Absenteeism - Module 4

1.2. VULNERABILITY OF STUDENTS WITH ASD TO ABSENTEEISM

As we have mentioned before, there are certain risk factors for absenteeism that make students with ASD especially vulnerable. The factors associated with the individual are especially relevant. We have already mentioned in the previous modules the specific characteristics of people with autism and it is important to identify how these can make them more vulnerable to absenteeism

• Social communication: the lack of social skills to have satisfactory interpersonal relationships, often makes them isolate themselves from their group class and don not have the feeling of belonging to the class, so important as not to be an added factor for absenteeism. 
• Restrictive interests: unusual interests and in a very high intensity, makes that, sometimes, the interaction between colleagues and people with autism is not adequate because they cannot share the same interest at the same level
• Difficulty in non-verbal communication: the inadequate interpretation of jokes and ironies makes them not detect when they are being bullied. 
• Cognitive rigidity and difficulty in adapting to changes causes them to have higher levels of anxiety, which can cause them to be more irascible and perform inappropriate behaviours.
• The hyper o hypo sensitivity to certain sounds, textures, touches… also makes the anxiety levels that people with autism have to endure are higher than the resto f their peers.