12th July 2023
Education and Health Standing Committee
Inquiry into support for autistic children and young people in schools
Dear Committee Members,
Thank you for the opportunity to share my perspective and experience on supporting autistic children and young people in Western Australian schools. I appreciate the Committee inquiring into this important matter and welcome the recommendations the Committee makes on how best changes can be made to the current education system to ensure that all autistic students have the opportunity to access a high quality, inclusive and appropriate education.
I am an Occupational Therapist specialising in paediatrics. I have homeschooled my 3 children for 13 years and between them they share a range of diagnoses, including Autism, ADHD, GAD + Down syndrome.
Existing support for autistic students is severely inadequate in schools - the increasing demand aside, there is minimal understanding of the true needs of students and outdated, traumatising behavioural management strategies still being used as a means to achieving compliance in the classroom.
It is imperative that we move forward in-line not only with what we understand now of the connection between the brain and behaviours, but also in hearing and making changes that the adult autistic community are loudly trying to share with society at large.
Behavioural management strategies need to be replaced with collaborative problem solving (see Dr Ross Greene model for further information - this has been already implemented in many schools and is realistic and achievable change), identifying the cause of any difficulties so that they can be rectified in a neuro affirming, inclusive way. This includes challenging even the most basic of ingrained practices, such as requiring ‘whole body listening’ as this is inherently ableist and problematic for autistic children.
A case management approach needs to be made available and accessible for those receiving services from a multitude of places with many stakeholders (ie NDIS, mental health, allied health, education department) who have a vested interest. This will not only improve transparency and outcomes but the service coordination will also positively benefit the family unit as a whole, with the load of navigating and juggling these different services being removed from the parents, thus reducing the risk of carer burnout and allowing more natural and meaningful relationships between the family.
I believe that it is essential that our education system change to meet the needs of the autistic student community. For all autistic students and young people to fulfill their potential within WA schools, we must adopt neuro affirming models of care, address systemic discrimination and disproportionate disadvantage because of policies such as suspensions and exclusions policy.
I believe that disabled and autistic voices should be consulted, and collaboration must be meaningful on all matters that affect autistic and disabled students within WA schools. These voices must come from the community, and it is integral that all disabled and neurodivergent community members be given the opportunity to participate.
Further, I urge the Western Australian government to fulfill their obligations under international, national, and state legislation (including the UN CRPD, the DDA, the DSE and the WA State Disability Strategy) by committing to a fully inclusive education system.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss the points raised in this submission with the Committee and can be contacted on:
I ask that the committee remove all identifying information pertaining to my personal contact details prior to publication of this submission on the Committee’s website.
Thank you for the opportunity to make this submission.
Yours sincerely
This submission was prepared with the assistance of Square Peg Round Whole WA advocacy group.