Autism awareness is so important, and it’s something that we want to make sure is taught in an engaging and meaningful way. We don’t want our students to find the sessions ‘boring’ – we want them to take it all in and really take note of everything that we are sharing.
When we teach autism awareness to my students, we make sure to talk about it and learn about it in a variety of ways. This ensures that our students are engaged and learning lots about autism.
Autism awareness is improving year on year. And each year, we see more schools taking time to ensure that they are teaching about autism awareness to their students. This is huge progress, and something that I hope continues to grow in years to come.
One part of our autism awareness activities this week was to make a jam tart. We used puzzle piece cutters to cut out the pastry to decorate our jam tart with. I know that the jigsaw puzzle is a bit taboo – some people like it, and some don’t. To be honest, this is personal preference – and it’s something that we discuss with our parents.
The parents of the students I teach all like the puzzle piece idea. I think it depends on how you view the puzzle pieces. My students parents see it that every puzzle piece is different – no two are the same. They link this to everyone – not just autistics. Every single person on this planet is different. But, when we work together, we can build something beautiful. And whether you agree or not, that’s ok. We are all different and we like different things. The main lesson here, is to ensure we are spreading as much autism awareness as we can.
Ingredients
- Pre-made pastry. I know you can make your own – but with my kiddos, we’re doing ok with the pre-made pastry right now.
- Butter.
- Strawberry jam.
- Circular cake tin.
- Jigsaw piece cutters.
- Rolling pin.
Directions
- First, spread some butter around your cake tin to grease it – this will stop the jam tart sticking to the tin.
- Then, use your rolling pin to roll out the pastry into a circle. Drop it into the cake tin so that it sits just above the edges.
- Add the strawberry jam into the pastry.
- Again, use your rolling pin to roll out the pastry.
- Use your jigsaw cutters to cut out the pieces of pastry and place them on top of the jam in the cake tin.
- Place into the oven to bake.
- Once cool – enjoy!
How do you help to spread autism awareness? You can find some great activities here.
