It is important that people understand you and treat you like a human being so let them know how things are for you!
Over at the NAS (National Autistic Society) there's a new self-advocacy booklet ready to download and fill in when you like.
Fill it in, with someone to help if you like, and let people understand how you learn. Something which is very important in life so help others to help you!
Self-Advocacy Booklet
Thursday 7 April 2011
Heavy Workload
All the excitement of starting university (and all the overwhelming feelings) are beginning to pass and your new life is underway...
...but with a few too many things to do!
essays which are thousands of words long, presentations in front of loads of people and even placements in new unknown places!
First question, do you have a mentor?
At university you can have a mentor if you get assessed for a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) so there can be someone there to help you manage your time.
Who is your Tutor?
All students disabled or not have an academic tutor (in the subject you are studying) and just ask your lecturers and they can point you in the direction of your tutor. If you need extra time or need a clearer idea of what you need to do then your tutor can help.
Friends?
Ok, can sound like a daft question for someone with autism and many of you may be going "I have no friends" but people on your course or people you live with are happy to help even if you've never spoken to them. Walking up to one of them and saying "help me" might not be the best introduction but asking them "do you know what we have to do for this assignment?" is a pretty good start.
Still stuck?
Making plans of what you can do or doing something else for a while can help put things into perspective and remember to look at the little tasks before the big ones. Getting 100words written out of 1500 is a good start and that's what you should aim for.
Good luck and remeber - don't panic
...but with a few too many things to do!
essays which are thousands of words long, presentations in front of loads of people and even placements in new unknown places!
First question, do you have a mentor?
At university you can have a mentor if you get assessed for a Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) so there can be someone there to help you manage your time.
Who is your Tutor?
All students disabled or not have an academic tutor (in the subject you are studying) and just ask your lecturers and they can point you in the direction of your tutor. If you need extra time or need a clearer idea of what you need to do then your tutor can help.
Friends?
Ok, can sound like a daft question for someone with autism and many of you may be going "I have no friends" but people on your course or people you live with are happy to help even if you've never spoken to them. Walking up to one of them and saying "help me" might not be the best introduction but asking them "do you know what we have to do for this assignment?" is a pretty good start.
Still stuck?
Making plans of what you can do or doing something else for a while can help put things into perspective and remember to look at the little tasks before the big ones. Getting 100words written out of 1500 is a good start and that's what you should aim for.
Good luck and remeber - don't panic
Thursday 25 November 2010
Is University Worth it?
With all these articles about things going wrong it can seem that university is something to stay well away from.
University can be an amazing place to learn and to work and there are universities which, when a major issues happens, are ready to work through it properly but there are universities which are unable to work through issues because they are all asking the big question; “does this affect our duty of care?”
All universities have a duty of care for staff and students and if they feel that a student is a danger to themselves (like suicide and self-harm) or others then they can refuse the student access to a course or even tell them to leave the course.
With autism, especially those of us who are older, we have been diagnosed only after a serious issue such as self-harming or aggressive behaviour but you can still go to university.
Really make sure that the university knows how to work with people who have autism by talking to them at the open days. Keep your disability worker up to date with what is going on and make sure you have someone to go to when things go wrong.
So is university worth it?
The answer is the same for every person autism or not; if you like the course, want or need to study, and feel ready to move to a new school then yes! University is only a problem if people aren’t paying attention and understanding what autism is which is rare so don’t let that change your mind about what you want to do.
University can be an amazing place to learn and to work and there are universities which, when a major issues happens, are ready to work through it properly but there are universities which are unable to work through issues because they are all asking the big question; “does this affect our duty of care?”
All universities have a duty of care for staff and students and if they feel that a student is a danger to themselves (like suicide and self-harm) or others then they can refuse the student access to a course or even tell them to leave the course.
With autism, especially those of us who are older, we have been diagnosed only after a serious issue such as self-harming or aggressive behaviour but you can still go to university.
Really make sure that the university knows how to work with people who have autism by talking to them at the open days. Keep your disability worker up to date with what is going on and make sure you have someone to go to when things go wrong.
So is university worth it?
The answer is the same for every person autism or not; if you like the course, want or need to study, and feel ready to move to a new school then yes! University is only a problem if people aren’t paying attention and understanding what autism is which is rare so don’t let that change your mind about what you want to do.
Am I a Danger to Someone?
With autism there are communication problems, with autism there are difficulties with imagination and with autism there can be behaviour issues but we can manage them…right?
We can come across as abrasive, rude, demanding and people don’t like that. When there are conversations we butt in or don’t talk to people for hours so we can seem self-centred. When conversations end and people are going home we still don’t know whether we are meant to walk with them or leave so they think we are following them. But does that mean we are dangerous? They can certainly believe so.
But in reality we’re not dangerous but because someone believes it they complain and decide that you are some kind of monster when all you wanted to do was help.
Autism is easy to understand…well actually it’s not, and reading the quick guide off the National Autistic Society’s web page doesn’t mean you know all there is to know about the student but schools and businesses alike think they do and just because they don’t understand will mean they won’t try to understand and because they haven’t tried…they refuse you admittance to the course.
What one person with autism does is not what another person with autism will do because autism is a spectrum, from high-functioning to low-functioning, from speaking to crowds to spending their time alone in their room.
When someone says that you could be a danger to other people and you have no history of violence then they should think again! Just because someone has behaviour issues does not make them a monster and it is disability discrimination if they say so!
Make sure support workers and other people are made aware of what is being said about you and deal with this comment before decisions are made using it!
This is bullying and cruelty and should be stopped! Ignorance is no reason to make someone else’s life hell.
We can come across as abrasive, rude, demanding and people don’t like that. When there are conversations we butt in or don’t talk to people for hours so we can seem self-centred. When conversations end and people are going home we still don’t know whether we are meant to walk with them or leave so they think we are following them. But does that mean we are dangerous? They can certainly believe so.
But in reality we’re not dangerous but because someone believes it they complain and decide that you are some kind of monster when all you wanted to do was help.
Autism is easy to understand…well actually it’s not, and reading the quick guide off the National Autistic Society’s web page doesn’t mean you know all there is to know about the student but schools and businesses alike think they do and just because they don’t understand will mean they won’t try to understand and because they haven’t tried…they refuse you admittance to the course.
What one person with autism does is not what another person with autism will do because autism is a spectrum, from high-functioning to low-functioning, from speaking to crowds to spending their time alone in their room.
When someone says that you could be a danger to other people and you have no history of violence then they should think again! Just because someone has behaviour issues does not make them a monster and it is disability discrimination if they say so!
Make sure support workers and other people are made aware of what is being said about you and deal with this comment before decisions are made using it!
This is bullying and cruelty and should be stopped! Ignorance is no reason to make someone else’s life hell.
Thursday 11 November 2010
Difficult Decisions
Making decisions is a hard thing, especially when it involves a big change. Renting a house, picking which university you are going to, buying something expensive are all things which require a lot of thought and brings about big changes.
You worry that you aren’t making the right decision, that doing this could potentially ruin your life but that’s not the case. Sometimes making big moves makes things better and with all the planning and thinking you do around this decision means that you are less likely to be making a poor decision.
There is always stress as you wait for confirmation of your rent, university place or order but you have to remember that there is nothing you can do until it arrives or you move. Nearly all the time you are happy with your decision but only after you see the outcome. Have faith in yourself to make these decisions and see them through, they may be worth more than you ever imagined!
The most important thing to know is that you aren’t going to be punished for making the ‘wrong’ decision and there are always other options if you don’t like what you get.
You worry that you aren’t making the right decision, that doing this could potentially ruin your life but that’s not the case. Sometimes making big moves makes things better and with all the planning and thinking you do around this decision means that you are less likely to be making a poor decision.
There is always stress as you wait for confirmation of your rent, university place or order but you have to remember that there is nothing you can do until it arrives or you move. Nearly all the time you are happy with your decision but only after you see the outcome. Have faith in yourself to make these decisions and see them through, they may be worth more than you ever imagined!
The most important thing to know is that you aren’t going to be punished for making the ‘wrong’ decision and there are always other options if you don’t like what you get.
Wednesday 10 November 2010
Communication Error!
Help!
You’re in a meeting with a disability officer and some high up person and they’re concerned about an email you sent. They say it was inappropriate, in-sighted student to rebel, was insulting or something along those lines!
Of course you cry, look at them in disbelief and are unable to say anything but just because the meeting is over doesn’t mean you have missed your chance to tell them what happened!
Communication errors happen all the time when you have autism, whether it be in a meeting, over the phone, by text, letter or email. We wouldn’t be autistic if we didn’t!
You’re a nice person and hate to get into fights, just staying out the way so people don’t shout at you is how you want it to be but now you’re being treated like a bully or serious troublemaker!
With autism we use phrases which we pick up, not that we understand them, and that is where things go wrong.
What we might think is a good way to end an email may actually be something else entirely and phrases which we think are a common way to greet someone is actually an insult!
These people in this meeting need to know it and should know it especially if you are registered with the university as having autism but sadly people just don’t pay attention and decide things without looking at the facts. If it’s something they wouldn’t do then they assume that it’s something no one should do but we’re all different!
Talk to your disability officer, I doubt you want to see that high up person again (they weren’t nice) and make sure they understand what you were trying to say.
At university there’s all these big words and complex sentences which we don’t understand but we get the gist. It’s transferring those big words and complex sentences into essays and emails that we don’t get right and the university should know this.
Just make sure you let the right people know and tell someone because otherwise the university will be happy to label you as a troublemaker for their own mistake!
Also if you're worried about this happening to you or just want to be careful, tell you disability officer and work with them on how to write emails and such. They can do this for you!
You’re in a meeting with a disability officer and some high up person and they’re concerned about an email you sent. They say it was inappropriate, in-sighted student to rebel, was insulting or something along those lines!
Of course you cry, look at them in disbelief and are unable to say anything but just because the meeting is over doesn’t mean you have missed your chance to tell them what happened!
Communication errors happen all the time when you have autism, whether it be in a meeting, over the phone, by text, letter or email. We wouldn’t be autistic if we didn’t!
You’re a nice person and hate to get into fights, just staying out the way so people don’t shout at you is how you want it to be but now you’re being treated like a bully or serious troublemaker!
With autism we use phrases which we pick up, not that we understand them, and that is where things go wrong.
What we might think is a good way to end an email may actually be something else entirely and phrases which we think are a common way to greet someone is actually an insult!
These people in this meeting need to know it and should know it especially if you are registered with the university as having autism but sadly people just don’t pay attention and decide things without looking at the facts. If it’s something they wouldn’t do then they assume that it’s something no one should do but we’re all different!
Talk to your disability officer, I doubt you want to see that high up person again (they weren’t nice) and make sure they understand what you were trying to say.
At university there’s all these big words and complex sentences which we don’t understand but we get the gist. It’s transferring those big words and complex sentences into essays and emails that we don’t get right and the university should know this.
Just make sure you let the right people know and tell someone because otherwise the university will be happy to label you as a troublemaker for their own mistake!
Also if you're worried about this happening to you or just want to be careful, tell you disability officer and work with them on how to write emails and such. They can do this for you!
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