Hoodie Up for autism awareness

An initiative from Amaze, Wear a Hoodie Day at MLMC on Friday 1 April marked the end of our annual Autism Acceptance Week.

The initiative involved students and staff wearing hoodies because some autistic people experience sensory sensitivities and can become overloaded by stimuli in their environment; wearing their hoodie up means they can block out bright lights and busy environments which helps calm them.

According to Amaze, the peak body for autistic people and their supporters in Victoria, research shows that 98% of Australians have heard of autism, and 85% of Australians have personal contact with an autistic person, yet only 29% of Australians agree that they have a good understanding of how to support autistic people and only 4% of autistic people thought Australians knew how to support them (Source: https://www.amaze.org.au/get-involved/hoodie-up/)

Wear A Hoodie Day, along with the activities, videos and discussions had throughout the week, were aimed at building knowledge, understanding and acceptance. Take a moment to think about how wearing a hoodie up contributed to a more inclusive school culture and the positive change that brought to our community. Our College community is helping to shape a better future for autism.

During the week our students also completed a strengths activity as a Homeroom. After discussing neurodiversity and how all our brains can be different throughout the week, this activity on the Friday brought it all back together. It showed the students that despite differences in the way our brains work, we can always find something in common with the people around us to develop a sense of belonging and community. Students from Year 9 Blue are pictured in the gallery below completing the activity.