This is an important article to read over at Psychology Today.
Very often, professionals will work with neurodivergent children to do whatever they can to get children to attend school. It is often only as a last resoirt that they consider that school – in its usual form – may not be best for every child.
KEY POINTS:
- We must understand the behavior of autistic children to help them.
- Responding without understanding diminishes the personhood, self-esteem and trust of autistic kids.
- Providing an environment sensitive to the needs of autistic students benefits all students.
CONCLUSION:
Accommodations and change are possible and aren’t necessarily expensive. It’s possible to create a sensory or adaptive profile predicting problems and strategies for success. What’s necessary is open-mindedness and willingness to adopt systemic change. The most important thing is to recognize that teaching neurodivergent children in the same manner with which we teach neurotypical children is a recipe for failure, both for the school, and especially for the student.
Please be aware that if school was a traumatic time for you, you may find parts of the article describing the experiences of others to be disturbing.