Nigel Borg: Personal Address to the United Nations – Autism Awareness
Autism – Removing Barriers to Education
A huge congratulations to Nigel Borg (18). Nigel had the privilege to represent Malta and address the Congress of United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Nigel lives with ASD and about autism awareness and removing barriers to education for young people with autism. He is also a cousin of ONCALL Director Anna Fleming who is extremely proud of his achievements and leadership.
Nigel spoke about his experience with autism and the issue of removing barriers to education for young people with autism. He highlighted several changes that would help remove barriers to education.
MANDATORY UNIFORMS
Wearing uniforms can be extremely uncomfortable for children with ASD. Nigel believes more should be done to fully comprehend the sensory needs of children with autism. He emphasized the importance of schools actively making an effort to understand what would be more comfortable for children with autism as well as provide practical solutions.
EDUCATION FOR TEACHERS
Nigel also expressed the importance of further educating teachers. Specifically on approaches to dealing with the presentation and functions of different behaviours. He stated that reasons for certain behaviours such as forgetting homework or arriving late to school are often different and harder to overcome for children with Autism. He highlighted the fact that shouting and aggressive reactions to such behaviours should also be avoided when dealing with children as they typically enhance fear rather than discipline.
CLASSROOM SETTINGS
Classroom settings are also a barrier to education. A classroom setting often causes sensory overload and can be extremely distracting for children with ASD. This limits their potential to learn. Nigel believes offering different spaces for learning such as quiet rooms and one-to-one sessions would help.
Nigel recognised the efforts already made to help reduce certain barriers to education. However, he emphasized that more changes need to happen today in order to unlock the potential and opportunities for new generations.
While Nigel’s observations are based on his personal experience with the Maltese education system, the points he makes are just as relevant for education systems throughout the world, including Australia. We thank the UN for providing a public platform to highlight the diverse needs of those on the Autism spectrum.
You can watch Nigel’s full address here (13:30-18:30).
World Autism Awareness Day takes place on 2 April every year. The internationally recognized day encourages Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) throughout the world. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution “62/139.