How can I help people understand autism?

Question

I am giving a presentation to some students on autism. I really want to try something creative to help them understand.

I will be talking about what it is, how it is diagnose, and how it is treated.

I am looking for worksheets, activities, or other interactive things that will help people without autism better understand the disorder...

Does anyone know of anything?

Answer 1

Tricky to put other people in the shoes of a person with ASD because no two people experience autism the same way. People with more severe forms of ASD live in their own world while people with milders forms live in the same world we do but in their own way.  Since most people on the spectrum have sensory impairments  every day things that don't bother typically functioning people can create discomfort or even pain for those on the spectrum.  

Two very famous savants are Kim Peek and Daniel Tammet.  There were documentaries recently on them both (I think on Discovery Channel) and clips were on youtube. They both describe what they experience.  Kim Peek is the man after whom Dustin Hoffman's Rain Man character was modeled.  

There are some videos I have seen at seminars that attempt to simulate some of the sensory experiences by playing loud noises w/ flashing or bright lights at the same time and attempting to explain that some autistic people experieince that all the time.  Sorry, can't recall the source.  

My school recently interviewed people with various disabilities to be played to the children to raise awareness of what it's like to have a disabilty. We did interview a young man with Asperger's Syndrome.  He discussed the fact that his clothing has to be just right and how needs order and for things to be a certain way (OCD) and how he gets nervous and upset when they aren't.  Maybe an interview like that ???

Sorry.

Answer 2

What about a bit of role playing.

A few students and I had to do a presentation, and we choose Autism, so I came up with the idea of having our group do a little bit of a play.

Imagine you’re off in your own little world, because the real world is too noisy, or busy for you to live in. You’re happily trailing behind your parents in a store, when a loud bang startles you; you squeal and flap your hands, maybe even dance around, in an effort to settle yourself.

When you realize people are staring at you, you become a little annoyed, and you squeal louder. Your parents touch your shoulder, in an effort to calm you. You think they are talking to you, but it’s just words without meaning. Your parents look at you, you look back at them, they smile, but you look away, you look at the ceiling fan and smile, before you squeal with delight, and dance around with glee.

We got fairly positive feed back for this, from our fellow students and teachers. Because it made them realize that people with autism can be aloof and closed off from the word.

The below quote is from Hans Asperger, which you may like to use too.

“Exceptional human beings must be given exceptional educational treatment, treatment which takes into account their special difficulties. Further, we can show that despite abnormality, human beings can fulfill their social role within the community, especially if they find understanding, love and guidance.”

Good luck

Answer 3

You must go to college and get a master's degree

in that field- It's really tough!

Answer 4

Luke Jackson talked about how it is for him(he has Asperger's) in school.

Are you sitting comfortably? Close your eyes and imagine going into a room awash with so many smells that you feel your head is likely to explode. Now imagine sitting amidst those smells and having someone scrape their nails down a blackboard, rustle crisp bags or make any other noise that you makes you cringe. Amidst such noises is the unsettling buzz of a mass of people all around you, speaking a foreign language and occasionally glancing over at you and expecting you to make some acknowledgment to their unfathomable utterances.

Are you with me so far? Now you have all the delights of such sensory experiences, imagine that overhead there is a broken fluorescent light flickering on and off and making your head ache. You are sat in an uncomfortable hard chair next to these foreigners who obviously dislike your presence ... the whole time your senses are being battered by such stimuli, and you are expected to try to understand many totally illogical topics whilst trying to assimilate the behaviour of the foreigners around you. Not easy is it?!

Answer 5

You can do role playing.  Bring up two students and assign one of the students the role of a person that has autism and assign the other student the role of a person that does not have autism.  Write out the lines for both students.  Have the person playing in the autism role perseverate the entire time. Then ask them what they thought.