April was Autism awareness month. It was also a very busy month for me, so despite this post being in the works since March, it is only being posted now.
One of the themes brought up for the month this year was inclusion in the workplace and in education. As I am currently going through education, and I have recently applied to be part of the Autism Education Trust Young Experts group to help improve education for Autistic people in the UK, I thought it only fitting that I talk about some of the elements I see from personal experience, and from my research, need to be improved to make education more accessible to Autistic people.
In its current form, education is not sensory friendly, and making the educational environment sensory friendly is one of the ways to improve the accessibility of education for autistic students. Sensory aversive environments can deter students who might otherwise excel in further academics from pursuing them, because of the experience they have from their early education.
The National Autistic Society published their school report for 2021 in November, and the numbers are disheartening, as many are trending in the wrong direction. Three quarters of parents surveyed by them said their child’s school place did not fully meet their needs, almost doubling the number who said the same in 2017. We can hope that the doubling has to do with the pandemic, but even so, the numbers are disheartening.
“Seven in ten autistic children and young people said school would be better if more teachers understood autism.” Awareness and acceptance needs to be improved for all to make education accessible from a young age, and to encourage young, inquisitive minds to keep being inquisitive.
I hope to be able to do my part by joining the Autism Education Trust Young Experts group. I want education that is not just accessible, I also want it to be enjoyable to the people who access it. And I really don’t think that is too much to ask.
Check out the National Autistic Society school report for 2021 here.