2023-06-07 12:25:24
College of Health on June 7, 2023
The aim of the event at the University of Health was to draw the attention of health professionals in particular to the topic and to sensitize them to dealing with autistic people.
Almost 200 interested parties appeared in person or connected digitally to the After Work Lecture at the University of Health (HS Gesundheit) in Bochum on the topic of “Interdisciplinary Autism”. The aim of the event was to raise awareness of autism, especially among those involved in healthcare. The event was organized by the study programs occupational therapy, speech therapy and physical therapy in cooperation with the Autism Center Bochum. Speakers were Teresa Jünner, head of the Bochum Autism Therapy Center for family and nursing care, and Meike Misia, a freelance autism consultant and herself an autistic person.
“We are pleased regarding the great interest, also beyond the university,” said Prof.in Dr.in Renée Oltman, who welcomed the participants. In addition to students, cooperation partners and employees of the university, participants from therapeutic practices, schools, funding institutions and parents of autistic children were also present.
Especially the inside view, presented by Meike Misia, helped the audience to change their perspective. She described the areas in which autistic people encounter barriers in everyday life, which factors make successful communication difficult and which diseases often occur in those affected (comorbidities). “People who deviate from the expected normality have more problems,” she analyzed. This became particularly clear when looking at the comorbidities. For example, autistic people are more likely to be affected by ADHD or diagnoses such as depression or anxiety disorders.
Meike Misia made it clear how deficit-oriented the view of autistic people is and spoke out in favor of neurodiversity. “We have to accept that the brains are different and work differently, just like people’s hair and eye color differ.” The listeners were particularly impressed by the very personal insight into everyday challenges, and one participant replied: “Thank you very much for that this professional and at the same time personal insight. This is not only helpful for dealing with clients in occupational therapy, but in general.”
Towards the end, the speakers derived assignments for professional practice. Teresa Jünner emphasized: “It is not only important when treating children to provide security, to build up a secure bonding experience and to create a predictable treatment.” For the treatment context, it is important to announce physical contact in advance, as well as, for example, a change of reference person. “But the most important thing is to take what the patients say seriously.” Ultimately, the behavior of autistics, also in a medical or health context, can be described as follows: “We mean what we say. We believe what we hear.” Meike Misia affirmed that this should be considered in communication.
After the lecture, many questions and the feedback from the participants showed that there is still a need to deal with the topic of autism. “We will be happy to continue the cooperation between the University of Health and the Autism Center for Family and Nursing Bochum and consider together how we can develop further offers,” said Prof.in Dr.in Reneé Oltman following the event.
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