Autism Guernsey needs support to continue its work with children

As you will have read in the Press, after eight years BBC’s Children in Need has come to the end of the period of funding for Autism Guernsey to work with autistic children. Eight years’ funding was a long time for a project to be supported and was a recognition of the good work that Autism Guernsey does.

So why should Guernsey continue that funding?

Autism is a condition which affects a great many people, and as the condition is being recognised more widely, there is a long waiting list of children referred for diagnosis. This is a good thing in that children who would previously be described as timid and fearful, or naughty and badly brought up, are now being recognised as having issues with processing information.

If anyone is in a situation where they can’t process information very easily, it leads to high anxiety. Wigwam’s website under ‘Your say’ has an article written by an autistic child describing how much courage it takes for her to get into school each day. She is a normal intelligent child with autism and her struggle is experienced by autistic children everywhere, not just in Guernsey.

The problem for the autistic person is that 21st-century life is not organised for the autistic brain to be able to make sense of it easily. Autistic individuals need to gain an understanding of how to adapt and what strategies to use to help navigate the world. As Therese Joliffe, an autistic adult, says:

‘Reality to an autistic person is a confusing interacting mass of events, people, places, sounds and sights. There seem to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of my life is spent trying to work out the pattern behind everything. Set routines, times, particular routes and rituals all help to get order into an unbearably chaotic life. Trying to keep everything the same reduces some of the terrible fear’.

Autistic adults and children need help to understand the strategies they can use to help themselves.

Autism Guernsey provided that help. It worked directly with children, helping them to develop the strategies they need and helping them to understand – through their clubs and groups – that there are other children with the same challenges as them. We all know how good it is to be able to relax in an atmosphere where we are understood.

Wigwam works closely with Autism Guernsey. We share some resources, give courses together and support each other. However, Wigwam’s role is with families with children with all additional needs, not just autism, and is not set up to specialise in working with autistic children in the way Autism Guernsey does.

Guernsey needs to support Autism Guernsey to continue its work with children because Guernsey’s autistic children need them.

SUSIE GALLIENNE

Family support coordinator

Wigwam Support Group LGB