School, blah... and I'm not even a kid

Billy's not looking forward to going back to school, and to be honest... I'm not looking forward to sending him.

He's at the best school in the universe. Truly, it's fabulous. It's brilliant. But for Billy, it's hell.

Too fast, too loud... school is a blur.

I tried to contextualise autism for his peers when he started last year. I'll share this, in the hope that it might help other families with mainstreamed ASD kids.

Print it, share it, use it (if it rings true to you)

Imagine if…

You had a bee buzzing around your head

And someone asked you to say the alphabet backwards

Imagine if…

You were in the middle of a really loud rock concert

And someone wanted you to name all your aunts and uncles

Imagine if…

You were wearing three pairs of gloves

And someone told you to eat a box of sultanas one by one

That’s what things are like for me, a lot of the time.

I’m autistic.

Your brain is like the inside of a computer, full of connections and wires

With messages to your body whizzing around telling you what to do

My brain looks the same as yours, except some connections work really well, and some work really differently.

And my brain wires can get crossed really easily.

So, if I’m doing something a bit funny looking… try not to laugh at me.

It’s just one of my brain connections clearing itself out.

And if I tell you something over and over… just ask me to stop repeating.

It’s just one of my wires plugged into the wrong socket.

And, if I freak out at some sound that you think is really normal… maybe help me get away from the sound.

It’s just because my ears have their own unique volume control.

And, if you think I’m ignoring you… I’m not.

I’m probably just focussed on something else, like a tiny spider on the ceiling on the other side of the room.

Autism is a different way of seeing the world.

And seeing things the way I see them is awesome, but it makes me really tired sometimes.

So, I might not always understand what’s going on.

And, I might need time by myself to think things through.

Or, I might crash or jump or swing for a while to straighten myself out

Don’t worry if I don’t always do things the way you do.

Try to imagine what it’s like inside my head, then you’ll see…

I’m not being rude

I’m not being naughty

I’m not sick

I’m autistic

And I’m just being me.