This week is Autism Awareness Week in the lead up to World Autism Day on the 2nd of April. At Activ Camps we aim to make all children feel welcome and included and are constantly improving our knowledge in order to do so.
Here are just a few tips from the National Autistic Society to help our staff and you make a difference to an individual living with Autism:
- “Be aware of personal space. An autistic person may have sensitivity to touch and even the experience of someone lightly brushing past them can be overwhelming for them”*
- “Be aware of sensory needs. It may not be a question of rudeness if someone needs to move seats or open a window; it may be that a particular smell, visual stimulus, or noise is overstimulating them”*
- “Take an interest. Invite them to join in as much as they feel they want to. And if they’re struggling, just offer some support. A little really can go a long way”*
Autism affects 1 in 68 children* so is actually more common than many people think. There are some truly inspiring stories of children living with Autism accomplishing amazing things such as Callum, an eight year old boy with an “above average” reading ability. Read all about him here. If you enjoyed reading his story, there are plenty more wonderful articles from Autistic people explaining how their illness impacts their lives. See www.autistica.org.uk/ for some more real life stories.
If you would like to get involved this week in raising awareness in your community, jump online to the NAS page for more information!
References:
* http://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/tmi/top-tips.aspx
*https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/facts-about-autism