Sophia Pettaway
Javid Buchanan
Freshman Composition
November 8th 2023
Are we hard to teach or just not want to be taught ?
The ring of an alarm at five am on a Monday is not great for anyone . For many children and young adults , this often symbolizes the time for school , most individuals who get up for school are annoyed , not wanting to be around topics that don’t interest them and don’t want get up that early . However , for others it can be much more complicated and complex . Being a student with a learning disability flips your whole world upside down , literally and figuratively . Throughout this past decade and more , the diagnosis of neurological conditions have heightened , particularly Autism Spectrum Disorder . Autism is a different ability that is often not simple to understand by the neurotypical mind and the education system has curriculum that often makes autistic individuals not heard nor understood . Through many years , children and families of individuals who have autism have expressed lack of support and their needs not met in the education system . Therefore , it is possible, and there are multiple ways that people with autism can excel and be supported in the academic community . A lot of neurodivergent kids skate by school and Judy attempt to pass , the people around them can definitely help that change that by knowing how they feel and being equipped with the proper tools and knowledge .
Supporting students with autism in the classroom : what teachers need to know by
Beth Saggers , dives into the topic of educating children with autism and the insecurities and possible fears that parents and educators feel when neurotypical students walk into the classroom , expected to learn . The article narrates a survey that was given to see what educators could do to ease both parents and neurodivergent students’ experience . “They suggested that it would be useful if teachers could help them cope with change and transition by simply reminding them when a change is looming.” In an autistic person’s mind , when a change suddenly happens , it can feel like an emergency and during an emergency , it can be complex to problem solve because your brain is in fight or flight . “A lack of social-emotional competence can lead to a decrease in a student’s connection with school , but also academic performance.” Poor academic performance is heavily caused by low motivation . Another circumstance that educators fail to remember is that autistic individuals all have different strengths . “Schools also need to be careful to not run the risk of over generalizing as students with autism can be different from each other as any other students.”
Supporting and encouraging Neurodivergent minds goes beyond the educators and the peers , parents play a major role in this process , like any other children , autistic minds are sponges , It should go both directions to help all and more students . How schools can support Neurodiverse students by Juliann Garey offers multiple ways that parents and educators can work together and both help out and assist differently minded students in order to receive the best education that properly fits their child . Neurodivergent students often struggle with executive functioning skills , such as planning , organizing , and prioritizing . In the classroom this can look like , forgetting to do homework , disorganized papers , missing items , and more . “Some specific executive functioning tools teachers might implement are checklists for everything from morning routine to what goes into kids backpacks everyday , dedicated binders for each subject , and reward systems (like a sticker chart) for younger kids
.” In addition , the article also opens the topic about creating a safe space for neurodivergent people to feel comfortable enough to make friends and peer connections . “As a result schools need to be proactive about creating layers of social scaffolding to support those kids . That starts in the classroom with creating a community where we’re accepting of everybody’s differences , says Dr.Martin . When teachers talk about diversity , they can include neurodiversity in that discussion .” Discussions about neurodiversity happens rarely in fear of incorrect information or uncomfortable feelings but it’s important those discussions happen in order for everyone to understand each other and to also get to know their peers more intimately , it can also be an aid for neurotypical students to see neurodiverse individuals as honest individuals and not anything less than that .
The process to create an emotional , safe , and effective learning space for everyone of all neurological statuses does not apply only to physical hands on strategies , but to gain a better understanding of what exactly a neurodivergent student could be thinking and their thinking process in order to help them as well . For example , Non neurotypical students like to question things to have a better understanding of why certain tasks are necessary and also to be motivated to follow instruction . When they question authority about why they have to do what they were instructed or the given task , this can come off as offensive and disrespectful . Why is ADHD/Autism easily misunderstood by Anne Snoep perfectly highlights these circumstances . “You can imagine that on the work floor , this can be confusing too as we do not mean we are not agreeing with your choices , we just need more information .” These kinds of misunderstandings also introduce another topic that particularly older and higher functioning neurodivergent individuals do in order to avoid negative reactions , a lot of older neurodivergent people mask or also called masking . Masking is often done in this community to hide our unique traits in order to stay away from peoples opinions and painful misunderstandings . This is done often in adolescence in order to fit in and to not come across as negatively peculiar . “But because neurodivergent people are in the minority , people expect a certain way of communicating . It takes energy and involves “masking” meaning that a neurodivergent individual can hide their ADHD/Autism characteristics or is trying to hide them.” Any educator should not want any students to work more hard than others over something they cannot control , as obvious as this may sound , all differences and different approaches should be embraced and analyzed in a positive light .
It is often believed that in order to gain empathy and knowledge for something you may not be familiar with , learning the history of any topic can be more than helpful , facts can only give you so much if you are not educated on the history and the evolution . Decades ago , countless people with neurodivergent conditions were put in group homes and mental health asylums when the outside world did not know what to do and handle certain behaviors of that nature . Although individuals with autism are still being institutionalized , many institutions have shifted their focus from intervention to meeting differently abled people where they are and the importance of celebrating and embracing . “How to accept and Embrace Autism in your life ” By Dr. Allen Shrug teaches how to learn , accept , and navigate the beautiful challenge of autism in your life , whether you have it , or learning about it through someone else . “There are many stories of individuals with autism that lead incredibly successful lives , from the business world to Hollywood . Focus on your unique qualities and use them to your advantage .” Educators in the school system need to continue to stop seeing neurodivergent students as a challenging task or a headache and need to see them and what they may have as a special ability and or a superpower . Students with autism and more can process more information , and notice things that neurotypical students may miss in a heartbeat .
Autism is a special ability that people don’t understand and we as people are mentally programmed to believe that anything we don’t understand is immediately negative and frustrating . From Personal experience , educators would get frustrated with me when I would get low scores on assignments simply because they did not know or have a full understanding of what was going on in my head . Many people who are neurodivergent don’t go into school with academics as a priority , a lot of us are not students first , some of us are artists and creators first and if we don’t connect to something or happen to not see how what we’re learning is relatable to our future , it will be harder for us to be motivated to complete the material , we don’t see the reward
