Marianne Rhodes – Student
I’m an autistic student, and I’m writing this to share with you some of my experiences, which, hopefully, could help you understand better how to support other autistic students who have similar experiences!
Following Vague Instructions:
One thing many autistic people struggle with is following vague instructions. This is due to our processing functions working differently to those of allistic (a term used by many in the autistic community, including me, as our preferred term for “non-autistic”) people. To use an example, let’s say you have the instruction “Put the plate over there.” This might sound perfectly simple to an allistic person, but to some autistic people, it is very difficult to follow because it is not specific enough.
This is one symptom of autism that (for me, at least) comes up most often in a classroom or homework setting. In an actual classroom, it can be easier, since I can ask the teacher to clarify the part which isn’t clear enough. However, when it comes to homework, that can be difficult due to not being able to talk to the teacher.
How You Can Help:
Teachers can support an autistic student who is struggling with this by ensuring that tasks are broken down into smaller parts. This helps because smaller parts are usually more specific and thus easier to understand.
Sensory Overstimulation:
Another thing some autistic students may struggle with is overstimulation in the classroom. This is because many autistic people have sensory issues, meaning that we experience certain senses differently from allistic people. For example, some autistic people have a negative reaction to bright lights, or loud noises.
In some cases, an autistic person may experience sensory overload. This is when the sensory responses are too much for us to handle. We may become temporarily non-verbal, or have what is sometimes called a “meltdown”. Sometimes it might look a little like a panic attack.
This can come up in a classroom setting in many different ways, as every autistic person has a different experience. Some may not experience any sensory differences at all!
How You Can Help:
Teachers can support an autistic student who has sensory processing differences by giving the student a space they can go to when they are overwhelmed.
In general, teachers can support autistic students in many ways, but a good first step is always speaking with the student you are trying to support, because every autistic person is different, and what may be useful for one autistic person might not work for another.
SB Pedagogy 