25th October 2024
HEADLINES
By James Saunders
IT’S A DIFFERENT ABILITY BY OSCAR DISBREY (C10) Autism, it’s more than just disabled, the stereotypical, hypocritical feeling that we’re not able, to focus on our lives - our work, all they want to do is focus on our quirks. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been discriminated against for something beyond my control, something I was born with, something I can’t change. I can’t change it, I wouldn’t if I could. It’s more than just a disability to me, it’s who I am, it’s who I can be. It’s more than being mentally chained, it’s just a different brain wiring, we’re no different than anyone else, we can be the same if you just listen to change. So YES it is a different brain wiring, and sometimes it can be tiring, but at the end of the day it’s not a disability it’s a different ABILITY. I would like to thank Oscar for sharing his powerful poetry with us and highlighting what is special about our ASD population. Courage, confidence and security in self are qualities that many of us often wrestle with and take a lifetime to achieve. Understanding who you are and being secure in that are goals that few of us truly attain. At the start of this term I spoke about this very thing with our staff and I used ASD learners as my example. I spoke about how difficult it can be for adults to stand up in front of an audience and communicate authentically as their true self. Many of us spend years training to perfect this. I am sure a lot of teachers have an inner fear at the prospect of taking an assembly or talking to a hall full of parents. Parents, how nervous would you be at the thought of speaking
to a few hundred people? However, I have no doubt that I could pick any one of our many ASD learners and they would happily stand up and talk passionately without any self conscious worry at all. My aim with staff was, like Oscar, to reframe our thinking towards ASD. Whilst Oscar referred to it as a different ability, I called it a superpower; a superpower that many of us wish we had. One of the special things about working at Honywood is how wonderful all our learners are. Our learners appreciate the importance of understanding, acceptance, and inclusion for all - and that includes those with autism. “If you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism.” Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental condition that affects communication, social interaction, and behaviour. Each person with autism is unique, with their own strengths, challenges, and perspectives. Embracing neurodiversity is a fundamental aspect of our school culture and as a community, it’s essential that we recognise and celebrate this diversity. At Honywood, we are proud to serve an inclusive community of learners with ASD. As a secondary school we have the highest proportion of ASD learners in Essex and I am proud to teach many of them myself, including Oscar. The thing about aiming to be inclusive is that the systems, structures and approaches we implement are actually of benefit to all learners. It begs the question - why would you not want to be an inclusive school? An environment that places psychological security at its heart. Inclusive Education: One of the cornerstones of creating an inclusive society is ensuring that all children, regardless of their abilities, have access to quality education. At Honywood, we provide a