Autism reality experience at Westbury Juniors

Staff at Westbury CofE Junior School have praised an “eye-opening” training session that gave them a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by autistic children.  

On 31st March, the school was visited by Training 2 Care, which provided an ‘autism experience’ to help teachers understand the sensory processing difficulties faced by people on the autism spectrum. 

Special equipment showed what life can feel like for a child who is hypersensitive to certain environments or struggles with processing instructions. 

As a result of the training session, staff will be even better equipped to help neurodiverse children. 

Deputy head teacher Luke Oakes said, “This was an immensely eye-opening session. It gave our teachers and teaching assistants a real first-hand idea of the daily sensory processing difficulties faced by people on the autism spectrum and the challenges children in our care experience as a result.” 

Meanwhile, feedback from the Year 5 teaching team was: “Wow, that couldn’t have been taught using words.” 

Billy Cursons from Training 2 Care, who provided the experience, said, “We are really starting to see a massive change in approaches. People want to understand more and know what they can do to support others. 

“We have some really large customers training their staff, including international partners in Dubai, Denmark, Ireland, and the US. We want to ensure that everyone can start to understand just how challenging things can be and promote a better understanding and acceptance within people who are neurotypical.” 

Pictured: Staff trying out the ‘Autism Reality Experience