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Awareness, acceptance, celebration
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Choice Support works with a large range of people, including autistic people and those with learning disabilities. This Autism Celebration Week, we learnt some interesting facts about autism that you may not have known.
Did you know...
- Autistic people are rarely linear thinkers, because of this, tasks with lots of separate steps can be difficult. It is not uncommon to see members of this community enjoying simple repetitive tasks, such as knitting, collecting, or trainspotting. That’s not to say that longer tasks can’t be achieved, of course, but usually they’re best undertaken when the instructions are written out clearly and in numbered steps.
- Many people within the autistic community have said that Pokémon is perfect for them to play. The game focusses on collecting, a common hobby for the community. Pokémon is turn based, which allows the player to plan rather than rely on real-time reflexes, and those plans are based on tables of numbers and ‘types’, which many autistic people have said they find easy to understand and enjoyable to work with.
- You may have seen the ‘puzzle piece logo’ used to represent autism, but in recent years members of the autistic community have started saying that they find this logo offensive. The original meaning behind the design was to say that autistic people ‘had a piece missing’, this is an inaccurate and unfair description of the autistic mind.
- When raising an autistic child, you may be told to get them a pet. Pets are a great way for autistic children to learn empathy, care of the self and others around them, and can help them learn to communicate. Pets are especially great to have around when an autistic person is overwhelmed or overstimulated. Spending time with an animal, especially one that you’ve had time to build a connection too, can help calm a person down and ground them back to reality. These things are not just true for children, autistic adults can get many benefits both socially and for their mental health from furry friends. Back in 2019 people we support in Kent had a wonderful visit from Wild Science, read the full story below.
- The VIP Red Bag Project! The VIP Red Bag Project is, in short, a bag that has all your medical information and anything you might need for a visit to the hospital. This is great for people who have trouble communicating, struggle with object permanence (the ability to recall things you cannot see) or who are just generally forgetful. Three symptoms often found with autism. Be sure to check them out here: VIP Red Bag (@vipredbag) / Twitter or read more below.
- Supported Loving is a human rights-based campaign hosted by Choice Support. We believe that all people have a right to love and be loved. Supported Loving provides a way for those that may find it harder to meet new people or express themselves to find love too. Find out more by reading more below.
Calming animal experiences
The tenants from Mill House in Kent had a mixture of furry and silky smooth visitors from Wild Science.
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VIP Red Bag project
The VIP Red Bag launched in Wakefield in 2021 and is now available in both the Wakefield and Bradford areas. The VIP Red Bag holds all your important health and support information.
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Supported Loving
Supported Loving highlights the importance of good support in helping people to develop and maintain loving relationships.
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