication that is not easy for him to decipher." Read about the need for self-regulation activities and the dangers of using them as rewards. More

Order, order! Structure and security are important to all people.  They  are basic human needs. But being autistic often means that these needs are even more critical. More

Cost of camouflaging "Masking or camouflaging is something just about everybody does on a daily basis. Depending on where you are or who you are with, you act a certain way. People with autism have to do this on a much deeper level. We live in a world that was not designed for us, so we learn to 'hide' the things that make us seem different." More

Picture power SymbolWorld is a website created by Widgit Software specifically for symbol users. It has material for all ages and includes news, personal contributions, stories and learning materials. More

Which way with PDA? The Pathological Demand Avoidance profile of autism might need an adapted approach and a different set of tools. More

Seeing sound, hearing colours What can synaesthesia tell us about autism? More

Story of autism and art Kambel Smith was diagnosed with autism when he was eight years old. Over the past ten years, his father has engaged him in daily improvised storytelling, encouraging Smith to participate in the created narrative by making drawings and sculpture. The results are visible in galleries around the globe. More