As Stacey Gordon shares, “It means that our kids are important enough to be seen in society.” I’m happy that Julia was created to bring understanding to others, but I’m also happy she was created because of the validation it brings to the autism community. Those preschoolers with whom she never even shared a classroom might have learned about kids like her before even meeting her. They may have known, before they even reached kindergarten, that she flaps her arms when she’s happy, that she wants to be included on the playground even though she can’t always say it, and that underneath it all she’s just like them. But I took comfort in the fact that at least I was trying to start the conversation.Ī character like Julia could have greatly shaped my daughter’s school years. The class nodded their heads, and I hoped they understood when I explained my daughter’s behaviors, but I also knew there was a good chance my words would be quickly forgotten. So that year (and for many years after that year), I offered to talk to the children in her grade-school classes. Read more: How I realized my son's autism was a gift
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They didn’t understand why she couldn’t zip her coat, why she stomped her feet and cried if their schedule abruptly changed and why her school work generally looked like a pile of scribbles. I can say with 100 percent confidence that the children in her kindergarten class did not know what to do with my daughter.
This didn’t happen because she was ready, but because the education system didn’t have another option at the time (15 years ago autism moms fighting for what our kids deserved were few and far between).
When she began kindergarten, she was brought back to our home school district and was placed in a mainstream kindergarten class. And, as a result, they had the same amount of exposure to her.
She had excellent teachers and made great progress during her preschool years, but she also had zero exposure to kids her age without special needs. When she began school she was quickly whisked away to a special needs classroom in another city with no mention of being included with typical preschoolers her age. My oldest daughter was diagnosed with autism over 15 years ago.
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Plus four more memorable times the classic TV show taught kids how to embrace differences.
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