How can we support autistic children and young people?
Autistic researcher and author Kieran Rose (The Autistic Advocate) foregrounds how practice with autistic children and young people can promote their self-acceptance, agency, autonomy and thus creating the safety for them to be their authentic selves.
Talking points
- Dr Luke Beardon’s (2019) golden equation ‘autism + environment = outcome’ and the importance of changing the environment rather than asking a child or young person to change.
- Expanding our definitions of ‘environments’.
- Working collaboratively and in a child or young person-centred way to ensure reasonable adjustments are individualised and meet their needs.
- Kieran’s Advoc8 Framework which gives 4 key objectives of practice and 8 pillars which support this.
Length: 13 minutes
Reflective questions
These are questions which Kieran includes in this film. Consider a child or young person you are currently working with:
- Do the needs and expectations of the people in their lives and/or systems (such as health, education, social care) align with what the young person needs?
- Do we understand the child or young person’s monotropic attention, communication and behaviour as well as the sensory processes that underpin them?
- Do we know which potential co-occurring conditions the young person experiences? How do they affect them? How do they affect how we perceive and treat them?
You could use these questions in a reflective session or talk to a colleague. You can save your reflections and access these in the Research in Practice Your CPD area.
Resources that are mentioned in this video
Related resources
- A guide to neurodiversity in the early years (Anna Freud Centre).
- For Young People: What Is Autism? - Live Session and Q&A Recording (by Spectrum Gaming).
- Autism Understood’s website – co-produced information by and for autistic children and young people which serves to promote self-acceptance and self-knowledge.
Part of Understanding autism to support autistic children and young people - a neurodiversity approach: Video learning resources.