Views from Teacher, Practitioner and Autistic Adult

Teacher - We can teach our students how to be a good friend to people who think differently. We can talk about this and be explicit, giving clear examples not just of the external things like what bullying can look like, but also those internal and more hidden things around genuine connection and friendship.

Practitioner - The double empathy problem is about teaching students to understand different styles of communication. This can be done as a whole class, supporting all children to talk to each other and engage. This is where real inclusiveness comes from. It’s not just one sided, on the autistic students, but is a holistic approach. We also need to support autistic girls to find their neurodivergent peers and, with their consent, to allow them that opportunity to engage that way.

Autistic Adult - Interacting is mentally draining. At school I was often misunderstood as being defiant or insensitive. Most of the time, I was simply processing conversations differently. What came naturally to my peers, I struggled with. I spent a lot of energy trying to understand and process the words people were saying, the context they were being spoken in, the tone, facial expressions, physical gestures, and body language to even get close working out their feelings and intentions. At the same time, I had to formulate how I was feeling, and how I was going to reply. There were so many nonverbal cues that went over my head, and I am sure many of those led to many of my social struggles. I was very bright, but because of these hidden processing differences, many of my peers and teachers assumed that I had chosen to misinterpret conversations or not act what was socially acceptable. This was my hidden disability.