Autism

What is Autism?

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and there are around 700,000 autistic adults and children in the UK.  Autism is a spectrum condition and affects people in different ways. Like all people, autistic people have their own strengths and weaknesses. Below is a list of difficulties autistic people may share, including the two key difficulties required for a diagnosis. (from NAS website www.autism.org.uk, April 2024)

Social communication and social interaction challenges


Social communication

Autistic people have difficulties with interpreting both verbal and non-verbal language like gestures or tone of voice. Some autistic people are unable to speak or have limited speech while other autistic people have very good language skills but struggle to understand sarcasm or tone of voice. Other challenges include:

Social interaction

Autistic people often have difficulty 'reading' other people - recognising or understanding others' feelings and intentions - and expressing their own emotions. This can make it very hard to navigate the social world. Autistic people may:

Repetitive and restrictive behaviour


With its unwritten rules, the world can seem a very unpredictable and confusing place to autistic people. This is why they often prefer to have routines so that they know what is going to happen. They may want to travel the same way to and from school or work, wear the same clothes or eat exactly the same food for breakfast. 


Autistic people may also repeat movements such as hand flapping, rocking or the repetitive use of an object such as twirling a pen or opening and closing a door. Autistic people often engage in these behaviours to help calm themselves when they are stressed or anxious, but many autistic people do it because they find it enjoyable. 


Change to routine can also be very distressing for autistic people and make them very anxious. It could be having to adjust to big events like Christmas or changing schools, facing uncertainty at work, or something simpler like a bus detour that can trigger their anxiety. 

Over- or under-sensitivity to sensory information


Autistic people may experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light, colours, temperatures or pain. For example, they may find certain background sounds like music in a restaurant, which other people ignore or block out, unbearably loud or distracting. This can cause anxiety or even physical pain. Many autistic people prefer not to hug due to discomfort, which can be misinterpreted as being cold and aloof.


Many autistic people avoid everyday situations because of their sensitivity issues. Schools, workplaces and shopping centres can be particularly overwhelming and cause sensory overload. There are many simple adjustments that can be made to make environments more autism-friendly. 

Highly focused interests or hobbies


Many autistic people have intense and highly focused interests, often from a fairly young age. These can change over time or be lifelong. Autistic people can become experts in their special interests and often like to share their knowledge. A stereotypical example is trains but that is one of many. Greta Thunberg's intense interest, for example, is protecting the environment.


Like all people, autistic people gain huge amounts of pleasure from pursuing their interests and see them as fundamental to their wellbeing and happiness.


Being highly focused helps many autistic people do well academically and in the workplace but they can also become so engrossed in particular topics or activities that they neglect other aspects of their lives. 

Extreme anxiety


Anxiety is a real difficulty for many autistic adults, particularly in social situations or when facing change. It can affect a person psychologically and physically and impact quality of life for autistic people and their families.  


It is very important that autistic people learn to recognise their triggers and find coping mechanisms to help reduce their anxiety. However, many autistic people have difficulty recognising and regulating their emotions. Over one third of autistic people have serious mental health issues and too many autistic people are being failed by mental health services. 

Meltdowns and shutdowns


When everything becomes too much for an autistic person, they can go into meltdown or shutdown. These are very intense and exhausting experiences.


A meltdown happens when someone becomes completely overwhelmed by their current situation and temporarily loses behavioural control.  This loss of control can be verbal (eg shouting, screaming, crying) or physical (eg kicking, lashing out, biting) or both. Meltdowns in children are often mistaken for temper tantrums and parents and their autistic children often experience hurtful comments and judgmental stares from less understanding members of the public. 


A shutdown appears less intense to the outside world but can be equally debilitating. Shutdowns are also a response to being overwhelmed, but may appear more passive - eg an autistic person going quiet or 'switching off'. One autistic woman described having a shutdown as: 'just as frustrating as a meltdown, because of not being able to figure out how to react how I want to, or not being able to react at all; there isn’t any ‘figuring out’ because the mind feels like it is past a state of being able to interpret.'

How do we support Autism needs at the Ridge Academy?

At The Ridge Academy we look at each child very much as an individual with individual needs. Autism doesn't fall into one singular profile, we use our experience and training to interpret a child's behaviour as communication of their underlying needs. We use routines and boundaries to guide pupils through their day, rewards are regular and often and consequences are agreed through Restorative Practices.

 All of our staff have training in Trauma Informed practices, Emotion coaching, Restorative practices, Sensory processing differences, Speech, Language and Communication Needs, Autism, ADHD, etc. and many other specific tools and strategies that allow us to create classrooms and approaches for our pupils to thrive.

Through our consistant boundaried approach we use fun and our most important tool our relationships to support our pupils with their needs allowing them to succeed in a safe space.

We use the following practices to support our children:

Routines, Boundaries and Structure:

“Reality to an autistic person is a confusing, interacting mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights... Set routines, times, particular routes and rituals all help to get order into an unbearably chaotic life. Trying to keep everything the same reduces some of the terrible fear.”  Jolliffe (1992) in Howlin (2004), p.137. 

The world can seem a very unpredictable and confusing place to autistic people, who often prefer to have a daily routine so that they know what is going to happen every day. They may want to always travel the same way to and from school, or eat exactly the same food for breakfast.  Rules can be very important for some autistic people.  It may be difficult for an autistic person to take a different approach to something once they have been taught the 'right' way to do it. 

Sometimes minor changes such as moving between two activities, can be distressing; for others big events like holidays, starting or changing school, moving house or Christmas, which create change and upheaval, can cause anxiety. 

Some autistic people have daily timetables so that they know what is going to happen, when. However, the need for routine and sameness can extend beyond this. You might see: 

People's dependence on routines can increase during times of change, stress or illness and may even become more dominant or elaborate at these times. 

Unexpected changes are often most difficult to deal with. Autistic people may not be comfortable with the idea of change, but may be able to manage it better if they can prepare for changes in advance.

Visual supports 

Visual supports are a communication tool that can be used with autistic people.  They can be used in most situations, are adaptable and portable. 

Visual supports can help to: 


They can make communication physical and consistent, rather than fleeting and inconsistent like spoken words can be. 

We use visual timetables in all the classes

Wherever possible we show the children photos of a new place (eg a new class, visit environment), person (eg a new support worker) or activity (eg swimming). Make a book of photos, or a collection of images on their device, so they can look at it before and during the change. 

We use visual supports to show the outcome of certain activities. For example, if you are going on holiday, just showing them a picture of an aeroplane may make them reluctant and nervous to go on a plane - they may not see the relevance of the plane. Show pictures of the whole process instead, including your destination. This will help them to understand the whole situation better. Reverse the series of pictures to show the return journey. 

On the day of the change a visual timetable can be useful to explain exactly what will be happening.