Post #28 Kind or Not Kind?
Mental Health Awareness Week shines a light on kindness and the benefits for those who carry out acts of kindness. Sadly it is essential we also teach autistic children about what is NOT KIND. It is a sad fact of life that unkindness exists across society. Targets of unkindness are frequently those who are perceived as different in some way. It is widely recognised that autistic youngsters (and adults) are vulnerable to unkindness and often make easy targets. It is vital therefore that we teach about what is not kind and what to do when they experience unkindness . However, this is more complex than it might seem as recognising unkindness requires us to 'read' the intentions of other people. Autistic children and young people may find it difficult to read and interpret the intentions of others. This makes it all the more important to develop strategies to enable them to recognise unkindness, to make distinctions between degrees of unkindness and to know what to do when they...