Core Skills Analysis
Health and Personal Development
During Term 3, Enid attended fortnightly occupational therapy sessions with Dom and identified her strengths and interests as a way to build confidence. She explored how her energy levels and social battery could change, and practised recognising when they were low. Enid also worked on communicating her capacity to other people, developing self-awareness and self-advocacy around her needs. These sessions supported her in understanding that noticing and expressing personal limits could help her take part in social situations in ways that suited her.
English
Enid worked with Dom on finding ways to express when her energy or social battery was low. This involved putting an internal experience into words so other people could understand her capacity, an important real-world communication skill. As she considered how to advocate for herself, she practised connecting what she noticed about her own state with language she could use with others. The CATQ questions also gave her structured prompts for reflecting on how she acted in different scenarios and settings.
Science
Enid explored energy as a personal experience by noticing when her energy or social battery was low. Rather than treating energy as a fixed amount, she considered how her capacity could be recognised in different situations. Working through a few CATQ questions each session also involved examining patterns in how she presented herself across scenarios and settings. This reflective approach supported Enid in observing experiences and considering what they might tell her about her needs.
Tips
Tips — Help Enid make a personal “energy weather report” by choosing words, colours or symbols to show how her capacity feels at different points in the day, then reflect together on what she notices. Role-play a few everyday conversations in which she practises communicating that she needs a pause, a quieter setting or a change of plan, while choosing the wording that feels natural to her. Create a strengths-and-interests collage or mini profile that she can revisit and add to over time. If Enid wants to continue exploring masking, use CATQ reflections as a gentle starting point for discussing which situations feel comfortable or effortful, without treating any one response as a label or requirement.
Book Recommendations
- The Autism Acceptance Book: Being a Friend to Someone with Autism by Ellen Sabin: An interactive book that encourages understanding and acceptance of autistic people and different ways of communicating and relating.
Learning Standards
- Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 — English, Year 6: AC9E6LY02. Enid practised communicating and advocating for her needs, connecting self-reflection with clear interaction with others.
- English, Year 6: AC9E6LY05. The CATQ questions supported reflection on scenarios and consideration of meaning across different settings.
- Science, Year 6: AC9S6I01. Enid considered relationships between circumstances, her energy or social battery, and her capacity; this is a conceptual connection to investigating relationships, rather than a formal investigation.
- Science, Year 6: AC9S6I07. Identifying and expressing experiences of energy and capacity connects with communicating ideas using appropriate language.
- Health and Personal Development: Enid’s work on strengths, interests, self-awareness and self-advocacy is a meaningful developmental connection. No Health curriculum standard code was supplied in the provided standards list.
Try This Next
- Energy check-in worksheet: note a chosen energy level, what Enid noticed, and a phrase she could use to communicate her capacity.
- Strengths-and-interests profile: make a one-page collage or illustrated list of things Enid enjoys and qualities she values in herself.
- Conversation prompt cards: practise different ways to say, “My energy is low, so I need…” in a range of everyday situations.
- CATQ reflection journal: after a few questions, record what scenario Enid considered and what she noticed about her responses.