Advice and learning resources for children and young people with autism...
Advice page content
This information and these resources are relevant and appropriate for neuro-diverse children and young people or those with autism. They focus on explaining and reinforcing the current guidelines on social distancing and include learning and activity suggestions that can be used during the current period of social distancing and staying home and staying safe.
Updates will be added if and when suitable and helpful resources are identified.
Page last modified: 14/04/20
Inclusion and Specialist Support Team
The Inclusion and Specialist Support Team have put together a social story to help children with autism (and other social communication difficulties) make some sense of what is going on.
Please note that this is a social story so provides limited specific information.
Lydia’s social story “What is coronavirus?”
Lydia’s social story “What is coronavirus?” goes beyond explaining the virus and will help young people understand why they are being asked to do things differently.
Lydia has also made and shared this Calendar to support structure at home and this Daily planner to support structure at home.
Resource source: Lydia Scaletti - Inclusion and Specialist Support Team - Hackney Learning Trust
The Early Support Team
The Early Support Team at Hackney Learning Trust are working and available remotely to help in any way they can but recognise this is no substitute for hands on and face to face contact.
They have compiled an activities pack of resources to suit varying levels of need and can send the pack to settings and families via email (or hard copies can be sent by mail if more convenient for some families).
These resources range from simple games and activities to play with and without toys, a massage story, online activities for children with autism and much more.
If you would like a copy of the resource pack please e-mail a member of the Early Support Team. Contact details below…
Sasha Lysons Sasha.Lysons@learningtrust.co.uk;
Ruth Zialor Ruth.Zialor@learningtrust.co.uk;
Livia Slemender Livia.Slemender@learningtrust.co.uk;
Dianne Sandler dianne.sandler@learningtrust.co.uk
Joanna Matheson Joanna.Matheson@learningtrust.co.uk;
Mamtut Cham Mamtut.Cham@learningtrust.co.uk;
Our Area SENCo lead Dianne Sandler also has a Pinterest page with lots of lovely ideas for children of all abilities. She is encouraging others, especially parents-carers, to be inspired to try them out.
Access Dianne’s Pintrest page via this link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diannesandler/
Alternatively anyone with access to the internet can find the page by typing Dianne Sandler (note the 2 nn’s in Dianne) into Pinterest’s website search function.
Supporting neurodiverse children in challenging times such as during self-isolation
This video helps explain planning and support strategies for children and young with autism and learning disabilities.
Resource source: CAMHS ELFT (East London Foundation Trust). Shared by Dr Louise Acker Clinical Psychologist, Vicky King Occupational Therapist and the multi-disciplinary team.
The Garden School - resources for children and young people with autism
The Garden Special School's excellent You Tube channel has step by step video guides that can be used to explain and reinforce curretn advice e.g.how to wash hands properly, helping with and domestic tasks at home, cooking and more.
There are also suggestions for activities and sensory play with instructions broken down into easy to follow visual steps to help work through each of the tasks.
The Garden School - You Tube channel
Eleanor Occupational Therapists at The Garden School has been getting super creative.
She has made this lovely social story explaining that things are different now but that this will not last forever. Read or download Eleanor's social story here:
The Garden School - OT's Social Story - CV
Eleanor has also shared these photo visuals that can be used to support hand washing routines needed at this time.
Photo visual resource for hand washing
The Garden School have also shared this example of visual instructions on how to make theraputty as an activity and for sensory play.
Carol Gray- My Story About Pandemics and the Coronavirus
Carol Grey is known for the development of Social Stories as evidence-based practice they are used worldwide with people with autism of all ages. As the current crisis is global her story is relevant and may be helpful to lots of autistic people. It uses photographs and may be more suitable for older young people.
My Story About Pandemics and the Coronavirus - Carol Gray
Social Story - Parents who are working during Coronavirus
It may be hard for some children and young people to understand the stay at home message if their parents are key workers and are having go out to work. They may also be anxious about their parents and need explicit information to reassure them. This social story helps explain that some people are still working and that this is a good thing that is happening to help others.
There is a lovely section on how parents who are key workers may be very tired when they do get home because they are working extra hard and need their children to be understanding of why this is.
Social Story - Parents who are working during Coronavirus
How to write a social story
Social Stories can be really helpful in lots of situations. You can find advice about how to write your own specific Social Story on the NAS website: https://www.autism.org.uk/about/strategies/social-stories-comic-strips.aspx
Ambitious About Autism - Know your normal...
In order to understand you own autism, how it affects you and help those around you better understand what helps and what doesn't Ambitious About Autism have developed a tool to help explore this so that it's easier to share this information with those around you. You can download this from their website: https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/our-toolkit