EDUCATION
Best Ways to Explain Your ASD
Child’s Needs to Teachers
By Leigh De SILVA
When it comes to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there can be many misconceptions
and misunderstandings in the classroom environment. Sometimes, parents of children
with autism in mainstream settings are blamed for their children’s unusual behaviors;
teachers may not accept that behaviors they are seeing are typical of autism.
T
his may be because autism isn’t always
apparent when a child can speak and re-
spond in appropriate ways for the majority
of the school day. Some teachers may label
a child’s sensitivities as “grandstanding” or
“fussiness” that is enabled or reinforced by
parents. Fussy eating, sensory problems,
and poor participation in class or on the playground
may all be considered social issues caused by poor
instruction by parents. Schools and teaching staff
most commonly misunderstand the following areas:
1. The child will only eat certain types of foods.
Teachers may say, “The child hasn’t been trained
to eat healthy food by the parents,” or, “The child
hasn’t been introduced to the right foods at the
right time, plainly the fault of a disorganized par-
ent.”
2. The child has toileting issues. Teachers may say,
“The parents are not following the right routines
at home, or are too lazy to bother toilet training.”
3. The child has a reduced number of activities
he engages in (e.g., computer games) both at
school and at home and prefers to play these
games rather than play with friends. Teachers
may say, “The child should spend time outside or
with friends instead. How will the child learn so-
cial skills on the computer?”
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 71 |
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