is there such thing as a stupid question?
Hey there, my name is holly, I'm new to this group, I'm currently a grade 12 student at a Highschool here on PEI. Just this year I received my autism diagnosis, (Apparently not to anyone's surprise.) Though it's a topic I'm still not 100% sure on how to talk about I've made it a point to be myself And not "Hide" my diagnosis out of shame; as I have done in the past. The direct result of that is the mass amount of my peers who confide in me who also have autism and who also feel overlooked by the school system. There is a desperately high demand for more sensory friendly areas in my school. My hope is that I can establish something before I graduate, my school does not have a developed peer community of neurodivergent students (that I'm aware of) and it's about time someone started one, even if it's just to meet once a month so that we can find a place to desensitize that isn't the bathroom, which proves to be an overstimulating environment to begin with Especially considering teenagers and there tendency to congregate in bathrooms... Anyway looking for advice! Also hello!
if you can't tell I like to talk and feel free to send me an email if you'd like, or message me @holly.Anne.musicc on Instagram❤️
Congratulations on your diagnosis Holly and welcome to the group! Every school on PEI should absolutely have sensory friendly areas and it is appalling that they don't already. Your diagnostician probably already shared this with you--now that you are officially diagnosed, you have some new rights protected by the Human Rights Act. Your school is required to provide accommodations for you (as long as it doesn't require undue hardship or something along those lines). So if you need a sensory friendly room to decompress at anytime, one should be provided. If your school refuses this, there are other options to help push them along. If this happens, feel free to ask here and I'll let you know how you can escalate the request. (Also, if your school happens to be Westisle, feel free to send me a DM, I have some connections there). It's really great you are stepping out and doing this. It's something that many autistic people would find really difficult. But as you said, it's going to help so many!