Reflections on Autism Awareness Day

Last Tuesday, students throughout High School enjoyed a variety of activities for our inaugural Autism Awareness Day (AAD), to help them better understand and empathise with others who think differently, especially those on the Autism Spectrum, and to connect them to the Jewish values, וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ “Love your fellow as yourself” and לֹ֥א תַעֲמֹ֖ד עַלדַּ֣ם רֵעֶ֑ךָ “Do not stand by the blood of your fellow”.

Here are some of their thoughts following their awareness session:

“I got to understand how a person with autism feels and the troubles that they are faced with. I was able to put myself in their shoes by participating in the games that we played which challenged how I understood both people’s actions, communication and their expressions. It was hard to guess what people were trying to express in charades and in the face game which is, I’m sure a lot harder, what a person with autism has to battle with every day.” Jordan Stein, Year 9

“The thing I enjoyed the most was trying to figure out the expression on other people’s faces, mostly because I failed at it. The thing I enjoyed the least was watching the video in the Cinema. It made we want to run and cover my ears, I felt trapped, though this was the wanted effect.”
Joshua Moses,Year 8

“I think this was a worthwhile activity because people who aren’t on the Spectrum got to feel what it is like. I learnt that people who have autism can find it hard to concentrate and people with autism are no different to us: they like having fun and they like being with friends.”  
Zac Urbach, Year 7

“One of the main messages I got from my AAD session today was that people who have autism hear and take things differently from us.  I enjoyed the loud video, especially when they got some people with autism to talk about their experiences in life and in High School.” Benjamin Rosenfeld, Year 7

“Everyone should know about people living with an Autism Spectrum Disorder and also get an understanding of what is it and what we can do to help.” Rachel Zwarenstein, Year 10 

“I (now) think… that people on the Autism Spectrum are not less than anyone else, and that they’re not worse or better, just different. Not all autistic people are the same, not everyone has the same symptoms or traits, and there isn’t just one stereotype you can apply to all of them. Eleanor Labi, Year 9

“The people who have autism have a different life.  We need to care about them and not bully them.” Chenyao Qu, Year 10

Daphna Levin-Kahn | Head of Jewish Studies High School