Many students are getting back into a new school routine, and this transition can sometimes be tough. Below is a collection of quotes about school from individuals on the spectrum with insight that might be helpful for your own family. Click on the author of the quote to link to a full interview.
- Anna: “Teachers passed me without knowing the information because I was a good test taker.” “I was not DX, just thought of as a ‘troublemaker’ in school.”
- Jesse Saperstein: “If someone’s child does seem to flaunt negative behaviors, it could be due to the fact they are being ignored like a plague, and this is the only way they can force people to flaunt their existence.”
- Bob Yamtich: “Sadly, school was a place where I received many awards, but did not improve my executive functioning. For example, I became an engineer without knowing how engines work. I wish I would have had internships at an earlier age to gain practical knowledge and confidence.”
- Chloe Rothschild: “My teachers did many different things that were helpful in supporting me. A big one is listening to me, following my lead.”
- Megan Amodeo: “I always tell my daughters’ classroom teachers that my daughters are on the autism spectrum. I teach my daughters autism positivity. The word and the diagnosis should never be feared.”
- Lana Grant: “I give them [my children] space and don’t put pressure on them to perform socially if they don’t feel up to it. My daughter has had a particularly bad time at school and at one point she was refusing to go. I didn’t pressure her to go. I allowed her time to breathe and deescalate her anxiety.”
- Emma Dalmayne: “I wish so much that just one teacher would have asked ‘Why’? Just why did I smash up a classroom? Why did I pass so well in every English assignment, yet fail so dismally in Math? And just one…just one to help me with the bullying I experienced would have been great.”
- Kenneth Kelty: “What I myself and others who have benefited from inclusion have gained is more self-determination and a confidence boost with being included in the classroom, campus, and community.”
- Alex Chrenka: “When I was younger, I had an IEP which was set up so I could take a walk out of the classroom if I was feeling over-exerted, which helped me know what my tipping point was. I still use this today at work if I’m feeling stressed. Going or a walk or just disengaging from whatever is frustrating you for a bit helps.”
- Chris Bonnello: “Most teachers I’ve ever met do their job well because they’re honestly rooting for the students. Although if I had to pick the most common [mistakes], I’d say occasionally talking about the student as if they’re not in the room, and seeing everything in the context of autism rather than in terms of the person.”
- Stephen Shore: “What we need to do is teach people on the spectrum how to interact, and there’s a number of tools in which to do that. Social stories, five point scales for emotional regulation, role-playing, video modeling, and visual schedules are a few examples. Some schools have a really good background on using these approaches, and there are others that could improve.” “There are a number of people on the autism spectrum who will not have wonderful penmanship or who will never be very fast at writing, and there comes a time when we need to flip over from occupational therapy and teaching how to write with a pen or a pencil to finding another way that that person is better able to communicate, maybe vocally, perhaps through a computer, picture exchange communication system, whatever it is, and for each person it’s going to be different.” “I think the most important thing to remember is that your child with autism has unlimited potential just like everyone else. And our job is to find a way to maximize that potential.”