World Autism Awareness Week is being celebrated this year from March 29th to April 4th.
Created by the National Autistic Society (NAS), World Autism Awareness Week aims to draw attention to the 700,000 people living with autism in the UK. The awareness week raises awareness of the condition helping to make the world friendlier to those who are affected by it.
The impact of the coronavirus event has been particularly tough for many autistic people and their families, and we can be open to hearing experiences and seeing what we can do to assist.
That’s why this year’s Autism Awareness Week is more important than ever!
What is Autism
The National Autistic Society explains that, “Autism is a lifelong disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. Autism is a spectrum condition. All autistic people share certain difficulties, but being autistic will affect them in different ways.
Some autistic people also have learning disabilities, mental health issues or other conditions, meaning people need different levels of support. All people on the autism spectrum learn and develop.”
World Autism Awareness Week 2021
As part of the awareness week the National Autistic Society has shared suggestions to help people in raising awareness and funds with family and friends. Check out the resources available here!
World Autism Awareness Week in schools
One in every 100 UK school children is autistic and, without the right support, school can be a confusing and challenging place. The National Autistic Society has created a suite of free resources for all age groups to help students learn about autism and better understand their classmates:
- Early years resources - Daisy & Ollie have a special episode featuring Theo, who is autistic available on My5.tv from 29 March.
- Primary resources - The Trummies are six colourful characters with vibrant personalities who are on the autism spectrum and are helping pupils learn that we are all the same and all different.
- Secondary resources - Autistic actor and star of Channel 4’s Hollyoaks, Talia Grant, talks about school life as an autistic person and offers advice on how best to support autistic students at school.
Autism and ROMBi
We caught up with ROMBi founder and educational specialist, Penny Georgiou, to discuss the impact that ROMBi is having on children and adults with autism.
Penny explained that research is showing that completing just one ROMBi puzzle a day improves:
- Body awareness;
- Ability to distinguish between self and other’s awareness;
- Spatial awareness and structure;
- Language functions;
- All of the above have implications for toileting;
- Proportionality of threat level;
- Maintaining a sense of place and identity while transiting between different perspectives.
ROMBi is helping adults and children alike to organise their thoughts and increase their capabilities. It is also helping parents to manage their logistics in their lives much more easily.
Penny is working directly with primary schools on the ROMBi Partnership Programme; a UK wide research project raising awareness of and reviewing how ROMBi is supporting children with diverse learning needs.
Get Involved
To get involved in World Autism Awareness Week and help create a society that works for autistic people visit The National Autistic Society’s website today by clicking here!
If you are interested in finding out more about ROMBi and how it can support you visit our website here!
