Parents! Does Your Autism Spectrum Child's School Provide Peer Support ... From Spectrum Grownups?

by Michael John Carley

We learned many moons ago that if an AfricanAmerican child is told “You have just as good a shot at the American dream as anyone!,” that the child’s ability to believe the statement will probably differ based on whether the successful grown-up saying this looks like the student (i.e. is a fellow African-American), or doesn’t (i.e. he looks like me). We know pretty well that this also applies to folks whose heritage is Latino/a, Asian, visually-impaired…

Well, why are schools – especially the so-called inclusion schools – so reluctant to acknowledge that this concept also applies to kids on the autism spectrum (if not all non-apparent disabilities)? And what can you, as a parent, do about it?

To continue reading this article in the original spread in Exceptional Parent Magazine (April, 2018) please click here.