However, when this goes on for long periods, it starts becoming really damaging and actually means that we produce fewer new brain cells. It also affects the emotional and fear centres of our brain, so that we feel more anxious and worried. This can lead to use feeling overwhelmed and develop conditions such as anxiety and depression in the long term. 
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Resilience means that our cortisol levels, the stress hormone that can become damaging, subsides back to safe limits quickly.  ​

We have to think about all the things that helps us feel better and more positive. The most important element of building resilience is having positive relationships. Whether that is a parent, relative, teacher or social worker that we can really trust to support us when things go wrong.  

Having that key relationship means that we don’t feel alone and know that we have someone responsible with whom to talk our worries through and can help us figure out how to deal with difficult situations. 
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It’s having friends that we trust and can have a laugh but also share our concerns, knowing that we won’t be mocked or manipulated. ​

Give yourself as many opportunities as you can to meet people. Whether at school, through a youth club or joining a sports or community group. Find ways that you can meet different types of people and increase your chances of meeting and making new friends. 
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Find ways to improve yourself and your own personal development. This might be getting stuck into your studies at school, but this could also be learning to play a musical instrument, developing your photography skills or learning a new sport. Doing something that makes you feel like you are improving and achieving increases the positive hormones in our bodies and helps reduce cortisol. ​

When you start to understand how our bodies really work and the way our hormones and other chemicals in our bodies work, building resilience feels less difficult. As you build your resilience through these varied areas, things will feel less challenging and you will feel more able to cope. Life is always full of challenges but how we approach them and feel about them, makes a big difference to whether we feel overwhelmed or whether we feel that although it’s hard, it will be okay in the long run. 
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Find the things that work for you in each area and if your life means there are lots of stresses, because sometimes that is the way it is, find ways to increase the resilience building activities that you do. It’s all part of how we develop coping strategies and how well we are able to bounce back! ​

It impacts our brains and means: 

• It affects our behaviour and ability to manage our emotions 
• ​Less new brain cells created and eventually the brain starts to shrink 
• Our ability to think is affected so we have difficulty with learning and remembering
• We have an overactive fear response in the amygdala; the brain’s fear centre 
• Reduced neurological pathways developed in the brain  

All of this then also affects our health:  

• ACEs research shows that there is a strong close response relationship between ACEs and poor physical and mental health, chronic disease such as type II diabetes, lung disease; heart disease; cancer, increased levels of violence, and lower academic success both in childhood and adulthood.  
• 1 in 3 mental health conditions in adults directly related to childhood experiences. 
• Excessive cortisol, our stress hormone, causes damage and health related difficulties in all the bodies systems it supports. 
• ​It causes changes to how genes are expressed and is then passed on to the next generation and further. ​

If our childhood issues have been very serious then support from professionals will probably be needed, so don’t be afraid to talk to someone responsible and trusted. However, there is so much that we can do to help ourselves too! The brain is amazing, so is able to repair many issues over time. Exercise, yoga and meditation are known to have great healing effects and helps us to create new pathways in our brain that help us think and learn better, but it also helps calm our brains fear centre and reduces the amount of stress hormone in our bodies. 
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Developing and maintaining positive relationships with trusted and responsible individuals and building a support network of friends and family but also teachers, youth workers etc, also helps. Being human means although it might feel uncomfortable sometimes, we do need other people to help and support us. ​

Many of us share these issues and some still impact us today, but with the support of others and learning to build our own resilience, we can achieve happy, healthy, successful lives. So, talk to someone and know you’ve got this! ​

Life throws all kinds of challenges at us. Starting a new school or job, exams or deadlines, moving house, problems at home, illness, bereavement, issues with friends, bullying…the list could go on. We can only do our best to manage these problems and issues without allowing it to completely stress us out and affect our well-being.

What is Autism?

Autism is a lifelong condition that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them. There is no known cure but there are many ways to support someone with autism to improve their quality of life. Autism can affect different people in different ways. Something that may help one person with ASD, may not help someone else, and is often referred to as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some common behaviours that may be seen in young people with ASD may include:
•          problems making friends
•          taking what is said to them literally
•          unpredictable emotional responses such as anxiety for no apparent reason
•          repeating things over and over
•          needing to stick to routines very closely and difficulty coping with changes
•          difficulties maintaining attention
•          avoiding things such as lights, colours, sounds, patterns, smells, touch by shutting eyes or blocking ears
•          fascination with looking, smelling, licking objects

​Support for learning

Young people can be assessed through the SEN specialist or referrals in schools and given a “statement of special needs”. This means that Individual Education Plans, additional support, and referrals to further professionals can be provided. There is no “one size fits all” in dealing with ASD, so schools will usually adapt the National Curriculum to include targets specific to ASD, such as remaining calm in a new situation or a specific aspect of independence. Alternative communication systems are used such as PECS which uses pictures to help aid communication, or teaching practises such as using whiteboards to encourage communication in a group setting. Modern Foreign Languages can be particularly successful as it teaches specific ways to behave in particular situations. For example, ordering drinks in a café or a restaurant.
 
Working with other professionals is often essential in supporting young people with Autism. Speech and Language Therapists can support work to develop communication skills, Occupational Therapists work to identify strengths and difficulties in carrying out everyday tasks or responses to things. This may be practical recommendations such as leaving a lesson a few minutes early to avoid the noise and busy corridors during lesson changes.
 
Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) professionals may offer counselling and other interventions, or a Child Psychologist to advise on behaviour. Nurses might deal with issues around eating or even going to the toilet. As ASD can present completely differently in each person, the most important issue is ensuring understanding for all involved, sharing knowledge and good practise.
 
Famous people with Autism

Many individuals with ASD are incredibly successful. James Durbin, an American singer, was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 10, as was Stanley Kubrick, film director. The fictional character of Sheldon in Big Bang Theory is often thought to have ASD. Susan Boyle from the X Factor is an example of someone who discovered later in life that they had ASD.