{"id":12708,"date":"2023-04-03T18:52:49","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T13:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/?page_id=12708"},"modified":"2023-04-06T11:48:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-06T06:18:59","slug":"social-interactions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/social-interactions\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Interactions"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"12708\" class=\"elementor elementor-12708\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9b19bb5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9b19bb5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-0fcfcc6\" data-id=\"0fcfcc6\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-982721b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"982721b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.12.1 - 02-04-2023 *\/\n.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}<\/style><h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Social Interactions | P\u0101pori<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8917bae elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8917bae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Writer \u2013 Rachael Wiltshire<\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-77c18f3 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"77c18f3\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-6995b72\" data-id=\"6995b72\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84e5db9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"84e5db9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.12.1 - 02-04-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"712\" height=\"475\" src=\"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ex-6.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-12711\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ex-6.png 712w, https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/ex-6-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 712px) 100vw, 712px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c422612 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c422612\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a4c0faf\" data-id=\"a4c0faf\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-337a0c3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"337a0c3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Understanding Social Challenges<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-55dbafa elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"55dbafa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.12.1 - 02-04-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<div><div>Contrary to common stereotypes, autistic people do want and need friendships and other supportive social relationships. Tertiary education can be a particularly challenging time for autistic learners in terms of forming and maintaining supportive social relationships; whereas at school you interact with the same people in class each day, in a large tertiary course there may be little opportunity to interact with others regularly unless you know how to seek out those interactions yourself. Furthermore, moving away from home can mean you lose whatever existing support network you did have, with one student in our survey noting: \u201cTo go to uni, I had to move away from home into a city for the first time, so I had no support network.\u201d<\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-04f9939 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"04f9939\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3405f09\" data-id=\"3405f09\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6dbd353 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6dbd353\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Survey Findings<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0d5190e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0d5190e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Group work presented a major social challenge for the autistic tertiary learners who responded to our\u00a0survey. Learners also often struggled to create meaningful relationships on campus, despite recognising\u00a0the\u00a0importance of strong social\u00a0connections.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2430d27 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2430d27\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fb5f3db\" data-id=\"fb5f3db\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d94a29f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d94a29f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h5 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Support for Social Interaction and Connection<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbc2a6c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cbc2a6c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Autistic people can find engaging socially with neurotypical people to be both challenging and exhausting,\u00a0as they often feel pressure to mask their autistic traits so that they fit in (Crompton et al., 2020). However,\u00a0many autistic people report that they feel much more at ease around other autistic people, and autistic-led\u00a0peer support programmes have been shown to be an effective way of supporting autistic people (Crane et\u00a0al., 2021). Thus, one way in which you can support your autistic learners to connect socially is to advocate\u00a0for a peer support group for neurodivergent learners to be available on campus. If a peer support group is\u00a0not available, another option would be to suggest that the student tries a club that caters to their interests,\u00a0as they\u00a0are likely\u00a0to meet\u00a0like-minded\u00a0people in such an environment.<\/p><p>Many of the learners in our survey appreciated being able to form close working relationships with their teachers. For example, one student explained that \u201cI was very lucky to have perceptive and kind supervisors who were always supportive and somehow had an inkling of my difficulty in social situations.\u00a0They focused on my work, helped when they could, and were never intrusive.\u201d Whilst there are obviously\u00a0ethical reasons why making friends with your learners is not appropriate, being open to connecting with\u00a0your learners as people, for example by actively inviting people to come and talk to you after class or\u00a0during office hours, can go a long way to helping ensure your autistic learners get the chance to have\u00a0meaningful social\u00a0interactions\u00a0in their\u00a0day.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fc8f517 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fc8f517\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-36f1248\" data-id=\"36f1248\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-06065f9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"06065f9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h5 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">Group Work<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e7035ba elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e7035ba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Group work presented a major challenge for the learners in our survey, with the stress of being required to\u00a0work in\u00a0a\u00a0group\u00a0often\u00a0getting in\u00a0the\u00a0way of\u00a0them\u00a0actually\u00a0learning\u00a0anything,\u00a0as these\u00a0two\u00a0examples\u00a0show:<\/p><p>\u201cI don\u2019t have any problems with the content of the group work but having to work with others is very\u00a0challenging. When I\u2019m not under stress (working alone) I can complete the work to a better standard and\u00a0in less time.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cMany courses state that group work is an important part of learning which is why it is compulsory. For\u00a0most\u00a0people\u00a0this\u00a0is\u00a0true.\u00a0However,\u00a0for\u00a0me\u00a0the\u00a0anxiety\u00a0I\u00a0get\u00a0when\u00a0working\u00a0with\u00a0others\u00a0is\u00a0so\u00a0debilitating\u00a0that I usually can\u2019t contribute to the group work at all. This basically means I\u2019m only burdening the group\u00a0and putting myself in an awful situation. This doesn\u2019t benefit anyone\u2019s learning at all and goes against the\u00a0whole reason for group work in the first place. The ability to work independently should be a given option\u00a0and\u00a0not something that I should have to directly ask\u00a0for.\u201d<\/p><p>Before group work is assigned, it is important to question the rationale behind it, as this student explained:\u00a0\u201cPersonally I would like group work to always be optional or not included at all, unless you\u2019re on a career-\u00a0specific course that is preparing you for a specific career where group work is required. My view is that the\u00a0role of a university, especially if you are doing an arts or science degree, is to develop intellectual skills, not\u00a0to\u00a0make\u00a0you\u00a0\u2018job-ready\u2019-\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0way\u00a0group\u00a0work\u00a0works\u00a0at\u00a0university\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0really\u00a0match\u00a0how\u00a0working\u00a0with\u00a0others\u00a0works\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0job\u00a0anyway!\u201d\u00a0Unless\u00a0group\u00a0work\u00a0is\u00a0absolutely\u00a0required\u00a0to\u00a0fulfil\u00a0the\u00a0objectives\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0course,\u00a0learners\u00a0should\u00a0have\u00a0the\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to\u00a0opt-out\u00a0if\u00a0they\u00a0would\u00a0prefer\u00a0to\u00a0do\u00a0the\u00a0task\u00a0on\u00a0their\u00a0own. Where learners must work in a group to develop the skills that they need to graduate, keep in mind\u00a0that\u00a0many\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0group\u00a0tasks\u00a0assigned\u00a0in\u00a0educational\u00a0settings\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0actually\u00a0mirror\u00a0the\u00a0way\u00a0that\u00a0working\u00a0with others works in the real world (Green, 2016). When learners are assigned group work, they are\u00a0generally expected to reach decisions by consensus, whereas in the workplace there is normally a leader\u00a0who can make decisions where needed. Learners are also often expected to coordinate their schedules to\u00a0find time to meet to work on the project in their own time; something you would never be expected to do in\u00a0the workplace. Finally, in a job your income is not determined based on the output of the group, whereas in\u00a0a group project\u00a0your\u00a0grade often is.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9cf55c4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9cf55c4\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-397357f\" data-id=\"397357f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9c62de7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9c62de7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h5 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-medium\">You Can Support Your Learners by:<\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff22acb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ff22acb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>Pointing<\/strong><strong>learners<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>in<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>the<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>direction<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>of<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>neurodivergent<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>peer<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>support<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>networks,<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>or<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>clubs<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>on<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>campus<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>that cater to their interests. <\/strong>Learners may not be aware of what clubs and support networks exist or\u00a0how to sign up for them as a tutor or lecturer, you could briefly summarise what is available during an\u00a0introductory lecture, and emphasise that joining a club is a good way of making social connections on\u00a0 You could also discuss this information individually with learners who seem to be struggling\u00a0socially.<\/li><li><p><strong>Actively building supportive working relationships with your learners. <\/strong>In a smaller course, you can get to know each individual student and tailor your teaching to their needs. Whilst this is not possible on a larger course, being open to learners stopping by after class or during office hours for a quick chat means that learners who struggle to interact socially with their peers can still have meaningful social interactions in their day.<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Giving learners the ability to opt-out of group work wherever possible. <\/strong>Unless group work is an\u00a0integral part of meeting the course objectives, learners should have the opportunity to complete group\u00a0assignments individually\u00a0if they\u00a0would prefer<\/p><\/li><li><p><strong>Rethinking how you do group work. <\/strong>If group work is an absolutely non-negotiable part of your course, you can make it less stressful and more reflective of the real world by:<\/p><ul><li><p>Ensuring learners get to work with people they know, just like they would do in the workplace. This\u00a0might mean waiting until later in the semester to do group work, so that everyone has had a chance\u00a0to\u00a0meet each other<\/p><\/li><li><p>Giving learners enough time during class to complete the project- or at least enough time to discuss the project and delegate tasks that need to be completed by the next class. This serves two purposes: it means that learners don\u2019t have to worry about coordinating their schedules to find a time to meet, and it also means that you can monitor how the groups are working and intervene if there is a problem.<\/p><\/li><li><p>Assigning each person an individual grade, based on their contribution to the project. You could grade people on how well they worked with their group, on the output, or on a combination of the two (just ensure that the learners understand what they are being graded on). If you are grading how well people worked with their group, you might ask each member of the group for anonymous feedback on each other, but it is important to also take your own observations into consideration to avoid unfairly punishing learners simply because other members of their group did not like them. If you are grading the output, ask each group member to clearly state what they worked on; otherwise, the risk is that one person will do all the work so that they don\u2019t get a low grade<\/p><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li><p><strong>Incorporating group learning experiences into your teaching instead of using group projects as<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>assessments. <\/strong>This approach means learners get practice in working with others without the stress that\u00a0traditional group projects\u00a0entail.<\/p><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-4781f04 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"4781f04\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-10fa955\" data-id=\"10fa955\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3373566 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3373566\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Final Words<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-57dd3d5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"57dd3d5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>People learn best when they feel safe and supported in their relationships with their teachers and peers.By helping your autistic learners to form meaningful relationships, you are supporting them to get the most out of their time in tertiary education.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Social Interactions | P\u0101pori Writer \u2013 Rachael Wiltshire Understanding Social Challenges Contrary to common stereotypes, autistic people do want and need friendships and other supportive social relationships. Tertiary education can be a particularly challenging time for autistic learners in terms of forming and maintaining supportive social relationships; whereas at school you interact with the same [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12708"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12708"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13651,"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12708\/revisions\/13651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aacvirast.com\/accNew\/accvirast\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}