A social enterprise helping people on the autistic spectrum and the people around them.
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4 Conversation techniques to add to your social script
Posted: 11 months ago
Many autistic people create for themselves a 'social script' to help them know how to interact in social situations. A social script is a guide for planning what to do and say inside a social setting.
The Girl With The Curly Hair uses a social script whenever she meets up with her friends. Specifically, she uses 4 conversation techniques:
How to reduce the number of transitions you do
Posted: October 21, 2017
For many people on the autistic spectrum, transitions are difficult. A 'transition' is basically any sort of change in circumstance, surroundings or activity. Transitions are most likely difficult for people with ASD because different activities require different thought processes, skills and general mental resources and the ability to undergo transition quickly is often very hard. Indeed, one of the impairments of autism is the ability to be mentally flexible. Many people also have sensory processing difficulties and transitions often cause disturbances of our senses, which can be very uncomfortable or even painful. I also find transitions hard because I get very focused on whatever it is I am doing and to have to suddenly stop that focus and shift it to something else, is hard. I also find transitions in the way I am feeling difficult and if I am doing one activity or doing the same thing, my mood tends to be constant and stable. Doing something different causes changes in feelings and a chance in mood and I find that hard as well. There are an infinite number of transitions that we all do every day, but here are a few examples based on some that affect me:Person with ASD and exercise – things to consider
Posted: October 13, 2017
Exercise, for me, has been the number one treatment for managing my depression. I have found a sport that I truly enjoy and am very good at. I believe that one of the easiest most natural ways you can help yourself or your loved one to improve their mental (and physical) well being, is to move more. It doesn't have to be a sport, or even a particular exercise - indeed, you don't even have to think of whatever it is as 'exercise' - but rather just increasing the amount of physical activity you do. Here are my thoughts on the things to consider about ASD and exercise:
CHP on BBC Radio 4
Posted: October 3, 2017
Today, 3/10/17, Alis and Helen from the CHP, were featured on BBC Radio 4 ‘Word of Mouth’ for a 30 minute programme about ‘Autism and Communication.’ “Thoroughly enjoyed listening to Alis and Helen having a very lively chat with Michael Rosen.” “One of the most charming, gentle and insightful programmes. What a reminder to listen and empathize. Much needed.” “This was great, from beginning to end. You explained so cl…
How might autistic people manage projects?
Posted:
I've been thinking about project management. I think of projects in three stages: Planning Doing End result A part of being self-employed and running a business is that I have to manage a lot of projects (from start to completion) and I have to think of the work in terms of the bigger picture. So I work on all three stages all the time. This is opposed to someone who is employed and perhaps is more used to working mainly on the ‘doing’ aspect of the project and might not have to think much about the bigger picture. Lately I've had to do quite a few things that I really did not like doing, however I've been very happy with the final outcome. Possibly one of the differences between me and some of my friends and colleagues is that they very much like ‘doing’ whereas I very much like ‘thinking.’ Maybe this is another aspect of introversion (me) vs extroversion (them). Here are some thoughts on the subject of project management and how it may influence people on the autistic spectrum.Does ASD get worse or better as you get older?
Posted: September 24, 2017
Let's look at some of the things that may affect whether 'a person's ASD gets worse or better in adulthood.' When we talk about 'a person's ASD' we can think about: negative consequences of ASD - depression, anxiety, etc. actual signs and symptoms / autistic traits
17 tips for doing chores you hate
Posted: August 16, 2017
There are always certain chores that you are going to dislike doing, it's part of being human! However, as well as "disliking", people on the autistic spectrum may struggle with executive functioning - the set of mental skills that enables people to get things done, things such as planning, initiating, following steps, etc. Here are some of my best tips for doing the things you don't like to do. I hope you find at least one of them helpful!