Put yourself in their shoes

For many years I have had an interest in working with people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) and have spent many years working for both a disabled charity and a camp in america with a wide range of individuals all heterogenous to each other.  Having attended many CPD events such as the Autism Show and a conference day hosted by Autism Anglia I have had an opportunity to widen my understanding of Autism and gain more of an insight into the lifes of the people I have worked with.  However, can someone ever really have an insight of someone elses life, without having stepped into their shoes?

 

At the Autism Anglia day there were many obstacle courses set up.

 

The first one included un-wrapping a starburst sweet with a mitten on, no ability to grip it, no sensory input to feel the edges of the wrapper and general annoyance that the sweet you wanted was unobtainable to you. 

 

Next obstacle was manouvering around many objects, but whilst using binoculars.  You may think this sounds relatively easy, but when the binoculars are being used in the wrong way, everything diminished in size.  It became both tricky and frustrating to manouvere your way across a classroom.

For me, this was an eye opening experience to begin to make a step toward understanding of how my clients must feel on a daily basis. Then came the surpise of it all. 

 

I was sat in a lecture at university, when the lights began to flicker.  Not only did that come with an annoyance over light input and sight, it was accompanyed by a bleeping noise that persisted the whole lecture.  On top of this I became distinctly aware of the persons next to me heavily breathing through their mouth (a current round of head colds!) and the banging of doors in rooms above and below our classroom.  Having recently experienced some sensory difficulties at the Autism Anglia day, I was overly aware that all these sensory experiences in the lecture were both frustrating, removed my concentration and were out of my control. 

 

This morning I read on Twitter about a new game called "Auti-Sim", a simulation game that replicates sensory overload as a way for people to experience neurological difficulties. The 2 minute youtube clip is enough to throw anyone off and many people who have been diagnosed as having Autism or Aspergers have noted that it is accurate to their daily experiences.

 

This makes me wonder, how many people try to put themselves in the physical shoes of their clients? I know in stroke training hemianopia glasses are given to allow professionals to experience visionary loss.  So besides Autism and Stroke, are there ways to experience how your client feels day in and day out? Has anyone had any other experiences with these client groups that has supported their understanding of their client?

 

For me, I have widened my understanding of both those I have previously worked with and those I will in the hopeful furture work with. 

 

In the coming month myself and my peers hope to attend a special Autism Screening at the local Cinema to review this, and to get some feedback about how these specialist set ups not only help decrease sensory stimulation in those with autism, but also how they allow someone with autism to access society.

 

Reference:

"Auti-Sim" A review: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/auti-sim-lets-you-experience-the-horror-of-sensory-overload/
Youtube Clip: "Auti-Sim" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwS-qm8hUxc&feature=player_embedded