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A Note for Teachers

  • Facing History and Ourselves is an educational charity providing teaching resources to help young people develop as empathetic, critical thinkers, who understand the role they can play in shaping society for the better. We believe that civic agency is developed through intellectual rigour, emotional engagement and ethical reflection. Learn more about us on our website.

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  • This PowerPoint presentation has been created to be used in a KS3-4 or S1-4 assembly on World Autism Month.

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  • While you may need to modify this presentation to meet the needs of your students, please note that Facing History and Ourselves does not endorse your changes that alter the presentation's content or original layout.

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World Autism Month

Assembly

Facing History UK Assemblies

#Changestartswithme

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Essential Question

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What is World Autism Month and why does it matter?

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#Changestartswithme

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World Autism Month

What is World Autism Month and why does it matter?

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What is Autism Awareness Month?

  • World Autism Month occurs in the month of April and begins with World Autism Awareness Day, which takes place on 2 April.
  • The aim of the month is to increase an understanding and acceptance of people with autism, and to foster worldwide support.
  • The rainbow infinity symbol is used by autism rights advocates to symbolise the spectrum of neurodiversity, and to promote pride in neurodiversity.
  • Autism’s official name is Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  • The focus of this year’s month is #CelebrateDifferences – this highlights that we are all unique and our differences are of value.

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What is Autism?

  • Being autistic does not mean you have an illness or disease. It means your brain works in a different way from other people.
  • People with autism are described as neurodivergent.
  • Autism is a spectrum. This means everybody with autism is different: some autistic people need little or no support. Others may need daily help from a parent or carer.
  • Some autistic people may:
    • Find it hard to communicate and interact with other people;
    • Find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming or stressful;
    • Get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events;
    • Take longer to understand information;
    • Do or think the same things over and over;
    • Remember and process larger amounts of information than neurotypical children;
    • Have an ability to deeply focus on topics and to identify details others miss;
    • Develop strong interests in certain topics.

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NHS & UCL

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Watch the Video: ‘We Are Autistic’

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Watch the video ‘We Are Autistic’. As you watch, think about the following questions:

  1. What do you learn about the experiences of people with autism?
  2. What are the different ways in which people’s neurodivergence impacts their life?
  3. How have those with autism adapted to cope in a neurotypical world? What support do some of them need?
  4. What has this video taught you about autism?

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Play video

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Famous Autistic People

Anders Hellberg

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg

gdcgraphics

Actor

Anthony Hopkins

Rapper �Eminem

Brendan_linden

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Independent Reflection

  • Think about a situation in which someone treated you differently because of your communication style and/or how you perceived the world around you.
    • What happened in the situation?
    • How did it make you feel?
    • What, if anything, were the consequences?

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  • Think about a situation in which you treated someone differently because of their communication style and/or how they perceived the world around them.
    • What happened in the situation?
    • What prompted your behaviour?
    • What, if anything, were the consequences?

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Treatment of Autistic People in Schools

  • Young people with autism are at a greater risk of being bullied by their peers because of the different ways in which they communicate and process information;
  • According to a recent survey by Ambitious about Autism's Youth Council, 75% of autistic young people have experienced bullying and only half of young people said they felt safe at school;
  • Autistic pupils are also twice as likely to be excluded than their peers because their behaviour might be interpreted as naughty or disobedient, rather than as connected to their neurodivergence;
  • Young people with autism may be targeted and/or misunderstood due to the way that they communicate.

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What do you think can be done to ensure schools are welcoming and inclusive environments for people with autism? What can you do?

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“I have Aspergers and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And – given the right circumstances – being different is a superpower.”

Greta Thunberg

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Exit Ticket

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Take a moment to think about the following:

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It is important to learn about autism because _______________________________

________________________________________.

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People with autism may ______________ ________________________________________.

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I can help create an inclusive school environment for people with autism by

_________________________________________.�

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#Changestartswithme

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