大象传媒

12-year-old Jessi is at school in Plymouth and has an extraordinary way of dealing with her emotions. Because of her autism, she finds it hard to express her feelings, so draws them instead.

When she was nearing the end of primary school, Jessi became more and more worried about moving to secondary school.

鈥業 felt a little bit scared鈥 I felt like鈥 I was just gonna be separated from everyone who was in the school.鈥

Some of Jessi鈥檚 concerns are shared by everyone before they start secondary school:

鈥業t was all a bit intimidating when I first went in there. I literally got lost everywhere I went.鈥

But because of Jessi鈥檚 autism, some of her worries are very specific to her:

鈥業'm a bit nervous because I don't really know what people will think of me.鈥

Jessi soon found the best way to deal with her fears was to draw how she felt in cartoon-like pictures.

鈥業f there's something I'm really worried about I will just go home and just scribble it鈥 It helps cos I feel like it puts out emotion鈥

鈥楽ometimes I look back on it and just think I would've felt extremely different if it wasn't for that one picture.鈥

Jessi鈥檚 drawings have been shared on social media and brought real comfort to people all over the world.

She wants to help other people like her and anyone else who is about to start secondary school.

鈥業f you're nervous, just remember that you can always go to your parents or anybody in your family or your friends or have a little bit of a cry about it if you want to, cos that will make you feel better.鈥

This is a decorative purple line to separate and organise content on the page.

The size of the school

Get used to the size of your new school and find your way around.

The size of the school

Myths about teachers

Clearing up the rumours to help you settle in.

Myths about teachers

Starting Secondary School homepage

Free resources to help with the move to secondary school.

Starting Secondary School homepage