Take A Walk In Our Shoes

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Take A Walk In Our Shoes

• Wendy Lawson
• Bss Bsw(Hons) Gdip(PsychStud) Gdip(Psych)

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As a small child

• Considered to be intellectually disabled
• Went to main stream schools
• Loved to run freely around the playground and
  class room
• Unaware of others
• Not connected to the world going on around me

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Family life

• Unaware of siblings
• Scared of sudden noise
• Scared of thunder storms but intrigued by them
• Loved to play in the garden with the gravel
• Loved the seaside

Bit of an escape artist!
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Primary School

• Found school very confusing
• Didnt understand the rules
• Didnt relate to the other children
• Didnt like the games or the social activities
• Slow to read
• Couldnt keep up with the expected pace of
  learning.

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Diet

• Ate only specific and favoured foods
• Quite limited diet and very particular. Made
  eating out or with others very difficult because
  I ate at certain times, in certain places, from
  certain crockery and only specific food items eg.
  Potatoes, beans, cheese, bananas apples.

FOR MORE INFO...
See the Autism research on diet from Paul
Shattock of The University of Sunderland
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Sleeping

• I was always a poor sleeper.
• I found it difficult to get off to sleep
• I also found it difficult to stay asleep
• If I manage 4 hours sleep a night without
  disturbance, Im doing well!

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Teenage Years

• Began to recognise that I was different
• Beginnings of despair
• Started to form over attachments
• Obsessive behaviours increased
• Sent off to the Guides and Youth Group
• Obsessed about earning badges, but couldnt form
  friendships
• Age 17yrs. first attempt at suicide
• Beginning of history with the mental health
  system!

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Delayed development

• primary school detached
• Secondary School over attached

School was a nightmare and I lived with constant
fear. This lead to my having an upset tummy
fairly often.
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Emotions

• Most of my life I feel like an onlooker
• Difficulty defining which emotion Im feeling
• OK with clearly defined emotions (happy, angry,
  sad) but difficulties occur with the in-between
  emotions
• E.g. frustration
• Either excited or enthusiastic a bit wearing on
  other people

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Behaviour

• Self-talk, talking out loud, finger flapping
• All help me to make sense of the world/feel OK
• Pacing up and down/panic attacks frequent
  occurrence. Less likely if I am prepared and
  informed or/and feel secure
• Need to feel soft material, spin objects, fix on
  coloured or reflecting lights, rock myself, suck
  the roof of my mouth (less often now as an adult)
• Comes from strong need to feel in control

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Sensation

• Very sensitive to light, sound, touch and texture
• Have learnt how to use shades, ear plugs, avoid
  people in social situations, and tend towards
  wearing non-scratchy cotton clothing
• Need TV and/or radio to be on low volume
• Quickly over loaded by lots of chatter (crowds in
  shopping centers etc)

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neuro-typical (non-autistic) experience

• Multi-channelling (or Polytropism (at the sensory
  level using several channels simultaneously, eg.
  Visual, auditory and spatial at the cognitive
  level having many interests simultaneously
  aroused).

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neuro-typical (non-autistic) experience

• Non-literalityunderstands incomplete sentences,
  incomplete concepts, metaphore and the
  non-literal sense of every day life. Reads a
  persons intention, context and the scale of the
  event.

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neuro-typical (non-autistic) experience

• Thinking in open pictures. This means being able
  to connect experiences, often visually, in an
  open and ongoing manner.
• This process informs awareness, aids the
  understanding of social cueing, helps with the
  sorting of priorities and appropriateness.

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neuro-typical Experience

• Social priorities. For example, social norms,
  rules, expectations and being sociable are seen
  as a priority. Helps with collating information
  about self, other and society. A tool used in
  social relating.

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neuro-typical experience

• Generalised learning. Having the ability to
  transfer skills, knowledge, and social
  understanding across differing situations.

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neuro-typical experience

• Limited issue with time and motion. Can
  appreciate length of time, timing and sequencing.
  Can negotiate stairs, personal space, crowds and
  so on.

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neuro-typical Experience

• Little issue with consequences.
• Is able to understand and predict outcomes.

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neuro-typical Experience

• Possesses a theory of mind. Understands the
  concept of other.

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Monotropism (single channelling). For example,
  only able to focus on one thing at any one time,
  or only comfortable with using one channel at any
  one time, such as the visual channel).
• Cognitively, only able to have one interest
  concurrent at any one time.

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Literality (or taking things literally).
• For example sentences, concepts, metaphor,
  simile, words, expressions).
• Situations and People

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Thinking in closed pictures
• not connecting ideas or concepts in an open and
  ongoing manner.
• hard to read others, anticipate needs, be
  spontaneous.
• hard to work/relate without schedules/refocus
  after interuption

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Non-social priorities (NSP). For example,
  preferred clothing versus fashion own company
  versus being with others.
• NSP can cause conflict of interest
  non-appreciation, or opposite, of appearance,
  hygiene, timing, tidyness and social niceties

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Non-generalised learning
• Not transferring social skills, or knowledge
  across differing situations.
• Difficulty with discernment, appropriateness,
  learning from mistakes/misadventure

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Issues with time and motion. Problems with
  sequencing, timing and/or motor coordination. In
  every day life social concepts, such as being
  prompt, being organised, being apt, being
  appropriate in conversation and being generally
  coordinated are difficult.
• only relate to own interest therefore difficult
  to share interest of other.

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Issues with predicting and/or understanding
  consequences.
• For example, not learning from mistakes. Having
  difficulty with forward thinking, and
  predicting outcomes. Might mean missing social
  cues, not comprehending importance of special
  occasions, finding the idea of Romance
  interesting but not necessary

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Cognitive Processes in autism

• Theory of Mind
• Understanding the concept of Other and Others
  wants, needs, desires, dreams, hurts and hearts
  can be difficult.
• Lots of empathy lacks and empathy gaps

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NT
ASD
other
interest
Highly focused Interests take precedence
Multiple diffuse interests
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Summary

• I am not multi-channeled so need to process
  things one at a time
• We will grow-up over time, but it takes us
  longer
• I need to learn concepts and strategies in order
  to understand and cope with every day life
• I work best within my passion/interest

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The Future

• Life on earth is but a moment caught within the
  crease of time,
• The seasons come and go again,
• You have your life, and I have mine. 
• The seed that's planted within the ground
• Cannot choose what to become.
• A potato, an apple or a rose for some. 
• However, for it to be the very best,
• It needs rich soil, not poor.
• The sun and the rains must come,
• To open that seeds door.
•  

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The Future

• I may be born to nourish others,
• I may delight the senses.
• I may grow tall,
• I may grow small,
• I may stay stunted beneath wire fences.
•  
• My future may not depend on my stock,
• So much as it does upon sources.
• Sources of warmth, sources of care
• I depend on the nurture to be for me there.

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The Future

• Then I can blossom and sing with the birds,
• Then I can grow my potential.
• So plant me in goodness and all that is fine,
• Please keep the intruders away.
• Give me a chance to develop, in time,
• To become who I am, in life's future, one day!
  
•  

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Resources

• www.mugsy.org/wendy
• Friendships The Aspie way
• ASPoetry Illustrations from an Aspie Life
• Sex, Sexuality and The Autism Spectrum
• Build Your Own Life..
• Understanding and working with the spectrum of
  autism
• Life behind glass
• Order these books other resources from
• Your national autism society
• Good Book Shops
• .www.jkp.com

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• Wendys email address
• Lawson_wendy_at_hotmail.com
• wenbe_at_bigpond.com