Two new, free, easy-read guides aim to help autistic people navigate relationships safely, whether in person or online
Leading charity Leeds Autism Services has published two free new guides that aim to help autistic people navigate relationships safely.
Photo by Timon Studler / Unsplash
The first, People Puzzles, is a guide to managing difficult friendships. ‘Sometimes our friends do things that make us feel bad,’ it says, ‘but they do not mean to hurt our feelings.’
The guide then provides examples to help explain the difference between actions that might make us feel bad but are ‘usually okay’, and actions – such as being mean or controlling – that are more serious.
For example, it’s okay for someone to have a different opinion or not feel the same way about something as you. It’s not okay for someone to call you names, say bad things about you, shout at you or make threats.
The guide also provides advice on what to do in such cases, namely speaking to a trusted other person.
While this guide will be helpful for navigating relationships both in-person and online, the second guide is aimed specifically at online relationships. Think Before You Link outlines some of the risks to being on the internet, such as that other users can lie or not be quite what they seem. It provides tips for staying safe online.
The two guides are designed to provide people with the information they need to make their own decisions, in accessible and easy-to-digest formats. Both guides can be easily printed for easy in sharing. People Puzzles comprises five pages; Think Before You Link comprises four pages.
In producing these two guides, Leeds Autism Services has been able to draw from more than 35 years of experience in tackling the challenges faced by autistic people.
The issue, says the charity in launching these new guides, is not that autistic people can’t make good decisions but that they are not always given the information they need in a suitable format. This can adversely affect a person’s sense of control which in turn damages confidence and self-esteem.
The two guides, People Puzzles and Think Before You Link, can be downloaded for free from the Leeds Autism Services website. A wealth of other guides and resources are also available on the charity’s well-being channel.
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