Nursery World - EYFS Best Practice

Dr Prithvi Perepa clarifies some of the popular misconceptions about autism and outlines how practitioners can support a child with the condition

One symptom of autism is the child finding it difficult to play with their peers and easier to interact with adults

Most people will have heard the word autism these days and may have even seen programmes about autism on TV.

While this familiarity with the term can be beneficial, sometimes media representation of autism leads to stereotypes and can impact our perceptions of what the condition is and what we should do when working with a child with autism. So, first let’s consider what autism is.

WHAT IS AUTISM?

Autism is a disability that impacts the ability to communicate, interact and think in a flexible way. As a result, a child with autism may:

The Unique Child

Autism is often referred to as a spectrum, and you may have heard phrases such as Autism Spectrum Disorder or Condition. This means that while all children will show differences in the areas of communication, interaction and flexible thinking, how these differences manifest themselves and impact each child will be different.

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