The recent cold weather and the reminder that April is Autism Acceptance Month brought memories of several occasions when I, as a parent, had to educate school staff regarding what they were seeing at school. It is my hope that I spread awareness and acceptance and that it benefitted other students.
For a number of years, Kieran refused to wear socks. I didn’t worry about it and no one else seemed to even notice. I got a call from the office one morning, however, because Kieran was having a melt down. The reason? The substitute teacher had not let him go out to recess for fear his feet would get cold. Once I explained that a) if they had outdoor recess, it wasn’t cold enough for him to suffer injury by playing outside in shoes without socks and b) they wouldn’t wear socks either if they felt like sandpaper. After that, staff at the elementary school began to understand Kieran’s sensory differences and to look for a sensory explanation for behavior they considered unusual.
In high school, a teacher called because Kieran had spit in a waste basket. He had a lingering, very productive cough and this was his way of dealing with the gunk his cough was clearing out. His solution to the sensory problem in his mouth seemed pretty unsanitary. My response to the teacher was, “what would you do if you had something in your mouth that tasted like sour milk?” I wrote a social story to help Kieran know he should spit into a tissue and then throw the tissue away and wash his hands often.
My point, I guess, is that we as parents, caregivers and self- advocates have a role in spreading awareness and acceptance every day, particularly about the less obvious struggles of those with Autism to live in the world we have. It is to be hoped that the small lessons we teach about one individual help those around us to stop and think creatively and kindly about how to change things up to positively support others. We all know that there is much to celebrate in and about our loved ones with Autism. We want the rest of the world to see it and to act accordingly.