Thinking about schooling

When considering schooling and education options for their children on the autism spectrum, parents often start with: "Can my child go to school?" Sometimes this question is also phrased as a need - “my child needs to go to school. How will he get an education otherwise?” This seemingly simple thought opens the doors on a variety of questions and concerns that parents often struggle with.

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This video is about making school choices for children on the autism spectrum. :::

The short answer to "Can my child go to school?" is yes, but the more important question is, “Should they, and if so, under what conditions?” It is important to note that it is not just about academic abilities. Readiness for school depends upon a wider set of prerequisite skills—communication (verbal or non-verbal), the ability to self-regulate, engage in social or learning routines with support, and manage transitions and the unpredictability that comes with a group setting. If these skills are still developing, a better question to ask is, “Will school help my child build these skills or will it overwhelm them?”

However, before addressing this question, it's important to think about what schooling and education mean and how they are different. Education is the acquisition of knowledge through formal learning and instruction. In contrast, schooling pertains to obtaining an education within a formal school setup. This difference is important as it helps us move beyond mere attendance and focus on a comprehensive educational journey for children on the autism spectrum. While we are at a point to choose between the both, it is worthy to note that education is more important than schooling.

Recognizing that traditional education systems may pose challenges for autistic children is important. Unlike neurotypical children, the learning experience for autistic children can be difficult within conventional educational frameworks. This realization sets the stage for reimagining education to better suit the unique needs of children with autism.

In this section, we address a few questions, concerns and thoughts relating to education and schooling for children on the spectrum. For the purposes of this section, the children we are talking about are 5-11 year olds.

What can School do?

Schooling can ideally help the child in getting social exposure, opportunities for peer interaction, academic and cognitive stimulation and a structured environment for skill development. However, the child will be met with the advantages of going to a school only if they are supported, understood and included meaningfully. If a child is struggling to keep up with the demands, or facing social exclusion, the benefits of school may never materialize and it can cost the mental health of the child. Parents are often told or they believe that the child will learn from being around their peers by observing and imitating, which works wonders for many children, but the assumption may be flawed for children having challenges in imitation or understanding social cues. Autistic kids often lack imitation skills or they imitate without full understanding. They may copy speech or behavior, but may not comprehend the meaning or intent. As a parent, one has to examine and have clarity on:

• What are the skills we want them to learn? - Is it responding to a teacher, sharing, social interaction or just sitting in a group?

• What is the nature of each of these skills? - Is it something they’ll pick up naturally like walking or is it something that requires specified instructions like writing or reading?

• What is the nature of the learning process for the child? - Can the child learn from the environment or does the child require structured, step by step instructions?

Here is an analogy to understand this better. Imagine you want to teach the child to swim. One can take two approaches to teaching swimming:

• Throw the child at the deep end of the pool and expect the child to start swimming as human bodies are naturally designed to swim.

• Teach the child with guided instructions

Now, with the first approach, some may learn, while others may struggle and panic. Similarly, putting a completely inexperienced driver in the driving seat of a car in the middle of traffic and leaving them to “figure it out” on the road can turn out to be extremely dangerous and irresponsible of the trainer too.

Throwing them in the deep end or leaving them to "figure it out" might be what we end up doing to an autistic child, when we place them in a classroom without ensuring they understand the environment, they have the skills to participate meaningfully and that they are safe, seen and supported. This is not teaching, it is more of hoping.

The downside of starting with a mainstream school without taking the child’s readiness into account can look like - struggle with meltdowns after school, identity confusion, anxiety, accepting bullying, etc. Autistic children are often expected to “fit in” with neurotypical norms, and many quickly learn to mask their difficulties or develop unhealthy coping behaviours in order to avoid being judged or excluded. These behaviours can be mistaken for successful adaptations but they are likely to take a toll on their mental health in the long run.