Difference

No two people are the same. We’re all different.

People see the world in different ways...

How many legs has an elephant?

Moving or still?

What does this say?

Everyone has a different way of seeing the world. All this goes to show that... Everyone has a different way of seeing the world.

What do all these people have in common? Van Gough Mozart Bill Gates Beethoven Albert Einstein Florence Nightingale Stephen Wiltshire

They have autism Is a condition that people are born with. It is a lifelong condition.

What does having autism mean? You use different parts of the brain to think and solve problems with. The parts of the brain that were used by someone with out Aspergers syndrome when asked to look at peoples faces The parts of the brain that were used by someone with Aspergers syndrome when asked to look at peoples faces

Because of this people with autism are very good at….. Thinking of unique ideas. Taking rules seriously. Accepting people as they are. Enjoying time alone. Remembering facts and detail. Having special strengths.

But they may find some things difficult such as: Communicating Understanding social situations Change Heightened Senses

Communicating If what people said to you didn’t make any sense at all. Imagine . . . If what people said to you didn’t make any sense at all.

Understanding social situations Imagine if you could not. . . Understand how people feel Understand or remember the ‘rules’ about being with other people.

Change Imagine if… If you had an interest that filled your thoughts all the time so you could not think about any thing else? If your mind was so full of ideas, that you could not choose? You couldn’t imagine something unless you had seen or experienced it?

Heightened Senses Imagine if you were VERY sensitive to... Light Sound Smell Taste Touch What would it be like?

Copyright of Dudley Autism Outreach Service How would you feel if you were lost in a foreign country? That is what going to school can feel like for some children with Asperger’s syndrome. Everybody else seems to share the same language, and know what to do but often they don’t understand or know what to do. Copyright of Dudley Autism Outreach Service

How to help... Check that I understand what you mean. Give me time to reply. Give one instruction at a time. Don’t shout. Be patient. Accept that I’m different not weird or crazy. Don’t be mean.

A final thought... Having autism doesn’t mean you aren’t clever. Einstein (thought to be one of the most clever people to ever live) was probably on the Spectrum. In the words of a young person with autism you might think that I am alien to you, but you are equally alien to me.