Education & Schooling

What can education look like

Without the prerequisite skills, school can become a space of confusion and anxiety, hindering growth. However, readiness does not equate complete independence. Readiness includes components such as the capacity for the child to participate in a group with support, the presence of an environment that scaffolds their needs and a team that works collaboratively.

Therefore, let the child lead the decision. The goal is not just school attendance. It also includes meaningful learning and development. Whether that happens in a classroom, in nature or at a kitchen table, the right path should fit your child’s current strengths, needs and comfort. The path need not be what is typical or expected.

So the relevant questions is - will my child be able to learn the skills I hope he/she will learn if they go to school. If yes, then it makes sense to look for a school environment that supports these goals. The child should be in a position to deal with the social and cognitive demands of going to a school. If not, our next question can be: is going to school the only way to learn these skills? To which the answer is a firm no. The alternatives include:

  • Mainstream school with support - shadow teachers or inclusive education aids, an Individualised Education Plan (IEP) driven integration with goals tailored to the child.

  • Special Education Schools, where there is likely be focused attention and specialized curriculum to meet the needs of the child and an environment with reduced sensory overload.

  • Alternate schools (Waldorff, Montessori etc) - schools that follow a different curriculum from the mainstream schools, it is more flexible with the sensory needs, mixed age groups and experiential learning.

  • Homeschooling - parents or guardians take responsibility for the child’s learning outside of traditional school setting. It gives the space for specialised curriculum, targeted interventions and sensory accommodations. Socialization and peer interaction can be tailored to the child’s comfort level and interests. Parents can join hands with other neurodivergent families and create a homeschooling community including experts from the field. It requires a considerable amount of parent's time and effort, but allows for complete customisation of the child’s education plan to suit their strengths, interests and challenges.

These alternatives can be temporary or long term based on the child’s evolving needs. These are not limiting opportunities, but ensures that the opportunities are appropriate, accessible and beneficial. School can be a wonderful place for growth, but only when the environment matches the child’s readiness and the learning process suits their way of processing the world. It is very important that the child is learning safely, authentically and with joy.

What should children learn at this age?

As parents find a suitable learning environment for the child, another related question is what should the child learn at this age. This can also be used to assess whether the environment chosen for the child is working or not. Here is a general understanding of the developmental goals during the early schooling (5-11 year olds) that is meaningful for the child’s growth.

A learning environment is often seen as a place of learning to read, write and do math. While these are important, learning, especially at this young age, should include broader aspects for neurodivergent children. They need opportunities to learn how to relate to others, understand emotions, regulate oneself, build a sense of self and engage meaningfully with the world around them - growth across all developmental areas should be nurtured. Core developmental domains include:

  • Physical development - gross motor and fine motor skills, body awareness and co-ordination and self-care routines

  • Cognitive development - Problem solving and reasoning, exploration and curiosity, understanding cause and effect and foundational concepts - numbers, shapes, time, patterns, letters

  • Communication and language development - expressing needs, feelings and thoughts, listening and following instructions, building vocabulary and using functional language, understanding social language (greeting, turn taking etc)

  • Socio-emotional learning - recognising and understanding emotions, developing empathy and perspective taking, forming relationships, regulating emotions, beginning to advocate for their needs

  • Executive functioning - Attention and focus, planning and task initiation, flexible thinking and impulse control

  • Functional life skills - asking for help, participating in routines, transitioning between tasks, time management, personal hygiene and grooming, cleaning, eating, expressing needs

  • Leisure skills - activities that children engage in for fun, relaxation and creative expression - games/ sports, art and craft, music, dance etc.

  • Academically, pre-literacy (story listening, sound awareness, letter recognition), early numeracy (counting, comparing quantities, patterns), matching, sorting, categorizing and learning through play and experience

Essentially, what matters is how a child learns more than what a child learns. A learning environment that honors play as a learning tool, especially for kids this age, promotes deep learning and engagement as play gives the opportunity for children to develop their problem solving, imagination and negotiation skills. Ultimately, the goal of early schooling should be to lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning and connection.

How does a learning environment look like

Just like the child is assessed for readiness, it is important to look for an environment that supports the child’s growth. The learning space should be more than just a place of instructions and accommodations. Finding the best fit can be overwhelming, but rather than worrying if the school will take the child, a more empowering question to ask is “Does the school/ environment have what it takes to support my child? Is the school or environment prepared to support my child?” For an autistic child, it should be a space where they are understood, accepted and meaningfully included in the learning process.The following are some basic factors to look for:

  • Neurodiversity awareness - An environment that understands neurodiversity must go beyond surface-level accommodations. It must embrace the diversity of brain types and recognise that autistic thinking, feeling, and learning are different and not necessarily deficient. Ask questions like:

  • Is neurodiversity a part of staff training or classroom conversations?

  • Are behaviours interpreted through a strengths-based lens, instead of being problematized?

  • Are children supported to self-advocate or express boundaries?

A truly inclusive culture is likely to be visible in the language used around neurodivergence, the materials in the classroom, and the way the people in the environment approach neurodiversity.

  • Meaningful inclusion - Inclusion in its real sense means that every child has access to learning, participation, and peer interaction in ways that work for them. Inclusion is not about just placing a child in the same room as everyone else and letting them be. Look for:

  • Teachers who differentiate instructions and use visual, kinesthetic, or play-based strategies.

  • Flexible seating, modified tasks, and support to participate in group routines, without forcing conformity.

  • A culture where differences are normalised and not hidden or masked.

Inclusion does not mean expecting autistic children to imitate neurotypical peers at the cost of their own regulation or identity. It means adapting the environment so all children can learn and belong.

  • Response to sensory and emotional needs - Many autistic children have challenges with sensory processing, transitions and emotional regulation. The school should see them as needs to be met with appropriate strategies rather than as a problem to be fixed. Some relevant questions are:

  • Is the environment flexible to sensory needs - are there quiet corners, or allowance of movement breaks?

  • How do teachers respond to emotional distress or shutdowns? Is co-regulation part of the approach? Are teachers equipped with calming strategies?

  • Are transitions between activities paced with visual schedules or routines to support predictability?

Children shouldn't be expected to "cope" on their own. A responsive environment anticipates needs and is ready to support them rather than reacting to behaviours.

  • Ongoing training for teachers and non-teaching staff - Inclusion without sensitisation is incomplete. In order to be inclusive, the environment requires prepared adults and a space that supports the child's way of being. Teachers are the foundation of a child’s school experience and every school that admits autistic children must commit to ongoing training for its staff. This should ideally include:

  • Fostering an understanding of autism and neurodivergence beyond clinical labels.

  • Familiarity and fluency in communication strategies like AAC, visual schedules, or gestures.

  • Training in regulation techniques like co-regulation, sensory support, and flexible expectations.

  • Training for non-teaching staff as well - transport workers, helpers, and administrative staff, so the entire school ecosystem feels safe and inclusive.

Without proper training, autistic children are often misunderstood. Teachers, too, face stress and burnout when they’re not equipped to support neurodivergent students. Sensitisation is learning to recognise distress, respond with empathy, adapt communication, and create safe, inclusive spaces. It helps teachers understand children's behaviour as a way of communication, replacing control with connection.

  • Curriculum that goes beyond academics - Autistic children may have unique learning pathways. Academic skills are only one part of a child’s development. One has to know whether the school values, focuses and supports holistic growth, which can look like the curriculum focusing on and including:

  • Physical development: fine motor, gross motor, and self-care routines.

  • Cognitive skills: improving problem-solving, understanding cause-effect, memory, and attention.

  • Social-emotional learning: recognising emotions, building relationships, coping with change.

  • Functional life skills: following routines, managing transitions, using tools (e.g., cutlery, bags, visual schedules).

  • Leisure skills: engaging in play, art, music, or other recreational activities that offer joy and regulation.

A meaningful learning environment should support holistic development of the child, and not just the usual academic checklists.

Some questions you can pose to the management to understand a learning environment that you are looking to place your child in are:

  • What support systems are in place for neurodivergent learners?

  • Is there any special educator or an inclusion expert on staff?

  • How are the teachers trained to support emotional and sensory regulation?

  • Can the curriculum be adapted to meet my child’s learning pace and style?

  • What is your approach to behaviour - do you use reward/punishment systems, or do you look at underlying needs?

  • Are there spaces for downtime or sensory breaks?

  • How do you work with families to create individualised plans?

Hence, it is not just about the child being ready for a shared learning space, but also finding a learning space that is ready for your child.

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