Sharing Student Projects

My poster focuses on girls with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). It highlights the strengths, challenges and barriers they face in education. The National Autistic Society (2024) defines autism as a “lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world.”. Whilst at my inclusion placement I was fortunate enough to be able to observe and teach in a class with girls with a diagnosis of autism. However, not one child was the same and the learning was tailored to each of their needs. It showed me that a diagnosis of autism is does not mean that one size fits all and that "If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism" (Shore, 2004, p. 45). It only further stressed how important it is that lessons meet “individual needs” (DfE, 2013.). During my placement, one child was able to begin a task using a visual timer and verbal prompts. In contrast, another child preferred using a ‘Now and Then’ board and needed to see the predictable sequence of the activities to complete a task. The research surrounding girls with autism suggests that there is a bias which is demonstrated by evidence that girls tend to receive their diagnosis later than boys (Beeger et al 2013; Rutherford et al, 2016). Therefore, the meta-analysis which presents autism as more prevalent in males than females with a “ratio of 3:1 male to females” (Loomes et al, 2017) may not be accurate due to skewed data from late or misdiagnosis. Unfortunately, this may be due to autism being perceived as a “boys' disorder” (Riley- Hall, 2012, p.37). Girls may present with a similar level of symptoms as boys and yet this may still be overlooked, for example, having a specific interest is a common autistic trait but if “the interest is “girly” this might be dismissed as normal” (Arky, B,2020). This is also applicable to repetitive behaviours; girls may present with them but in a different “quieter” way to boys (Arky, B, 2020) which causes the symptoms to be missed. The notion of autistic traits being misdiagnosed in girls is supported by “females who present with similar levels of symptoms as males are still less likely to receive a diagnosis” (Geelhand et al, 2019; Russel et al, 2011). Consequently, females will receive less crucial support early on in life compared to males which leaves them at a disadvantage. Girls with autism face many different challenges in the classroom, this includes building and maintaining positive relationships with their peers. Autistic girls can find social interaction elements of primary school the most difficult, such as play times, as they are the “most social and least structured” (Perepa, 2011). During my placement, I observed how turn-taking which is a basic social-skill, but for autistic children can be challenging, caused disputes when one autistic girl refused to take turns with a bicycle. This interaction was re-occurring and teachers in my class combatted this by embedding turn-taking in lessons. Furthermore, Hull et al (2017) found that girls engage in masking to hide their autistic traits to fit in. Girls are able to do this through rehearsing social interactions or jokes to perform in a social setting. The effect of masking is the development of mental health issues as internalizing their symptoms can lead to burn out, resulting in anxiety or stress (Hull et al, 2017). Autistic girls bring many strengths to the classroom despite their various challenges. Kuhn et al, 2021 stated that autistic girls have a strong attention to detail which allows them to become high achievers in areas such as art. I witnessed this skill in my placement as an autistic girl was able to create detailed mini figures out of playdough and even blu-tac, she displayed a talent for art as she was focussed on making these precise sculptures using her own references. Another strength of autistic girls is their problem-solving and analytical skills. Many autistic girls have a unique way of thinking that allows them to solve problems effectively and in an unconventional manner (Otsimo, 2020). To support girls with autism, strategies are put in place. During placement, I observed the effectiveness of visual aids such as visual timetables and ‘now and then’ symbols. These were used as a method of communication and provided the children with the structure of day. Baker et al (2014) found that visual aids can reduce anxiety for autistic girls. I observed this myself as a non-verbal autistic girl became visibly less distressed in the afternoon once the visual timetable was displayed to show which lessons we had before home time. Another strategy is sensory breaks through-out the day, this allows the pupil to take a break from the overwhelming stimuli and provides them a chance to re-focus. I witnessed this be used in a helpful way for the pupil to get rid of excess energy and “prevent meltdowns.”. Implementing short sensory breaks throughout the day was important for allowing the child to self- regulate.

I chose to focus on girls with autism following my initial research into autism. I quickly recognised the very particular challenges and difficulties that girls with autism face in education and this led me to dive deeper to gain further insight. I am drawn to the unique ways girls with autism are represented and how they navigate the education system and classroom environment. I hope to advocate for girls with autism in my future career and begin to decrease the high statistical misdiagnoses by having a solid awareness and understanding. Alongside this it is important to note the impact of my experience during my inclusion placement. I was placed in a special school in a year 3 classroom where all the children had a special education need or disability. Half of the class consisted of girls with a diagnosis of autism. This placement gave me an amazing opportunity to observe how inclusivity was not only embraced but ingrained into the classroom environment to not just facilitate but celebrate diversity. Not only did it deepen my understanding on how to make children feel safe and happy in the classroom, but it also gave me an indispensable insight on how teachers can remove barriers to education and ensure the curriculum is accessible.