Blog: Autism Acceptance Week – Sabrina Gant

As we enter the week of the BIAZA World Autism Awareness Campaign, Sabina Gant, Crawley Borough Council (which covers Tilgate Nature Centre) writes about autism and what zoo educators can do.

Last year Tilgate Nature Centre hosted the South East Regional Zoo Educators conference and I was honoured to present a session on Special Educational Needs (SEN). So, I have been asked to write something for Autism Acceptance Week.

Autism relates to communication but is often found alongside sensory processing difficulties. It’s also common for people with autism to have other conditions such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, hypermobility, learning difficulties, epilepsy, developmental delay and more.

Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism. No one grows out of it, instead over many years, everyone learns and refines coping mechanisms to interact with the world around them. If you have had the chance to watch Chris Packham’s documentary on BBC2 recently you will see that this takes a huge and often unsustainable effort, so making some small adjustments, which cost us nothing, can make an immeasurable difference to the person who needs it most. For Zoo Educators;

Stimuli – reducing exposure to, or preparing the person for, stimuli

• avoid busy graphics/videos, poster backgrounds.
• avoid serif fonts on white backgrounds (off white is ideal).
• avoid background noise where possible.
• avoid unexpected smells where possible.
• offer but don’t insist on touch sensations.
• tolerate stimming (rocking/flapping/fidgeting, etc).

Language – keep it simple but don’t patronise.

• address the individual, even if their carer eventually answers for them.
• saying less and speaking at a slower pace, pause for the information to settle.
• giving extra thinking time to answer questions.
• remember that we listen with our ears, not our eyes, so it is OK if someone can’t watch the talk. They might be listening intently.
• remember that jokes don’t always mean the same thing if you understand language differently.

I am no expert, just a mum with a daughter who has multiple diagnosis including autism. Every person is affected so differently, which is why they say that if you’ve met one person with autism, then you’ve only met one person with autism.

Here’s a poem I wrote some years ago about my youngest daughter Amy, through the eyes of my older children. I hope it gives you some insight into how different her normal life is for us and how animals, pictures, extra time, patience and most of all tolerance, can go a long way to meeting the needs of people with autism.

My little sister Amy looks like our family,
But she needs extra help and she thinks quite differently.

We consider her to be our little’un, just one of us,
Although when things aren’t her way she makes a great big fuss.

She doesn’t understand what we call social interaction,
And those imaginary friends of hers provide a good distraction.

Expression she finds tricky, in your face or in your voice,
You’re either happy or you’re sad, she’s no need to think twice.

Amy loves tickles and to her everything’s a joke,
Even when she’s getting glares from mean unfriendly folk.

She hurts other people and then she thinks it’s really funny,
But when you’re cross and tell her off she doesn’t seem to worry.

People think she’s naughty and needs a ticking off,
Amy’s world is difficult and those people make it tough.

Give love and hugs when she’s a pain, be someone who is strong,
Patience when she’s feeling stressed means her anger won’t last long.

She remembers lots of things, you would be impressed,
You may then wonder why she has trouble getting dressed.

Washing hair and brushing teeth is a big ordeal,
As are speech and language or just having a family meal.

She wears a nappy and toilet training is a quite long haul,
And when she’s wet and mum gets cross Amy puts up her stone wall.

Amy quickly loses interest with doing arts and crafts,
What’s the point, it has no place, in her world art is daft.

She enjoys the company of animals and playing with small world,
It’s proving quite productive, it’s when her life unfurls.

You can ask her a small question, she might pause and think,
Then carries on ignoring you not stopping to blink.

I think that she’s just staring, not learning a thing,
Then later when I’m stuck, she likes to fill me in.

Using pictures helps her understand instructions and procedure,
It means we don’t have to fight or make her feel a failure.

She likes to have some warning when things are going to change,
To her the plan is always set, she hates it when it’s strange.

She was late to learn walking, now has a bit of a gait,
We’re just glad she’s doing it, never mind if it’s not straight.

When you’ve got her attention, she might not look you in the eye,
Just keep on interacting with her, don’t bother asking why.

Repeating things to Amy in a different way each time,
Helps her understand it when she’s having thinking time.

We have misunderstandings, it gets Amy in a flap,
It’s not her fault, it’s all of us that have to take the slack.

Waking up at night she roams around and about,
Watching telly and DVDs, it’s sleep she does without.

Stairs are very frightening if someone else is there,
She thinks she might fall down them if anyone is near.

She scripts what she says, like a fake conversation,
It’s when she’s having trouble with using imagination.

Amy loves to give friends really overbearing cuddles,
But pushes them away when they invade her bubble.

She’s a really loving person, I like to think she’s fine,
Until I start resenting her taking up all mummy’s time.

Life seems to pass her by and she doesn’t really care,
One day she’ll choose to show us her incredible niche flare.

Doctors say she’s clever, she’s on the great Autistic Spectrum,
It means that Amy’s life will always be a different rhythm.

Autistic Spectrum Disorder, for short it’s ASD,
To me she’s little sister Amy with her Unique Normality.

Sabrina Gant

Parks and Business Development Manager

Crawley Borough Council

All blogs reflect the views of their author and are not a reflection of BIAZA's positions.