I am an "autism expert". Ask me anything.

[AutismProf]

Worked in autism assessment, diagnosis and intervention on the education side for 20+ years. Ask me anything.

However, please note that I cannot personally do anything about waiting lists for diagnosis, or the education system, and I won't be blamed for these!

Yes and that is what causes the anxiety inhibition of writing in so many autistic students - not every autistic student, but those who "refuse" long answer questions /find handling ambiguity or inferring what response the examiner is looking for tricky. I don't think you could have scored 100 percent in those 1959 history questions either, but at least you would have known exactly what the examiner wanted as their response.

A goodly proportion of autistic students do have excellent memory and knowledge skills. These are the toddlers who reel off the names of every single dinosaur, and the 10 year olds who know every Pokémon, its prevolution and evolution.

The fact is, there's a mental health crisis in autistic kids in education. Part of that is social media/ online world based. Part is lockdown based. But we were already seeing the tendrils back 6 or 7 years ago and I believe part of it is that educators don't tend to understand why some autistic kids struggle with writing subjects (and call it slow processing).

My DD is 10 and is autistic and has adhd. She’s also non verbal. We have real issues with her not understanding she can’t always have what she wants. In school, upon leaving for the day she wants to go in lots of classrooms and take various toys (never the same and it’s always random). She has a bag of toys from home that she takes to school each day but won’t leave without trying to take something from school. School struggle because if she can’t have it, she gets into a state and then they’ve got to get her on transport. None of us is sure what to do.

Really interesting about different types of examination questions. I excelled in essay subjects, so I was sceptical, but I've thought about it this evening and I remember my teachers spending ages teaching us how to read the questions, break them down and structure our answers accordingly. That went for GCSEs and A Levels. I didn't get that at uni and i think the ambiguity had a massive impact on how much I struggled.

I think my question might have been missed - halfway down page 8 - about how to help kids structure writing.

In the meantime everything you've said about processing speed has been really eye-opening and makes so much sense. Thank you and thank you for the thread - shoe in for classics I reckon.

So, rephrased question. What can I, what can anyone, do to help an autistic kid navigate the way they are being asked to write in schools?

I was somewhere around page 5 earlier today, but I can take a look....

Actually I’ve found the OP’s posts really helpful and it’s such a relief seeing stuff like this.

I have to speak for my ASD daughter 16 as she has selective mutism. It needs lots of people speaking up about this, not just parents. Because otherwise how would the selective mutes in this society make their feelings known?

What kind of things can he write?
Could he write down the story of the three little pigs, for example?
Could he write a shopping list of snacks to buy for a family movie night?
Could he write instructions for an alien to tell them how to use an Earth toilet?

If he can, then it's not extended writing per se. It's not processing speed. It's either generating ideas, structuring his ideas, or handling the risk of "maybe not being quite right" and how that makes him feel.

Basically, a lot of autistic kids find precision comfortable and imprecision scary. It's related to flexible thinking. This can morph into correct is good, incorrect is bad. And you are at risk of "incorrect" when you are asked to be creative or give an opinion.

First off, I would work a lot on growth mindset type ideas. The idea that effort is as important as results. Praise the process, rather than just the result. "I love how you have thought so carefully about how to mix the green paint" rather than "what a lovely tree, dear".
Model making mistakes and surviving! Model your thinking process when you are unsure. 'i don't know what to make for tea tonight. I know I've got some mince that needs eating. What could we do? Shall we look at what else we have and find recipes online?"

Model feeling anxious and coping - after the event. "I was a bit worried about the dentist, I thought I might need a filing and I didn't sleep well because I felt anxious. But when I went in, the dentist was really kind and he said I don't need any fillings this time, so I soon felt better".

I taught my lad the seven basic plots of stories and how every story in the world is one or more of those plots. We used to invent a story on the way home from school each day. I would model how a story is basically an ordinary day where something unusual happens and we would have a go based on what we saw on our drive home. "One day a young man was riding his bike down the road, when...." a giant hole opened up in front of him, or his wheel fell off and rolled away, or a burglar came running out of the house he was cycling past....it was quite fun. Plus lots of stories at home, made up ones as well as books.

Talk to him about brains and how the curriculum changes and how everyone's brains find some things easier and some trickier, and that's normal. His brain is great and remembering and learning information, but finds it trickier when he had to come up with a new idea. That's ok, it's not his fault, he's just as clever as he used to be. And he can learn how to do it. Practice makes progress :)

Wow @AutismProf I've just found and read your whole thread in one sitting - absolutely fascinating! You're the first person I've seen anywhere who has really described what autism is, rather than just listing traits, which is super helpful.

My question is about my DS who is 6. He is diagnosed with ADHD already and at home we see a highly energetic, forgetful and silly boy who is kind, funny, affectionate and clever. At school however they see a child who is rigid, struggles with mode switching, can be very rude and literal and has frequent meltdowns. We just don't see this behaviour at home where he'll pretty much take whatever is thrown at him in any context and who has meltdowns a handful of times a year.

Is it possible that he's autistic but it only shows up at school/when he is stressed? Or would it be clear that he is autistic when he is relaxed at home as well? What 'relaxed' things should we be looking out for if so? I've tried to read around this but online information is mainly the reverse - about children who mask at school then struggle at home.

Thank you!

The other thing that is really helpful is worked examples btw, and seeing the finished product or an example of it.

Plus the teacher being really clear on the purpose of the task - what skill is being assessed exactly? This stops kids getting stuck because of some inadequately described side aspect of the task which isn't part of the assessment....but theoretically could be . For example, is the teacher wanting good spelling and full stops most, or to see who has a great idea for a story most?

This response adds to my reply to @SusiePevensie above :)

Forgive me, OP, if this thread is finished and thank you for it. I will pose a question if I may:

My DS was diagnosed with high-functioning autism (the term in use at the time - 2005) at age 2.5 because he was completely non-verbal (didn’t even babble) and ‘played’ strangely (eg. collected pebbles and lined them up). I appreciate we were lucky to receive a diagnosis so young.

He went to a speech and language unit at age 3, suddenly started taking in complete sentences at age 4.5 and then went to mainstream school. He did really well throughout and is now reading PPE at Oxford Uni. Thriving there with lots of friends and taken up new hobbies. He doesn’t accept his diagnosis at all. Is there any chance it was wrong/too early? Should he be reassessed just in case he does have it and is masking?

I also have a reluctant reader/writer who struggles massively with inference from text.

She quite enjoys inference from my lesson PPTs for A-level Economics though! "What do you think my students are going to say about this graph?" and she can explain the jokes on the front of Private Eye (one about Boris Johnson: "bring some boos" (bring some booze).

(She's 10).

So I suppose she does better with material that is perceived as adult/not for her.

Rory's Story Cubes are a good tool to have for story generation.

Thanks OP. That's so.valuable to have as a set of tools.

When I did the old O level exams, the questions still looked more like the example you provide from 1959 (though I did mine in the early 80s). I would have been flummoxed by the modern paper because it doesn’t seem to be arguing two sides of a debate but offering different information about the same subject. These days, I would be able to cope with that kind of question much better and I think that’s because I learned about writing essays at university where we had to learn about inferring meaning from text and analysing it. I actually learned a sort of formula for inference, if that makes any sense.I have, to an extent, learned to apply that formula across the board but I find it both slow and laborious - and social nuances/rules/inferences often sail over my head.

@Breakfastbars did you child follow instructions before he started talking? Thanks.

Yes he did. And was great at Makaton

Thank you.I’m really glad that things worked out well for him.

@Peachlollipop thank you so much. But I do worry that he is masking and that one day he will just crash. We never stop worrying really do we?!

@StraightOuttaContext
i agree! No other autistic person speaks for me (and I don’t speak for any autistic person either)

OP I think this is a tremendously helpful thread and yes - being able to interpret is helpful and not patronising as far as I am concerned.

it is open discussions like this which will help - from someone who understands.

it’s incredible how many armchair psychologists there are on MN who think diagnosing autism is very easy (and it’s usuallly based on a man being a twat).

Thank you for this thread. I also think @MNHQ should have this thread available for easy access.

Have you had any experience of a child 6 only showing autistic characteristics when in school and no other place, not at home not out and about ?

Sorry all - visiting family for half term now so may be on here a little sporadically for the next day or two.

Thank you for this thread @AutismProf - your answers are clear, considered and incredibly useful and I've learned a lot from it, as the parent of two autistic children. I've saved it to refer back to, so thanks again.

@2010rachel29 sorry to jump in, but this was my DS2, who was referred for assessment by school when he was 6 and diagnosed at 7. None of us saw it at home, not even my cousin, who works in the same field as the OP! This has been explained to us as most likely being the result of a low-demand household, where we had already unconsciously made adjustments for him and also his fairly atypical presentation - good eye contact, solid friendships, very sociable etc.

Fast forward 7 years and it would be much harder to miss these days as the differences between him and his peers have become more marked and he is finding the teenage world much harder to navigate. He has just (this week!) moved to a specialist school because his mainstream was unable to meet his needs anymore.

Ironically, DS3 was diagnosed with autism (and adhd) last year aged 11, again following a school referral. I say ironically because you'd think we'd be better prepared for the signs, but it came as a huge surprise to us (not the adhd) because he is so different from DS2; but again, atypical presentation, low demand, adjustments etc plus the adhd masks some of the signs of autism.

Of course, this will not be the same for every child, but in my experience it's very possible to miss it at home, even surrounded by 'experts'!

This thread is amazing. Thank you @AutismProf. I have read most of it and I do believe EBPD has been touched up briefly in relation to girls, but not boys.

My brother in law's partner's son has just turned 16. He has suicidal ideation and has attempted to end his life twice. He self harms. Since the first attempt, he's barely left the house. He spends 90% of his time in his room, mostly gaming.

His CAMHS psychiatrist has suggested EBPD. Having looked at it, yes, it does fit with everything, but I can' help but feel that Autism might fit better and be a more helpful diagnosis. What would be the defining factor/s that would make a suggestion of BPD turn to looking into ASD? A different psychiatrist with a different bias/field of specialism? I can't help but feel there's an element of finding what you're looking for here.

My other question is, what sort of therapy would be most appropriate here? CAMHS have offered BPD in a group setting, which seems to be very much skills based. He has only attended one out of 7 sessions so far, so not looking great.

Afternoon all - we've had some nominations for this thread to be moved to Classics and we're going to do that now.

One nomination says that the OP is 'dispelling so many misapprehensions, stereotypes and misunderstandings with kindness and with education.’

Thanks, @AutismProf for starting such a useful, supportive resource for so many.

Amazing - love this