The Autism Society Event and Education Recordings Archive

Explore activities designed to help peers, staff, family and community members understand the experience of ASDs. Activities simulate what the world might be like for individuals with an ASD. Activities are followed by discussion of how they can be used to help create more open and compassionate classrooms and communities The social skills of individuals on the autism spectrum are often targeted in their educational and treatment plans, from early childhood, sometimes through adulthood. But social skills are not performed in isolation. By definition, social skills involve more than just the person on the spectrum. Yet that is often where the focus of treatment and change is aimed. And why do we all try to teach social skills to individuals on the spectrum? We would assume, and know it to be true for ourselves, that we do so in order that they can participate more fully and meaningfully with others in relationship. True relationship requires understanding and acceptance of our partner. It seems to us, then, that helping others better understand the experience of individuals with ASD can only make their application of whatever social skills they have easier and more effective in establishing, building and maintaining relationships.

It is our hope that through the education and learning set out in this presentation, we can help you create a more open and accepting environment for all children, adolescents and adults, especially those with autism. If we truly want individuals with autism to know and be accepted, we have an obligation to teach their peers how to have successful relationships with them and to give them accurate information about how individuals with an ASD perceive and experience the world. The benefits of this type of teaching far surpass the individual relationship a “typical” individual may have with one who has autism. Since these peers will be the future teachers, bosses, neighbors, parents and family members of individuals with autism, the compassion, understanding and accomodation skills they learn will have lifelong positive effects for all of us.

Regardless of the age and/or level of challenge experienced by an individual with autism or the structure of service delivery; there will undoubtedly be a need to teach the people surrounding that person about who he or she is in order that they can be appropriately responsive to his/her needs educationally, emotionally, socially, communicatively, and spiritually. Our goal in this presentation is to provide the audience with a menu of teachings to help others learn about the unique ways in which individuals with autism experience this world. We have attempted to provide teachings that match a variety of learning styles and are appropriate for all ages of students. These sensitivity strategies have applicability in school settings as well as a variety of non-school settings such as vocational sites, adult living facilities, day care settings, neighborhood and community settings, and family groups.

Our greatest learnings on this topic have come directly from individuals who themselves experience an autism spectrum disorder. Therefore, we begin by offering you strategies in which individuals with autism “speak” for themselves. We describe and discuss a variety of ways a person with autism can provide information to their peers, either directly or indirectly.

Through listening to our friends and acquaintances who have autism, we have learned how vital true understanding is to their lives and learning. Thus, we also provide direct experiential activities for the audience. These activities are designed to increase peer awareness and dissipate the fear that so often serves as an obstacle to relationship development. Often in our work, there are questions as to how, when, where , and who should be included in these teachings and who should provide the teachings. Discussions following each activity will provide guidelines for making these decisions for participants.

Participants who attend this session can expect at least the following:

To develop an awareness of the general characteristics of autism spectrum disorders,

To experience a variety of activities designed to simulate the experiences reported by individuals on the autism spectrum,

To be able to identify activities that are most appropriate to help members in various settings better understand individuals on the autism spectrum,

To better understand for themselves the experience of individuals on the autism spectrum,

And to develop a perspective of compassion and acceptance of individuals on the autism spectrum and each other.

The presenters have written a book that outlines the philosophy behind the need for these sensitivity and awareness presentations and describes each in a way that participants can choose activities that will be most appropriate in creating more compassionate and accepting communities.

Content Area: Social Skills