What is Autism?
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, that affects how people communicate, process information and interact with the world. It is sometimes referred to as ASD- Autism Spectrum Disorder, however more recently following growing understanding of the workings of the human brain it is widely recognised that Autism is a condition, not a disorder.
Many children and adults are never diagnosed with the condition and live with out knowing they have the condition, however a proportion of children and adults are diagnosed with it and benefit from a variety of adaptions to help them to fulfil their full potential.
It is called a spectrum because no two autism children have exactly the same traits, in fact two children could be very different, one may be more reserved and have selective mutism whereby they do not talk, whilst another child may talk continuously and show no awareness of the person they are talking too.
How is it Diagnosed?
Where their are concerns around communication, social interactions, sensory processing and behaviour class teachers will liaise with both the relevant SENDCO and parents, sharing what sort of behaviours are displayed and what is in place to support. Following the early identification of SEND process (which can be found on the main SEND page) if it is felt that the needs of the child meet the criteria for a referral for an ASC assessment then parents and the class teachers complete a referral into the Single Point of Access (SPOA). For information on this process please see the information in the link below.
What Support with My Child Receive?
The answer to this very much depends on the needs of your child. If your child has been identified as a child with SEND then they will have a SEND Support Plan (SSP) in place, which will be shared with you. For more information about SSPs visit the main SEND page.
Some children require Quality First Teaching within the classroom and this is enough for them to succeed, make and keep friends, feel happy and make progress.
Some children may need additional support in addition to the QFT, such as sensory processing provision, friendship provision, social stories, comic strip conversations etc...
For other children, they may need intensive 1:1 support threaded through the day, and the advice from Autism Outreach. In a few cases children may need additional funding from the local authority in order for the school to fully address the barriers to learning.
Which ever level of need your child is at, this will always be explained so that you understand what support is in place and why.
For information about Sensory Processing please click on the link below.