 10 years ago – 1 in 500 children diagnosed with autism  Today – 1 in 110 children  Risk is three to four times higher in boys than girls  Around 60% of new cases are boys

 Dr Leo Kanner introduced label ‘Early infantile autism’ into English language in 1943  Characterised by abnormal communication, abnormal social communication, ritualistic and stereotyped behaviour and resistance to change

 The cause of autism is unknown  Affects how a person’s brain works  Autism is a ‘spectrum disorder’ that not everyone with autism has the same problems

 Speech & language skills – skills may develop slowly or not at all  Communication – gestures rather than language  Repeating words that are heard  Non-verbal communication – difficulty in using gestures or facial expressions to convey meaning  Speech – unusual pitch and rhythm

 Attention – may prefer to be left alone/ not notice others  Fitting in – do not know how to conduct themselves/ relate to others  Peer group – may prefer company of adults/ older children  Eye contact  Facial expressions  Tactile sensitivity – can be very sensitive to touch  Self –control – emotion/ excitement

 Ritualistic behaviours e.g. spinning, rocking, staring  High anxiety state – intense anxiety or unusual lack of anxiety  Gait – unusual posture, walking or movement  Routines

 Stimulation processing – auditory and visual processing problems  Sensory stimulation – may have unusual sensitivities to sounds, sights, touch, tastes and smells.

 Designed to show how people with autism are bothered by things most people don’t notice  Work in groups of 5  Number yourselves 1 to 5  Keep changing roles so that everyone has a turn at being person no.1

 How did it feel to be have so much commotion going on?  Did it make you want to scream or get away?  Were you able to concentrate on the paragraph being read?  What might have helped?

V9Q

 An inability to imitate sounds, gestures and fine/ gross motor skills  An inability to focus on the task in hand  Difficulty working collaboratively  Difficulty with abstract ideas  Difficulty grasping concept of time and order of events

 Reward chart  Visual timetable  Home school book  A ‘special’ place to go  Transition booklet  Own place to sit/ place to work  Discussion of different events ahead of time

What are your experiences of working with children with autism? What provision have you seen? Any interventions?

 National Autistic Society National Autistic Society  Hesmondhalgh, M. & Breakey, C. ‘Access and Inclusion for Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders’  Horizon 10 programme ‘Living with Autism’