The Wrong Fit
In episode 1 Eliza hears what it’s like to struggle to go to school and why getting a diagnosis of autism doesn’t always bring the support and understanding families need.
For children with autism, school can be an overwhelming and traumatic place. Sensory overload, the requirement to sit still for hours on end, can result in behaviour that’s misunderstood as naughty. Many children become too unwell to go to school, leading to fines and threats for prosecution for parents. Families can wait years for a diagnosis of autism, which promises to be the gateway to the help they need. Too often this isn’t the case, and the onus is on the child to be “fixed” to fit the system, not the system to support the child.
“My child wasn't broken, they didn't need to be fixed. Why were we trying to do this?”
Featuring:
Eliza Fricker (@_MissingTheMark)
Harry Thompson (@FidgetyF_cker), author of The PDA Paradox
Kieran Rose (@KieranRose7), The Autistic Advocate
Dr Naomi Fisher (@naomicfisher), author of Changing Our Minds
Dr Chris Bagley (@hiddendepths), Director of Research at States of Mind
Graham Brown-Martin (@GrahamBM), author of Learning Reimagined
Resources:
eliza@missingthemark.blog
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