WILLIAM’S STORY – ASD WITH EAL

WILLIAM’S STORY - ASD with EAL

How William arrived at The Seeds of Change:

NB Names altered for anonymity

William was born in England in 2015 and moved back to Poland with his family when he was two, staying there for five years. William was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and has difficulties with communication and interaction. He attended a special needs school for two years while in Poland but since his return to England in 2022 had not attended a setting here. During this time, he became very distressed and lost a significant amount of weight, which medical professionals deemed to be caused by psychological stress. He was referred to CAHMS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) and a tutor was in place to attend the family home for ten hours a week. When William attended his initial site visit to The Seeds of Change, his father had to hold his hand constantly as William would try to run away. William struggled to communicate, using a little English and Polish language combined with ‘babbling’ speech. In William’s first session he was willing to hold his coach’s hand but seemed to find it hard to listen to and understand boundaries put in place to keep him safe.

William’s Context:

The National Autistic Society identifies that people who are hypersensitive may engage in sensory seeking behaviours to gain more sensory input from the environment. For example, people with autism may stimulate their senses by making loud noises, touching people or objects, or rocking back and forth.

People with autism also often experience mental health problems. Seven out of ten autistic people have a mental health condition such as anxiety, depression or OCD. Language barriers can also impact on access to services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, with racial and ethnic disparities in accessing health care. In a retrospective review of 150 children with ASD, children of parents whose primary language was English were significantly more likely to have both social and communication goals with their individualized education plan compared to children of whose primary language was not English. (https://www.youngminds.org.uk)

William’s Journey at The Seeds of Change:

Aims for the placement:

William’s time at The Seeds of Change:

William was quite lively when he first attended The Seeds of Change but a calm and gentle approach seemed to engage him and enable him to feel relaxed and safe. We focused on meeting his sensory needs through grooming our miniature Shetland pony. William seemed to show signs of hypersensitivity as he explored touching the pony and the grooming equipment, apparently seeking out and responding to the sensory experiences. He constantly explored different textures with his hands, allowing him to gain information from his environment and encounter new sensations in a safe and comfortable way. Ensuring William’s sensory needs were met seemed to enable him to feel confident and build a trusting relationship with the pony.

Building on this positive interaction with the horses, William began to explore different aspects of communication through meaningful and natural responses. During a task in the arena, for example, he led the pony, with support, to a letter on the fencing, and traced his finger around it as I said the sound it represented. When I said a word beginning with the letter, William would repeat it back to me, beginning to extend both his vocabulary and his frequency of using words. As this built William’s communication skills and understanding, he began to engage in greeting other people around the site, empowering him to break down communication barriers.

To support his communication needs, William responded well to using his name, keeping language simple and speaking clearly. Using simple gestures, eye contact and exaggerated facial expressions supported his understanding relating to the contexts we explored, as did allowing time for William to process and understand. As each session is tailored to the learner’s needs, William was able to take his time and explore his interests or sensations to their fullest extent, giving him space and opportunities to respond when he was ready to do so. In his early sessions, William would try to run if his hand was not held, as he didn’t know how to stay safe or understand potential hazards. However, through gently but clearly held boundaries, and through recognising the horses’ responses to different situations, William began to understand our rules and expectations around the horses. He was soon able to adapt his interactions when he became excited and maintained engagement with activities for increasing amounts of time, working alongside his coach with greater independence.

Using the full extent of the environment around us, William engaged with the small animals, the sand, the plants and other outdoor materials to explore new learning opportunities. He developed his fine and gross motor skills, enhancing dexterity with his pencil grip as we combined paper-based activities with our practical work, as well exploring activities around daily living. After a period of time, William was able to verbalise his responses to some of the pony’s behaviours, supporting him to express his own feelings of happy, sad or angry. The positive impact on William’s mental wellbeing began to shine through in his sessions as he would sing in a sweet lullaby voice to the pony, smiling, laughing and moving his hands in excitement.