Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi
A few weeks ago my daughter, aged 14 was diagnosed with Autism.
Problem is I had to go private to achieve this diagnosis as I wasn't getting of the help I needed from our GP and her school are not trained to deal with Autistic children and I was convinced there was something wrong.
They used all the correct procedures to get the diagnosis and I am waiting on a report from them with the confirmation and everything they discovered through their assessments of my daughter.
Her life at school is either none existent as she refuses to go in (which now we know what we know, it isn't surprising) or if she goes in she has constant meltdowns and struggles tremendously.
Can anyone offer any advice to help her please? I am desperate as I am sure she needs to move schools, maybe to a special one but not sure what path to go down.
A few things might help. This is an amazing article https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/everyday-neurodiversity/202108/are-we-giving-autistic-children-ptsd-school?fbclid=IwAR0e6pwWeDC7C0c3EJAE1qdd9PyMyCqkgwIvTDEIxPKGBOV7Qn9hrgN5kI8
This company might be able to help https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk they might be able to advocate or have the right literature to present to the school for reasonable adjustments.
Ideally, can you allow your daughter to be in an environment where she enjoys and can focus on learning? This should be priority. It can take a good deal of time for a school to get the necessary individuals educated correctly on this matter.
The key points to recognise involve 1. Monotropism - an ability to connect into a flow-state / hyper-focus state. This can be harnessed and have an amazing impact. But equally, interruption can be like waking up a sleepwalker. As we mature we can become a little more civil regarding it, such as internalising or breathing through being interrupted. 2. Hyper-sensory awareness. A quick search will upend a great deal of senses - internal, external, psychological. We don't seem to be able to filter them like our non-autistic peers. 3. Being wildly misunderstood and misrepresented.
All of these are impacted at a school in a social environment where we are a mismatch for modern society. This chap has an incredible way of showing our potential autcollab.org/.../