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Psych2Go
32
S.E.E.P
AUTISM SPECTRUM
EDUCATING EARLY
By: Sheena Mackenzie
S.E.E.P. (Special, Exceptional, Extraordinary People)
To those unfamiliar with Autistic
Spectrum Disorders (ASD), our ideas
about what it really is are shaped by
representations in popular culture,
and perhaps the two most prominent
examples are the film ‘Rain Man’ and
Jim Parson’s Sheldon Cooper from
the American comedy series ‘The Big
Bang Theory’ (although the latter is not
diagnosed, it is widely accepted that he
is). Representational media is incredibly
important to all of us, but it can present
its own problems, as in this example,
where both characters are portrayed
similarly: as troubled geniuses with
strangely obsessive interests, ‘quirky’
behaviors and difficulty in socializing
with others. All of these traits are
associated with autism, but the reality is
much more complex than the simplistic
understanding many seem to have of
it - it’s a spectrum disorder, with many
different levels of functionality and kinds
of expression.
As someone who has known a number
of people at different points on the
Autistic Spectrum, a trend I’ve noticed
is that once children reach about seven
or eight years old, there comes a division
in which neurotypical children exclude
and sometimes even bully peers who
have autism. Promoting the inclusion of
those on the autistic spectrum in schools
is vitally important to allowing them to
create friendships, relationships, and
support systems which are key to living
a fulfilled life for all people. Creating
awareness of autism among those
who attend school with people who
have ASD and dealing with the stigma
of it at a very young age could greatly
improve tolerance and understanding
of the sometimes confusing behavior
that people with autism can exhibit, and
allow them to develop sympathetic and
supportive friend groups with peers,
separate from the parental and formal
support that can easily become the only
support a person receives coping not only
with their disorder, but the other stresses
that young people face growing up.
To this end, Kimberly Maich and E.
Christina Belcher from Ontario, Canada
and Melbourne, Australia respectively,
have investigated the use of picture
books depicting and exploring autism in
schools to promote awareness among
children from a young age. Their study
looked at a variety of books already in
print which address this issue, including
both books which specifically addressed
autism and autistic behavior (such as
“Understanding Sam And Asperger’s
Syndrome” (Van Niekerk & Venters,
2006)) and books which portray autism
in an indirect manner (like “Looking
After Louie” (Ely, 2004)). It’s important
to use both types of portrayal so that
children both understand the complexity
of the disorder, but also that to have
autism does not have to be a disruptive
or defining thing in normal everyday
situation. The paper suggests ten factors
to be considered when approaching this
issues in this way (‘including (a) story
selection tools, (b) direct labelling,