Autism Awareness month is upon us yet again.

This month I have been busy. On April, the 1st I was very pleased that I passed my driving test in a manual car first time, with only 2 minor faults. This is thanks to my driving instructor David Myatt from Halo driving school. So, as you can guess, since I have passed I have been very busy driving.

I have also been working on the ‘Together We Act’ drama project of 2017 yet again, and it has flown by, as tomorrow is my last day on the project for yet again another year. This year the project has been a little different, as we have looked at the key elements in acting with the children which are Body, Voice, and Character.

We have then managed to produce a performance following the 4-day workshop which will hopefully boost their understanding in emotions, as people on the spectrum like myself often struggle to read emotions and how to respond to them. We have based the performance on emoji’s, allowing the children of today can play around with something they are interested in, yet they can gain a valuable learning experience from it. 

Reflecting back to 4 years ago, when our first workshop was, I find it quite an achievement to look back on, and see how far I have come. I look at how much I have come on as a person, and I wouldn’t be able to do that without the support from everyone around me, especially the amazing people who work for ILEAP and IDS. 

I always have and always will believe that drama is such a powerful tool for children on the autism spectrum, allowing them to experiment behaviours and role play in a safe environment, learning key social skills needed in life.

Finally, I would like to congratulate my co-worker and friend from our drama team Joy Harrison, on her recent film she has produced called ‘Where the Skin Lies’. Please take a look at their website: www.wheretheskinlies.com