Access4Success Disability Service

What is Autism?

Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a term to characterize a range of conditions that cause challenges to an individual's social skills, behaviours, speech, and nonverbal communication. ASD is a spectrum condition in that there is no "specific type" of Autism but a wide variety of conditions. 

How can I support learners with Autism?

Because Autism is a spectrum condition, there are many different ways that an individual requires support. Some may be high functioning and require little to no input from staff or support services. Others may require more hands-on support. Here are just some of the things you can implement to support these learners:

• Be consistent with your directives, events or activities. Don't keep changing dates/times.
• Build a rapport with the learner so they are more comfortable in both the class environment and with their peers.
• Be aware of sensory issues in the environment that could cause distress to the learner (such as loud or repetitive noises, too bright, smell and so on).
• Avoid large crowded spaces and discuss the learner's boundaries and their preferred amount of personal space to ensure they are comfortable.

I have further questions...

Please get in touch with our Access4Success team. We would be happy to support you. You can find our details on the Contact Us page of this guide.