ABSTRACT
This chapter explores: how autism is about a different way of thinking, autism and sensory processing and stress and anxiety, autism, social interaction and Theory of Mind, and autism, communication and language. It aims to reflect that autism is a spectrum condition, that every individual is different and that people change over time. Authentic views of people on the spectrum and their families underpin discussion of autism theory and its relationship to practice. The chapter aims to foster an empathic understanding of what it might be like to be autistic with a view to helping practitioners to create autism-friendly learning environments. Some autism-focused interventions will be discussed briefly here, but these also have the potential to reduce barriers for other learners within a framework of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is a framework, as are approaches such as SPELL and REAL, which seek to provide a set of principles rather than a box of tools.
