Autism West Midlands had a fantastic day celebrating World Autism Awareness Day with channel 4’s Autistic Gardner (Alan Gardner) and pupils at Priestley Smith Primary School based in Birmingham.

Priestley Smith Primary School the winners of Autism West Midlands Silly Sock Day 2019 prize draw competition, were thrilled to hear they had won a visit from the local gardening hero and supporter of Autism West Midlands; Alan Gardner.

Students who attend the school are from all areas of Birmingham and from surrounding Local Authorities including Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. All the pupils at the school have a visual impairment and some of the children have complex needs or are on the autism spectrum. 

The pupils were very excited to meet Alan and were very keen to tell him all about their new allotment. Alan was shown around the school and met pupils in their classrooms who were all very keen to ask him lots of questions, such as his favourite colour and how he got into gardening. They also asked Alan about what it was like for him as a person on the autistic spectrum and in return they shared their own experiences of autism.

It was nice to share experiences about Autism. Thanks for coming in, it was nice!

Thank you for telling us about some of your experiences with autism

Thank you for coming in and joining in our lesson

Pupils at Priestley School

Both Alan and the children had lots of fun picking out and planting seeds for their new allotment and to take home. They also had a great discussion about the plants and what they need to grow. This was an extremely popular conversation especially with this week being science week at the school.

Autism West Midlands had a really great time at the school it was lovely to meet such lovely and inspiring pupils. The highlight of our day was hearing that the school had planted rainbow carrots and learning how to read a map in braille.