Page 13 - SEN115 - November/December 2021

Autism
About the author
Elise Stirling is an autistic mother of autistic daughters, and an autism specialist teacher. She is currently studying for her PhD in Applied Autism Research.
recognition of safety versus threat (neuroception). Some autistic individuals appear to live in perpetual fear of their environment and social experiences, obstructing their ability to perceive, understand and react in a way that an otherwise regulated person might. In safe contexts, the nervous system’s state is ‘soothed’, and the body becomes more regulated. The default state for autistic individuals, however, is more dysregulated, or ‘mobilised’, resulting in fluctuating social communication, irregular eye gaze, changes in receptive language ability, fewer externalised social gestures, and differences in social behaviours. This can account for individualised, context- based, levels of ‘functioning’ depending on the environment and experiences at the time.
I have proposed research in an education context that considers feelings of safety, regulation and authenticity at school. Although autism is not caused by relationships or lack thereof (the age- old ‘refrigerator mother’ argument), quality attachments can potentially have a positive impact on inclusion in schools.
The quality of the relationship between a child and their teacher is key to this, and emotional security in such relationships are central to a child’s later functioning. Forming attachments to key adults is possible, and is still beneficial to a child’s wellbeing at any stage of development. Attachment is a basic human need and something that all humans have a propensity and a capacity for, but this can be interrupted by external factors such
“The relationship between a child and their teacher is key”
as too much stress in the environment. It can be established or restored at any age, as long as the conditions are favourable. It follows that even with a dysregulated autistic individual, healthy attachments can be developed if the stressful environment that dysregulated them in the first place is removed or lessened to the point of comfort and security. It is never a removal of the ‘impairments’ (or cure, or prevention) of autism that I advocate for, but a removal of the negative stimuli that are causing the dysregulated state, before engaging in the development of attachment relationships.
The neurodiversity movement challenges us to rethink autism through the lens of human diversity. As part of this movement, autistic people have come to analyse autism and often arrive at very different conclusions about autism than the non-autistic professionals, including the development of play in children. The play behaviour of autistic children may be described by some as atypical and is often subject to scrutiny, where those involved have attempted to re-orientate these behaviours to something they deem more appropriate. The repetitive behaviours and ritualistic mannerisms, or stereotypies, have been attributed to many potential deficits, delays and difficulties in the past, but few people have considered these actions within the notion of play. It may be that these are not signifiers of delayed development, deficits, or otherwise lacking, but as playfulness and individuality which could be embraced by those around them instead of discouraged or extinguished. The concept of neurodiversity is not a new one, but it has evolved to become a description of difference in neurocognitive function, and includes neurotypical (as in, not significantly different from the
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