​Dear Ed,
 
We have a grade 3 student who wants to disclose his autism diagnosis to his class. How can we best support him?
 
Sincerely,
 
Student Advocate
 
 
Dear Student Advocate,
 
First off, what a wonderful question! It appears that you and your team have created a climate in which this feels like both a safe and important thing for this student to do. This is not always the case, so take some pride in that. At any age, revealing parts of ourselves, especially those that make us different, can be both a difficult and an important task. It can be difficult because it is not clear how others will react or think about us afterward. Will they still accept us? Will they still see us as someone with good days, bad days, and hopes and dreams? This can also be an important task as it allows people to see another part of the whole us, in many cases one that has a great impact on how we see and experience the world. Sharing this with others can help others to understand us better. It can also instill pride in another of one of the bits and pieces that make up ourselves.
 
So, what are some considerations for helping to support a student share with their class? I would say three important questions to start with include:
1) What does the student want to share?
2) How might the class hear and learn best?
3) How can the learning and understanding extend past this revelation?
 
For the first question, it could be helpful to sit down with the student and ask what they’d like the class to know. There is no one way to approach this; knowing what the student would like to share will help you to best direct support. Also, this helps to keep the student in the driver’s seat as you continue to support their growth and development in self-advocacy and self-determination skills. For instance, does the student want the class to know how they see the world on a daily basis? Do they want the class to know that while they may be different in some ways, they are similar in many ways? Do they maybe want to share things that they are really good at? Maybe it’s something else, or maybe even a combination of things. Just like you would do in creating a lesson, it could be really helpful to work with the student to set a learning goal or two. This might include the class gaining a basic understanding of a) autism, b) the student’s individual strengths and hobbies, c) some supports that they find helpful. Co-creating learning goals can be a really good way to ensure a positive and thoughtful start to this endeavor.
 
In terms of the second question, teachers may want to consider a) what their students already know on the topic (collectively and individually), and b) how they might learn best. These days, as opposed to 5, 10, or more years ago, students are much more familiar with exceptionality labels and basic definitions. Additionally, children often have less pre-conceived notions on the topic than adults. Taking a minute to consider what they might already know about autism could help in planning. As educators you surely know that there are a multitude of ways to present new topics for learning. You’ve likely used collaborative activities, direct instruction, discovery learning, and various other approaches to present a topic. Use the learning goals to lay out a few options for the student consider. It may be the case that they already have an idea of what they’d like to do- which is great. However, it could be helpful to talk through some potential options with the student. For a goal of gaining a basic understanding of autism, you might propose that the student or teacher read a pertinent book to the class, watch a short film, or maybe the student would want to present a slide show or poster board on autism. You could also pose similarly appropriate activities for any other goals like having the student co-present with a parent or sibling, make and present a representative collage, or some other activity. While it doesn’t matter so much how the student gets their message across, the educator should ensure that the student has ownership and feels well-supported. Co-planning goals and activities can go a long way to help with both.
 
For the final question—how can you extend learning—the main emphasis should be on both normalizing and celebrating diversity. Ontario has defined inclusive education as “Education that is based on the principles of acceptance and inclusion of all students. Students see themselves reflected in their curriculum, their physical surroundings, and the broader environment, in which diversity is honoured and all individuals are respected.”1 In extension, think of ways that you can ensure that all individuals are able to see themselves positively represented, honoured, and respected in the classroom and school. It is quite conceivable that this student of yours will start something positive in class. Once someone shares in a safe and accepting environment, others often feel more comfortable to follow. How might you continue the momentum and highlight the use of education supports as well as individuals with exceptionalities? There are many great books, websites, and videos on the topic (see samples below). And, specific to autism, it should be noted that April is autism awareness month, with the official kick off on April 2nd, the United Nations sanctioned World Autism Day. Accessing resources and participating in related activities throughout the month of April could be a great way to extend the learning.
 
Related Resources & Information

• Holland Bloorview’s Dear Everyone Campaign- includes resources, tips, and first-hand account of inclusion and ableism : https://deareverybody.hollandbloorview.ca/
• Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorder Alliance (CASDA)- includes infographics, language guide, among other resources about autism: https://www.casda.ca/about-us/
• Childmind tips on sharing an autism diagnosis- while this is not specific to school, you may find some helpful info: https://childmind.org/article/sharing-an-autism-diagnosis-with-family-and-friends/
• Similarly, while not specific to autism and school, this page from the Indiana Resource Center for Autism has some helpful considerations for sharing information about autism: https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/learn-about-autism/getting-started-introducing-your-child-to-his-or-her-diagnosis-of-autism.html
• Teacher resource, including tips for sharing about autism and potential class activities, from Prince Edward Island: http://www.gov.pe.ca/photos/original/ed_autisminc.pdf
• A selection of autism representation in the media from Reading Rockets: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/pbs-kids-and-autism-awareness
• Article from the Organization for Autism Research on teaching self-advocacy to individuals with autism: https://researchautism.org/help-children-learn-how-to-self-advocate/  
• Holland Bloorview self-advocacy kit for individuals with autism: https://hollandbloorview.ca/sites/default/files/migrate/files/AdvocacyToolKit-July24-LINKED-LOCKED.pdf
• Numerous self-advocacy resources from the START Project of Michigan: https://www.gvsu.edu/autismcenter/start-connecting-self-advocacy-345.htm
• Quick fact-sheet on supporting self-determination in students with autism: https://csesa.fpg.unc.edu/sites/csesa.fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/AAG-Supporting%20Self-Determination_final.pdf
• Dolly Gray Book Award- includes a list of books recognized for their positive portrayal of disability: https://www.dollygrayaward.com/

 
Reference
1Ontario Ministry of Education (2009). Realizing the promise of diversity: Ontario’s
equity and inclusive education strategy. http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/equity.pdf

​Sincerely,
Ed

Dear Ed,
​I have a new student this year that moved from another school board. He is an 8 year old with autism who is pretty shy at first but has been willing to try new things as he gets more and more comfortable in the classroom. He requires a good deal of support in school on a daily basis, but nothing that I am not used to providing. I know that his mother was not satisfied with the supports provided at his last school and is very anxious about his supports and experience in school this year. How can I help make her more comfortable about his school experience?

-Warm welcome

Dear Warm Welcome,
It is so encouraging to hear that you acknowledge the anxiety that this and many parents feel about sending their child to school. This issue is especially prevalent for parents of students with extensive support needs. Many parents worry that their child may not be getting the support or even basic care needed to be safe and experience school success. For parents of children with limited communication abilities and/or supports, this issue is often compounded as parents are often solely reliant on teacher or educational assistant feedback to understand what occurs throughout the day.  And, we know that this anxiety is not always misplaced as the educational system has not always done enough to sufficiently meet the needs of students with exceptionalities, let alone hold high expectations for academic and social growth. 
So, I think first know that recognizing this issue should be considered a success and an excellent start toward building a trusting and collaborative relationship with the child's parent. The next step here is two-fold including recognizing opportunities for both input- making space for the parent's voice, and output- keeping the parent informed and up to date. In terms of input, consider offering regular appointments for communication. This could include a daily journal exchange, where the teacher and parent can briefly share key information and ask questions, as well as a weekly phone call, text, or email exchanges to provide updates, ask questions, or problem solve. Much anxiety around teacher-parent communication can be caused by irregular or unclear processes for communication. For example, imagine your feelings about the prospect of calling an airline or phone company to address a critical and time sensitive problem. Are you looking forward to it? Do you believe that your concerns will be heard and be noted quickly? On a side note, I once waited over a year to resolve an issue with a cancelled flight. Needless to say, I did not feel heard and now gladly avoid dealing with the company again. It's important to remember that parents typically do not have the option to pick another classroom, school, or board.  It is up to the teacher to not only create a positive climate for the student success, but also for parent engagement and cooperation. Providing predictable and regular opportunities for communication can go a long way to building a trusting relationship. Like anything, this extra effort takes both time and energy and could be considered an extra duty for the list. However, any efforts to improve and maintain positive parent relationships should be seen as a worthwhile investment that will improve information sharing between the two most influential people in a child's life- family and school staff. 
For output, consider both what can and should be shared regularly and how best this can be shared. In addition to regular board and school communications, this should include considerations of both regular and novel content. Regular content is that which can help both the teacher and the parent understand important events that occurred during, before, and after the school day. This could include parents reporting that their child had a rough time sleeping the night before or the teacher noting that the child did not eat much of their lunch. For students working on toilet training, this could also include details related to eliminations. While some teachers use blank paper for this, I found that a pre-planned form with checklists for some topics and open boxes for others made it easy to complete the notebook each day with the most important information. While factual reporting is important, sharing novel information is equally helpful and welcomed. Novel information refers to that which can spur a conversation between the parents and their child. Imagine the difference between asking a teenager how school was that day vs. if they noticed the dog that snuck in and walked around their school during lunch. The difference is stark, between “fine” and what could be an actual discussion or funny exchange. Providing information to parents, even in small bits, can go a long way in building the relationship and closing the gap between home and school. A note as simple as, Henry’s art teacher was thrilled with his painting today in art class, he painted a boat, or we had a guest speaker who spoke about working as a pilot, Fatima got to try on the fighter jet helmet.  
In short, dealing with an anxious parent boils down to intentional efforts of communication by the teacher or other pertinent school staff. These efforts should include both input and output, including both regular and novel information and be both predictable and accessible to parents. While it may take time, work toward building a positive and productive relationship with parents of students with autism and developmental disabilities is never time wasted.
 
Related Resources:

• Burnaby Schools, BC, tips on home-school communication notebooks: https://burnabyschools.ca/learning-support-services/home-school-communication-books/
• BRIDGES Model for increasing parent-teacher engagement: Sawyer, M. (2015). BRIDGES: Connecting with families to facilitate and enhance involvement. Teaching Exceptional Children, 47(3), 172-179. https://howardcc.instructure.com/courses/1077704/files/63106621/download?verifier=KQP2abXdzWnd0uxdgrTUhALEW9eDDTputR28MJbi&wrap=1​​

Sincerely,
Ed