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Autism Network Scotland is very pleased to announce that the winners of our Autism
Partnership Champions award are....
HILLPARK AUTISM UNIT SENIOR BUDDIES
Hillpark Autism Unit is an integrated unit in Hillpark Secondary School in Glasgow, where
young people on the autism spectrum are supported to access mainstream education and
fully integrated in the school.
Hillpark Autism Unit also provides an outreach service, not just to mainstream pupils on the
autism spectrum within Hillpark, but supports teachers in other Glasgow schools to work
more effectively with young people on the autism spectrum. We asked the school to tell us
about the support the Buddies provide and heard from some of the pupils involved.
One of our assets is our well established Buddy Network co-ordinated by Julie MacRae
(pictured below right with the Buddies' Autism Champions certificate). Pupils in our 5th and
6th year volunteer to become buddies to pupils on the autism spectrum. Anyone who is
interested can become involved and there is no selection process! The thinking behind this is
that the more people who learn about autism the better! The buddies will bring greater
awareness and understanding to wherever they go after they leave school!
The buddy network teacher co-ordinator, Julie MacRae, runs training workshops at the start
of the school session after school. In these, the potential buddies learn about the nature of a
spectrum of human behaviour and relate this to themselves in areas such as shyness,
organisational ability, sociability etc. The aim of understanding a spectrum of human
behaviour is to get the young people to identify that people with autism are not separate from
them, do not meet a stereotypical list of behaviours and are diverse in personality. We then
try to get the buddies to view things from an autistic perspective and understand different
thinking.
The buddies learn about the difficulties young people with autism may encounter. Learning to
see situations from an autistic perspective helps the buddies understand how they can help. It
is important that buddies are aware of the need for sensitivity and confidentiality. Developing
trust especially with young people who experience a lack of connection with others or have
been bullied is essential to being a good support. Many of the buddies have already
established friendships with pupils with autism and others develop these. Buddies support
pupils academically through helping with homework and understanding of aspects of their
coursework.
Buddies are role models to pupils and can model age appropriate behaviour more effectively
than adults. They can offer advice on social issues which affect young people. An area where
they are invaluable is peer relationships. They foster an ethos of belonging to, not just the
supportive community in the unit, but the wider school. Buddies look out for pupils in the
mainstream school environment and can report issues which are not always be recognised
by staff members.
Buddies are particularly helpful with negotiating social networking safely. Many pupils with
autism are very able in using technology but can leave themselves vulnerable in the virtual
world.
The friendships and trust built up between buddies and young people with autism transcends
the merely supportive role and enhances the strong sense of community in Hillpark Autism
Unit.
The buddies benefit by being able to include their experience in their personal statements for
further and higher education, job applications, references etc. Some of our buddies have
been able to use their school buddying to enable them to volunteer to work with groups with
support needs.
Our buddies all received Diana Awards in 2013!
Most of all, all of our buddies report how much they have gained
personally…
"Being a buddy has given me so much
insight into what being on the autism
spectrum means and has given me the
chance and become more knowledgeable
and understanding of and encouraging to
others I will meet in my life beyond
school.”
Christina Milby
“Having the opportunity to be a buddy has
introduced me to so many great people
who I probably wouldn’t have been able
to get to know so well if I hadn’t got
involved.”
Martine Park
Lastly, a word from the pupils...
“The buddies helped me well with social skills. Classes were better when they were there
because it was much more fun and they understood the kind of difficulties I had when I came
to secondary school. The buddies can explain how the school works and how to get on with
people. I would like to be a buddy when I am older because I like helping people and the
buddies certainly helped me. It is good to have older friends in the school because it helped
me to feel more part of the school when I first came here.”
“Me and one of the buddies became very close and she offered to take me out for days out at
the weekend. I also became very friendly with buddies who chatted to me at lunchtimes and
helped me with homework. They helped me when I felt sad and were very understanding.
When I had things worrying me, the buddies really helped by speaking to me about these and
making me think more positively. It’s good to have the buddies!”
“The buddies were nice. They helped me understand in class more easily. When we were
talking in self and social awareness classes, they shared things that had been difficult for
them and how they overcame these. This was really helpful and it is good to have older
friends in school who can look out for you. “
Knowing that other pupils have experienced lots of the same kind of worries and difficulties
helps pupils with autism feel less separate and confused.
Autism Network Scotland would like to congratulate our new
Autism Partnership Champions.
Tomorrow we will be announcing the winner of our individual award - our Autism Champion!