This entire thread, super important for educators and parents of Autistic children. In Australia, if your child has a diagnosis (I know this is fraught) you can take reports to the school and request an NEP (Negotiated Education Plan) that formally puts in requirements. (Cont..)
https://twitter.com/commaficionado/status/1336277376678891522
Not only do we have an NEP for our eldest, we also make sure to have a face to face scheduled chat if he has a new teacher that year (or via class messenger during a pandemic), to clarify communications around learning and specific needs. We check in regularly with our kid and
With the school to make certain that his needs are being met. On report cards and grading, we have always focused on comments around how they work (which can also be problematic, but we are fortunate our teachers are very good in this area).
With checking in - its not done directly after a school day, when he gets home, after washing hands and snack he is allowed free time to decompress however he wants. Check ins make sure he's not internalising harmful messages picked up at school (we do this with our neurotypical
Kids too.) Sitting with them when they are getting ready to go to sleep, for a little chat, is a really good time for this - they're relaxed, and have been in a safe space for 4+ hours. With things like homework, we sit with him and help him one on one, and we don't ever do it
At night time, it is a morning or sometimes weekend activity, if there's a particular project. Gentle encouragement, breaking questions into more specific parts, all things that help.
There used to be a lot of meltdowns after school, but now they're pretty rare - a lot of this is to do with education, ours and his, and working out together what his needs are - some of which I've learnt from Autistic adults giving me a starting point of how to talk to him. 👏
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