Freshfield Primary School, in addition to Sefton’s local offer,  supports the overall success and wellbeing of its children with autism by purchasing additional Service Level Agreements from Lynn McCann at Reachout ASC and through Autism Initiatives. 

Together we implement effective strategies tailored to the unique needs of our children and create inclusive learning environments.

Information about Autism Initiatives  can be found here:

https://fisd.liverpool.gov.uk/kb5/liverpool/fsd/service.page?id=Sfxa7xwAWOM

Reachout ASC website

https://reachoutasc.com/

What is Autism?

All people are different and there are differences in the way our brains experience the world.

Autism is a different way of thinking, processing and taking in information about the world. An autistic person might also process internal thoughts and sensations in different ways.

Autism is a way a person is made and is the way they are all their life, and every autistic person is different. Autistic people can come up with different solutions and have great creative and inventive ideas. They often have special interests they can focus very well on, sometimes to the exclusion of other demands.

But some autistic people feel that they have to mask their differences,

and camouflaging can lead to internal anxiety and depression. Making adjustments can help autistic people be themselves.

Co-Conditions:

Autistic people can also be diagnosed with ADHD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, epilepsy, anxiety disorders and many other conditions. Some also see PDA or Pathological Demand Avoidance as part of the autistic spectrum.

No two Autistic people are the same:

As a spectrum condition, autistic people will share similar difficulties; and the impact autism has on an individual is unique, with no two autistic people being exactly the same.

Difficulties in social “reading”

Non-autistic people have complex social rules that don’t always make sense to them. An autistic person may have different perspectives and thought patterns and sensory processing which can impact how they may interact with others. The typical social world can be overwhelming and the demands of daily life difficult to deal with.

Autistic people have many strengths:

We believe that listening to and learning from autistic people and getting the setting and environment right, autistic people can thrive.

Autism and the education system:

We understand the complex relationship between autism, anxiety, masking and mental health and will support autistic young people to understand and celebrate who they are as well as adapting our curriculum and learning environments to their learning styles.

Support around Autism

https://www.addvancedsolutions.co.uk/home.html

https://www.seftondirectory.com/kb5/sefton/directory/advice.page?id=XtBcf2jIbXo&localofferchannel=0

Resources to support learning at home.

Many of the activities found on the Speech and Language, SEMH and Motor Skills pages may be useful too.

Free sensory planning with multisensory activities and messy play can be found here: https://www.empoweringlittleminds.co.uk/resources-1

Social stories explained... 

https://www.autism.org.uk/about/strategies/social-stories-comic-strips.aspx

National Autistic Society

https://www.autism.org.uk/about/family-life/parents-carers.aspx

http://space4autism.com/who-are-space4autism/  Local support for families 

www.timestables.co.uk is a great alternative to TTRockstars. You do not need a login and it does not have the time pressure that some pupils find tricky.