{"id":50597,"date":"2023-03-31T13:55:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-31T12:55:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shefnews.co.uk\/?p=50597"},"modified":"2023-03-31T13:55:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T12:55:23","slug":"were-a-long-way-away-from-getting-it-right-why-we-still-need-autism-acceptance-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shefnews.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/03\/31\/were-a-long-way-away-from-getting-it-right-why-we-still-need-autism-acceptance-week\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We\u2019re a long way away from getting it right\u2019: Why we still need Autism Acceptance Week<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

World Autism Acceptance Week shines a light on the often forgotten needs of those diagnosed with autism, a lifelong developmental disability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 700,000 UK residents are diagnosed with the disorder and yet widespread support is still largely unavailable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr Luke Beardon, 52, is a senior lecturer in autism at Sheffield Hallam University. Part of his job involves running The Autism Centre, which is dedicated to developing and sharing knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cWe\u2019re a long way away as a society from genuinely understanding autism and subsequently making life safe for autistic people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m really trying to push the idea that if we continue to get the narrative wrong, it makes autistic people feel very unsafe, which is a horrible state to be in on a day to day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr Beardon, many sectors of society fail to take autism seriously enough. Several professions do not require additional training to work with autistic individuals, including teaching and psychotherapy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said: \u201cThere are enough autistic people out there that professionals need to have some level of qualification to engage with these individuals. It worries me that that doesn\u2019t currently happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The degree to which autism affects an individual is unique to them. To receive a formal diagnosis under the ICD-10, which is a manual used to classify medical conditions in the UK, two symptoms must be present: challenges with social interaction, and repetitive and restrictive behaviour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separate to this criteria, people can experience extreme anxiety and over- or under-sensitivity to sensory events.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI think and act differently to other people. I\u2019m different, but not in a bad way.\u201d

Three students at @KingEcgbert<\/a> school in Sheffield told us about what autism means to them and how the support from staff there makes them feel \ud83d\udc47#AutismAcceptanceWeek<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FupGNrgHUI<\/a><\/p>— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) March 28, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>