Our 5th and 6th class pupils recently had the opportunity to take part in a workshop titled ‘Understanding Autism and Neurodiversity.’ This was delivered by *AsIAm*, a charity that focuses on representing, connecting, coordinating and unifying the Autism community in Ireland. They empower and support Autistic people to reach their full potential, while simultaneously challenging society to be fully accepting and accessible to every Autistic person
During the session, the children learned about what autism is and just as importantly, how everyone experiences the world differently. The presenter Ciara encouraged open discussion and used age-appropriate examples and fun games to help pupils understand topics such as communication, sensory differences, and the importance of kindness and respect. The children were highly engaged and asked thoughtful questions throughout. They even learned about some sports stars and celebrities who are autistic and neurodiverse.
The workshop helped pupils to develop empathy and a greater awareness of how small actions can make a big difference in creating an inclusive school community. Key messages focused on accepting differences, being a good friend, and understanding that everyone has their own strengths and challenges.
We were extra lucky that a videographer joined us to film the session and some of the boys got to do post workshop interviews on what they learned – a very cool experience for everyone.
Experiences like this support our school’s commitment to inclusion and help our pupils grow into understanding and respectful members of the community. It also ties in with the following school beliefs which we work towards everyday – We believe in excellence ,we believe in equality, we believe in serving others, we believe in kindness, we believe in success and we believe we can all be our best selves.
We would like to thank ‘AsIAm’ for delivering such an informative and positive session and well done to all the boys for engaging so well and being so polite and respectful to our guests.
Togher Boys' National School 