Ask Sam letter

Asker

To Sam

I have mild autism

Hi Sam,
I have mild autism and I find it hard to cope at my school. I go to a boarding school so I can't escape from anyone even if I get hurt. I don't always understand what people talk about because I find its hard to follow a conversation so when someone says something to me I seen a little lost and they sometimes laugh rather than explaining to me what's going on. I want to be a true friend but my classmates don't tell me many things because they think I might not understand them but I do i just find it hard to express myself. Will you give me some advice please? :)
please reply to me with simple language  , thank you:)
Ask Sam

Sam

Hi there,

It sounds like you often feel left out of conversations with other people in your school. Having autism should not stop you from having good friendships. It is wrong of people to laugh at you if you don’t understand something straight away. Making you feel left out from conversations by laughing could be bullying. Bullying is never okay. You can get help and support from school if it is affecting you.

Autism affects how people communicate and how they start relationships with other people. People with autism sometimes have to find different ways of understanding what someone is saying. Often people can find ways to communicate that work for them and the people around them. It can just take time, patience and practice. You can get advice on our page about autism.

When you are thinking about ways to feel more included in conversations, it could really help to get some advice from someone you trust.

If there is anyone who understands you well, perhaps you could talk to them about what helps make talking to them work. You could then try some of these tips when talking to other people. You could also get advice about this on our message boards by talking to other young people who have autism, or who know someone who has. You can also find out more about asking an adult for help.

You can talk to a ChildLine counsellor about how you are feeling and how your autism affects you. The counsellors won’t judge anything you have to say. They want to support you to feel more able to cope.

Take care,
Sam

Need help straight away?

You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.

Ask me a question

You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.

Write me a letter