Autistic Teacher

An inclusive teacher dedicated to making the classroom a better place for neurodivergent students.

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

@PaulCalandra @ONeducation @ChandraPasma @JohnFraserOS @MikeSchreiner

If you want to improve Ontario's education system for autistic students then speak to #ActuallyAutistic people

Systems built by & for neurotypicals often harm autistics

#OntEd #ONpoli #autism #NotWithoutUs

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

You only know what you know

Unfortunately what many people "know" about #autism is often outdated & ableist

When you know better, you can do better

If you want to learn & understand autism, please go to neuro-affirming sources

Otherwise you're doing more harm than good

[Gerry🧠🌱 @gerrydiamond71]

All too often,we diagnose a young person when we actually should be diagnosing their environment.
We need to look at their history of adversity,history of relational health.
We put them in a system that they cannot adapt to then we punish them without diagnosing the system🧠🌱

[Kimiko Shibata 🦋 @ESL_fairy]

The problem is not the kids.

It’s cuts to funding to support the needs of the kids.

Community mental health. EAs. Special education and ESL teachers. OT. PT. CYW.

Classroom teachers are not therapists or specialists.

Inclusion without support is abandonment.

#OntEd

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

Providing your non-speaking / language-delayed / minimally speaking / situationally mute child an AAC device is not a "last resort" or "giving up on speech"

It's giving them a way to COMMUNICATE

#AAC #SLP #autism #neurodiversity

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

After School Restraint Collapse is real

Tears, meltdowns, shouting or total shutdown – all signs your child is overwhelmed after a long day of masking, demands & social pressure

Managing this moment isn’t about discipline – it’s about regulation, empathy & connection

#autism

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

Schools-
▶️Presume competence
▶️Stimming is regulation not behavior to stop
▶️Honor all forms of communication
▶️Adapt environment to meet sensory needs
▶️Never force eye contact
▶️Encourage autonomy thru choice
▶️Celebrate deep interests
▶️Learn fr autistic voices #OntEd #autism

[Gerry🧠🌱 @gerrydiamond71]

Pupils can't learn when they are scared.
Can't focus when they are anxious.
Can't follow instructions properly when they are overwhelmed.
Why,because heightened emotions like this, the cortex becomes under-resourced.The limbic system, emotional control centre takes over.🧠🌱

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

Teachers -

Autistic children NEED movement to self-regulate

It's not something to work for or take away as punishment

Restrict access to it & you don’t get a more attentive or productive student. You get a body forced into shutdown & chaos they cannot escape

#autism #OntEd

[Gerry🧠🌱 @gerrydiamond71]

Childhood trauma is often misread in schools as being disruptive & challenging behaviour.The child then receives more punishment when they really need support. We need a shift from trauma informed settings
& create trauma responsive educational settings to support not punish🧠🌱

[Peel Autism Resource 🇨🇦 @PeelAutism]

Apparently it needs to be said again

#Inclusion does NOT mean all students stay in the common learning environment 100% of the time

It means all students get what they need to learn & can leave the classroom to work 1:1 and/or in groups, get movement breaks, etc #OntEd #autism

[Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @sensorystories_]

A recent study found that "mild" stress is enough to trigger PTSD in autistic individuals. Think about that. MILD stress triggering PTSD in autistic individuals. And not enough people are talking about it. This is a SIGNIFICANT finding, if you ask me.

So let's talk about it...

[Neurodiversity_In_Principal (Tweets are my Âûn) @KarenAnnTimm]

As #Autistics, we shouldn’t have to brace for April. And even when we try to stay positive, the onslaught of curricular violence is rampant. We need to do better as an Educational System.
#NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
#AutisticRightsAreHumanRights

[Gerry🧠🌱 @gerrydiamond71]

We need more trauma informed care and trauma responsive education in our school settings. This gives our young people hope,healing, and builds resilience.🧠🌱

[Gerry🧠🌱 @gerrydiamond71]

A brains top priority is safety. So,it is biologically impossible for a pupil to process or absorb information if they are overwhelmed or in a state of stress,worry, or anxiety.Without safe,predictable,attuned,emotionally available adults, development & attainment will suffer🧠🌱

[Emily♡ @ItsEmilyKaty]

Autism makes me highly sensitive to everything. Temperature, emotions, textures, noise, smells, tastes, exhaustion, light. My skin is sensitive to textures, resulting in frequent rashes, and my stomach sensitive to different foods. It’s like my body is constantly on high alert.

[Gerry🧠🌱 @gerrydiamond71]

Trying to teach without knowing how the brain works would be as much as pretending to design a glove without having ever seen a hand.🧠🌱

[Erin Ekins (she/her) @QueerlyAutistic]

Autistic people that society has decided are 'high functioning' tend to have a extremely disproportionate levels of mental illness and trauma, to the point where it's actually life limiting and life threatening.

Just because we CAN fake it, doesn't mean it's not killing us.

[Melanie D'Arrigo @DarrigoMelanie]

Billionaires can write off the entire cost of their private jets and yachts on their taxes, but teachers can only write off up to $300 of school supplies for their classrooms.

This is what an oligarchy looks like.