Module 1: About LUNA

Hello, meet Sophia and George! Sophia is a 13-year-old autistic girl who loves anime. She loves drawing anime characters in her sketchbook and making up characters and storylines in her free time. Now, meet George. George is a 16-year-old autistic boy who loves everything about medieval history. He spends most of his time reading fantasy books about medieval times and playing his favorite medieval video game.  

Sophia and George love doing these things, but sometimes they struggle with anxiety, fears, and worries. Anxiety is an emotion or feeling everyone has that tells us something bad is going to happen. It is similar to fear, worry, or nervousness. Anxiety does not feel great, but sometimes it can help us by telling us things about our world that can be helpful to act on. For example, Sophia often feels anxious or nervous before a math test. This can be helpful because her anxiety tells her to study, which will help her do better on the test. Fear, on the other hand, can signal to us that a bad thing is just about to happen. For example, George is afraid of an upcoming thunderstorm, and this feeling alerts him to be prepared before the storm.  

But, sometimes, anxiety can be unhelpful. When our anxiety is too much and too intense, it can be hard to overcome. For example, Sophia sometimes feels so anxious about her math test that she can’t focus while she studies. Sophia may even avoid studying, which then leads her to receive a bad grade. 

Feeling anxious, even when there is no immediate danger, can also be unhelpful. George is so afraid of thunderstorms that he refuses to go outside even when the rain is light or when it is just a little cloudy. This disrupts his routine of going to school and hanging out with friends.  

Anxiety like this is difficult to manage, but the LUNA program is designed to help teenagers manage unhelpful feelings of anxiety and worry. You are taking a great step towards overcoming anxiety by participating in LUNA! Welcome to the journey!

Autistic people’s brains work differently than people who are not on the autism spectrum. For example, autistic people often say they can focus really well on the things they are passionate about. You can be really successful and skilled at your passions because of this. Other differences are harder to deal with. For example, you might have trouble knowing what you are expected to say in situations with new people or understanding how you or other people feel. Similarly, you might feel overwhelmed in crowded or noisy places because of sensory issues. Autistic people can also experience emotions differently. You might feel emotions a lot more intensely than others, or you might not feel intense emotions at times when others do. You might not always know how you feel or be able to talk about it with someone else, even when you are feeling an intense emotion. Sometimes when things unexpectedly change, it can make you feel upset or scared. If you keep thinking about it over and over, that can also be really upsetting. It makes sense, then, that lots of autistic people struggle with anxiety.

Remember, anxiety is the emotion you feel when you expect something bad to happen. For example, if it is hard to know how to act with others, what new situations will be like, and what upsetting sounds, sights, or textures you might have to deal with, it would make sense that you would feel anxious sometimes.  

This is what makes LUNA special. LUNA is meant to specifically help autistic teens deal with anxiety because we know the anxiety you experience is unique. Let's join George and Sophia as we work together to overcome our challenges and reach our goals!