At Sunshine Primary School, there's a new student named Alex. Alex is different from other students because he has autism. Sometimes things can be difficult for Alex, but he also has special talents and strengths. Luckily, his classmates are aware of his autism challenges and are always willing to support Alex when upset.

Alex and his new sports

Alex was standing at the school gate, feeling nervous, and didn’t know what to do. Then Bill showed up next to him.

Bill: "Hey Alex! Don’t worry, I’m here. Let’s walk together to our P.E. class."

Alex: "H-Hey B-Bill… Yeah let’s… Let’s go together to P.E…

Bill: "Why are you so nervous though? We are just going to play basketball."

Alex: "Yeah…But- I don’t know about this game. What is it?"

Bill: "Come and see, you will love it!"

They walked through the hallway to go to the P.E. class.

Alex is watching how they play this sport, but he got even more nervous.

Alex: "Hey… Second thought… I don’t want to play."

Bill: "Come, don’t worry, just try playing."

Then Bill passed the ball to Alex. They played for 30 minutes and Alex started to like playing basketball.

Alex: "Wait I actually like playing basketball a lot now."

Bill: "See? I told you, there was nothing to worry about."

Alex: "You were right after all."

Alex is on the football pitch, looking disoriented. His friend, Nick, comes near him and asks: "Hey, Alex, can I help you?"

Alex says: "It`s very hard to play football and I`m afraid of the ball!"

Nick tries to encourage him telling: "I`ll bring a nice ball to teach you how to kick and catch it more easily, and then you will be able to play with us, in our team!"

Alex: "Oh, thank you so much, that`s a great idea!"

Sometimes Alex feels worried at school. Each bell makes him feel stress.

Alex:  "I can’t stand this noise”

Friend:  "Don’t worry, my friend. Let’s go to our classroom. We will sit down and relax. Follow me!"

Alex:  "No, I don’t want to. I want to go home."

Friend: "We can’t go home now. Would you like to drink water or walk around the school yard?"

Alex agrees to drink some water and calms down.

The music class is about to start.

Alex doesn’t seem to enjoy the Music class and he is suffering a  meltdown.  

A friend is approaching and he is asking him if he is OK and needs any help.

Alex answers that he needs some time out of the class 

quickly. Then his friend willingly takes Alex out of the class and helps him relax saying the following:

“Don’t worry, Alex. I am here for you, listen to me. Try to breathe in and out. We are out of the class now. Take as much time as you want. I will stand by your side!

After a few minutes Alex recovers and he calms down!

It gets even worse when pupils practice how to escape if it's a fire at school and the fire alarm blares.

Alex covers his ears breathing quickly. 

“I  can’t stand the noise” he says. 

His friend kneels down next to Alex and speaks calmly. 

“It’s OK Alex. The fire alarm is just for practice. We’ll be back in class soon. Let’s go to the meeting place and I’ll stay with you”. 

Sometimes  walking through a crowded hallway Alex feels overwhelmed.

Alex clutches backpack tightly.

” It’s too crowded!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

One of his classmates walks close to Alex and says: 

"Stay close, Alex. We'll get through this together. Let's talk about something fun."

Alex in Art classes

Alex came to the art class and he was told they need to do a project with craft papers. When he was given a piece of craft paper, he didn’t like the texture of the paper. So he started throwing a tantrum.
 Art teacher: ‘’What’s wrong with Alex?”
 Alex: "I can’t stand the texture of this paper!"
 Art teacher: "I can offer you a smoother paper."
 Alex: "OK."
 Art teacher: "I’m sorry, I can’t find the paper, but you can finish your project next week."
 Alex: "Can I finish it now with my friend’s help?"
 Art teacher: "Of course."

In the next art class, students were asked to draw a beautiful sunset.

 Alex started drawing quickly and really creatively, and in one point he said “ I love drawing”.

 When he finished the classmates gathered around him and when they looked at his drawing were surprised to see a beautiful realistic and colourful sunset that he drew all by himself.

His classmate Kate smiled at him proudly and she said: "You are really talented  Alex!!!"