Autists For Change

I want to preface this by saying I am still in the system that I want to change, and that it needs to change based on my experiences. I am in New York City, where there are plenty of options, just not ones that have fit my needs so far. I’m sorry if I make this sound like a sob story or something like that, and if this went on a bit long.

The private school special education system is where I am in right now, where I should be able to get the help I need in order to be successful. The private school system has massive barriers to entry, for not always adequate schooling and not always adequate support. I am lucky because I am able to understand academic schooling very well, as well as having the opportunity to get support when I need it, as well as having my own ways to talk to the world about it. In the future, when I get this organization fulling up and running, when I am older(You need to be 18 to start a nonprofit, I’m 15), one of our goals is to help people with autism get the support they need in the school system, as well as at home.

I have not been in private schools my whole life. From kindergarten through 5th grade, I went to public school, when I did not yet have my autism diagnosis. I went to a good school, but not one of the best schools out there, and it was a public school. My experiences were up and down, but for the most part I hated school. My behavior wasn’t the best and the strategies I was supposed to use didn’t really work for me. However, the main ways of dealing with people like me were to basically punish them for whatever they did, which may have worked for some, but not for all. The one upside for me about public school is that I learned a lot more than what I have learned at my current schools. The education level is higher, but the support structure is limited if it even exists.

Once I left elementary school I still didn’t have my autism diagnosis, which may have been a big reason why the therapy and support I received didn’t work well. I received my diagnosis when I was 12, in the early months of 2021, which I believe is very late. There wasn’t much support at the first school I went to, as it wasn’t meant to be a place for someone struggling to accept school and struggling with behavioral issues. It didn’t really help that the education wasn’t at the level I was used to at that point, but it kind of went downhill from there, education level wise. It also didn’t help that COVID-19 happened while I was there. After the first school year lockout happened we went back into school, and while I did go there, I was in a class a grade higher to receive adequate education. My parents pulled me out of that school after that, and I started to search for a new school.

Speaking of parents, they are key in helping you get the support you need, and helping you succeed. If your parents aren’t supportive, life will be much more difficult for you. Even if they have good intentions, sometimes it is difficult for them to know what is right for you. If it is possible, try to advocate for yourself, and hopefully your parents understand. It is even more important when your parents aren’t as supportive that you advocate for yourself to try to be successful and receive support that you need. Now back to my schooling.

I went to a different school in the 2021-2022 school year, which seemed it could be better at first. However, it is difficult to find a school with a happy medium of education, as well as support system. There was a support system, but the school I went to could not support me enough, as I had behavioral issues. The school was meant to be a school for people who didn’t have many issues with their behavior as I did, so I had stay home for days at a time, instead of going to school. They never said it was a suspension, but it certainly felt like one. I will admit, I was not a great fit for the school in the first place, but at first it felt like a breath of fresh air.

At first, I was successful enough and the schooling was more difficult, but that slowly started to change. The difficulty of the work, particularly math, which was my strong suit, was not much more difficult than before. The teachers weren’t always good, and I had 2 substitute teachers be my teacher for the whole year. I eventually had to spend around half of the year at home, doing remote schooling which the place just wasn’t set up for. The place probably was perfect for many people who wanted decent schooling and had some learning disabilities, but not for people with misbehavior problems.

My current school has a support network that is massive, and is made for people who have problems with school and are in need of help. It is a place that is for kids who are struggling, just like I am. They work hard to try to make this place work for everyone. My current school doesn’t have great academics, and the level of difficulty is often quite low. Teachers often teach multiple subjects, which can make it hard to have a great teacher in any one subject. It is very difficult to find the perfect school in this system, because everyone’s needs are different

It is very difficult to find a perfect school in the NYC special education school system, or any school system for that matter. You have to have priorities, and understand that even those priorities won’t always be met. There will almost always be some major compromise, like inadequate schooling or an inadequate support network. It may also just be my experiences, but often these schools aren’t flexible enough or able to be flexible enough to support the wide array of kids they are trying to support.