Published on 12, July, 2020
As part of my new job as a support worker, caring for adults with challenging behaviour. I am being sent on several one day training courses.
This week I was on a safeguarding course. Dealing with keeping vulnerable adults safe from abuse, neglect, exploitation etc.
Halfway through we were asked what we knew about autism. I kept my mouth shut. But a couple said that they had experience with Autistic people. And explained that autistics like to stick to routines. One gave an example of an autistic who walked along the same route everyday for 16 years. The class had a giggle.
That's how we autistics are seen by the NTs.
Hi there, thanks for taking the time to address this. First of all, many congrats on your new job as a support worker. The courses can be very beneficial and informative I can imagine. It is always going to be a complicated topic because how each person perceives autism will be different. To be fair, it isn't just autistic people who stick to routines or like things in order. I have pretty much walked a same route for many years and I'm sure to some extent others have as well probably without realising.
Hopefully, the class can see the bigger picture of safeguarding and autism. Because, to them their initial response is to laugh or portray as being 'odd'. Fingers crossed, there was something positive to take from it.