Communication and Social Interaction

At our event ‘Health and Wellbeing for Women and Girls on the Autism Spectrum’ in October 2015, we asked attendees what things they know of that can help with communication and social interaction. Below is a summary of what they told us.

Developing an effective means of communication

• Using communication aids such as:
  • Visual aids
  • Social stories
  • ‘Now and next’
  • Talking mats 
  • Mood boards
• Must be individualised
• Speech and Language Therapy assessments

Learning about yourself and your own communication and social needs

• Programmes to support in understanding autism diagnosis
  • Such as ‘Me, myself and ASD’ run by Glasgow Autism Resource Centre
  • Others run by One Stop Shops across Scotland
• Information available online
  • Reading personal accounts written by autistic women
    • Some examples are on our ‘Useful links’ page
  • Such as on National Autistic Society website

 Opportunities to build skills

• Girls groups
  • Social activities
  • Informal
  • Safe spaces
• Mentoring from other autistic people
• Positively and constructively analyse social interactions
  • what worked, what didn’t and why
• Building self-esteem and confidence

Educating others about your needs

• Explaining communication needs to peers (e.g. at school, in the workplace)
• Educate others about breadth of spectrum
  • e.g. that some women/girls are verbally articulate but struggle to understand social situations

Accessing support

• Buddy systems in schools and workplaces
• Mentoring from other autistic people, who may be older or in some way more experienced
• Peer support to share experiences
  • Identification with each other, shared styles and perspectives
• Online support groups
• Doesn’t have to be formal support from service provider
• Knowing who and how to ask for help

Finding your comfort zones

• Opportunities to communicate about common interests
• Purposeful activities give basis for communicating about something concrete
• Online forums can be great place to communicate with others
  • Can be less social pressure/information
  • Gives time to consider responses