Cobbe Sarah - Simple autism strategies for home and school: practical tips, resources and poetry

Simple Autism
Strategies for
Home and School

Practical Tips, Resources
and Poetry

Sarah Cobbe

Foreword by Glenys Jones

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

Over the 70 years since autism was first mentioned in the literature, views on how it is understood have developed and changed in the light of research and discussion. Many interventions have been developed to address specific areas such as communication and social understanding or to develop understanding and skills more broadly. Research on what makes a difference to autistic children and adults and their families is difficult, not least because the autistic population is diverse and so what might help one child may not be suitable or appropriate for another. Sample sizes are often small and the research design, methods and outcomes measured often mean that results are inconclusive or not very helpful for a parent or teacher living with or working with a specific child (see the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Guidance, Clinical Guidance 170).

So, currently, parents and teaching staff rely mostly on their own judgement as to what is likely to help. This is based on their knowledge of the individual child concerned and their past experience, and expertise gained from their own reading or training. However, as parents and teaching staff have access to many different sources of information either from their own research online or from the literature and from the people involved with the child, what they receive in terms of knowledge and understanding is very varied. Some information may be useful but other ideas may be misleading or inaccurate, or not relevant to their child. So, this book is an excellent resource as the ideas within it have been developed over several years by the author in her work with autistic children and their families. Strategies which she has found effective at school and at home are described and further references given to related resources devised by others.

What is true is that the people who live and work with an autistic child or adult are the most important resource. How they understand and relate to the individual is key. What parents and teaching staff do in practice will be linked to how they view autism generally and what their main objectives are. Increasingly, parents and teaching staff are being urged to ask the autistic child or adult for their perspective on what might be helpful. This book fits well with this position. It sets out everyday dilemmas for parents and teaching staff at home and school and aims to illustrate the likely perspective of the autistic child. Suggestions are made as to why an autistic child might act differently from other children, using current understandings of autism with reference to the most recent diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5 , or DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association 2013) ( What we can learn ). A range of ideas is given on what might be helpful if the childs actions are deemed to be a barrier to further learning or when they affect other people adversely ( How we can help).

This book will be equally useful for parents and teaching staff alike as it has distinct and customised sections for both groups. That said, both groups would benefit from reading the whole book to consider the issues that might occur at home and at school and the strategies that might be helpful that can be used across both settings.

Sarah has worked as a teacher within special schools and as part of an autism advisory team, and was diagnosed herself, in adulthood, as being on the autism spectrum. In her youth, she also worked with autistic adults. In constructing and writing this book, she is therefore able to draw on her personal experience of being autistic and on her discussions with parents and staff, her own training, and her classroom practice. She has found poetry a useful way of capturing the perspective and dilemmas experienced by autistic children and adults and uses her own poems very effectively to introduce some of the key topics. A key strength of the book is the wealth of references that Sarah has included, directing the reader to specific chapters or sections related to the topic ( Where we can go next ) . Through these and the ideas suggested in this book, readers are likely to add to and modify their understanding of autism and the strategies they adopt, leading to more effective practice and better outcomes for all concerned.

Dr Glenys Jones, Autism Centre for Education
and Research, University of Birmingham

INTRODUCTION

In the midst of a perennial search for another important and misplaced piece of paper, my family recently discovered a booklet of poems that I wrote when I was 12 years old. While the poems were a poignant reminder of how I viewed friends and family as a young girl, they were also proof of a long-standing interest in writing about other people. Indeed, several decades have passed and Im still writing poems about people, but now most notably about people on the autism spectrum. Autism is a fascinating condition and has an undeniable draw. Once you experience autism whether thats personally or from a distance you cant let it go. There is just something about a child with autism that catches you unawares, that impels you to watch and wonder what she or he is thinking in that instant; its a fascination as powerful to me today as it was during my early experiences of autism.

My introduction to autism followed my university graduation in the late 1990s, starting with a job in the south of England supporting adults with autism in a residential home. It was a premier insight into some of the challenges and highlights of life on the autism spectrum and it left me with indelibly fond memories. The adults I worked with were remarkable people and will forever form the roots of my lifelong passion for improvement. For as much as Id like to think I have helped the hundreds of children, parents and professionals in the jobs that have followed, I know that they have helped me more. I can honestly say that my work has taught me more about human nature and my own capabilities than anything else to date. Certainly, my idea of what should be considered normal has changed over the years, in both academic and everyday contexts.

Children on the autism spectrum have a great deal to teach us and should never be underestimated. I believe the more we stop, look and listen to them, the more we appreciate the value of our own communications, relationships and aspirations. Unfortunately, those of you who already have links with autism will know that not everyone understands or appreciates this despite the growing awareness of its presence among us all. A recent survey by The National Autistic Society, for instance, reported that while 99.5 per cent of people in the UK had heard of autism, only 16 per cent of autistic people and their families felt that the general public understood its impact on behaviour (The National Autistic Society 2016). This goes some way to explaining the motivation for my book.

It is my intention to spread a little of my knowledge and experiences of life on the autism spectrum through poetry to give the reader a flavour of what this can be like and how to help. Poetry, Ill admit, may not seem like an obvious or practical place for us to start. Indeed, if your instinctive response to poetry stems from memories of indecipherable lessons at school, you might be thinking that it is too niche, abstract and intangible to address a condition as kaleidoscopic, real and tangible as autism that poetry couldnt possibly have scope to unpick the challenges currently playing out in your classroom or household. Bear with me. I think poetry does have relevance and I will try to explain why.