EBSNA and Autistic Spectrum Condition ASC (ASD)

Anxiety and challenges in stress management are common in children and young people with autism. Additionally, anxiety may worsen during adolescence, as young people face increasingly complex social interactions and often become more aware of their differences and interpersonal difficulties.

 

There is emerging academic research into the prevalence of autistic children/young people and EBSNA, but due to the anxieties often experienced children/young people with autism, they are at increased risk of EBSNA.

 

The factors which influence levels of anxiety in  children/young people with ASC, as with any child, are multiple and often complex; associated with context blindness, executive functioning, limited theory of mind, difficulties processing language, focus on detail, sensory processing differences (Ozsivadjian and Knott 2016; Gaus 2011; McLeod et al 2015; Ting and Weiss 2017).

 

Recent research also considers intolerance of uncertainty as a key contributing factor to anxiety in autism children/young people. Schools are complex social environments that can be exhausting for autistic children/young people; they are spending cognitive energy managing this social experience and can become overloaded. 

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Students with ASC/ASD will often mask to cope with a day at school, they may appear fine while in school but unable to function when they come home. Over time, this leads to burn out, and may contribute to eventual EBSNA.

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A comprehensive and school wide understanding of good practice around autism will benefit, not only those with Autism, but all learners.

Resources: https://psychology.smartschool.services/supporting-EBSNA-and-autism/​

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