Furthering Autistic Children’s Education and Schooling chairperson Dr Emily Pearce says autism is the fastest growing disability in the world, and without something drastic being done it is only going to become a bigger problem.
Her son Samuel, 18, has experienced issues with the schooling system since he was young, struggling with relentless bullying and a lack of understanding from teachers. She says Sam had a difficult school experience that led to him becoming suspended and then homeschooled.
Dr Pearce says the journey of homeschooling Sam was never something she intended to do.
“I was a veterinarian in a previous life. I loved my job, so it certainly was never a dream of mine to homeschool my child, but as a family we saw nearly overnight changes in his behaviour,” she says.
“From that, we started what we thought would be short term homeschooling, and I have now spent the last seven years homeschooling Sam.”
Samuel attended numerous mainstream schools, both private and independent, and constantly had the support of an education assistant, but he struggled to succeed in these environments.
“It’s not because he wasn’t capable of the education system, he is quite a bright kid. It’s because the lessons weren’t structured correctly for him,” Dr Pearce says.
“Teachers weren’t able to manage his anxiety levels to a point where he wasn’t able to learn, and this is what lots of neurodiverse students are facing, which makes the mainstream classroom setting often hugely problematic.”
To better support autistic students, experts say teacher training focusing on neurodiversity, improved education plans, and an increased understanding among the school community is essential.
The Lyn Beazley Academy, a tailored school for autistic students will open its doors in West Perth on July 1.
The academy will cater to 48 Year 10-12 students, who have the academic potential but struggle in the mainstream education environment.
Head of wellbeing at the Academy, Kylie Clark-Parry, says there is a gap in the education system for neurodiverse students.
“Our experience is that neurodiverse students in traditional clasroom settings, fall between the gaps,” She says.
“What we are doing here is create a program where students can have a space to be creative, and we can help them build their leadership, so they can take these brilliant brains that they have and be game changers for the future.”
Kylie Clark-Parr
Ms Clark-Parry explains the need to properly train educators in an environment where they understand each student is crucial to their future of education.
“One teacher with 37 students in a class, statistically you are going to have three or four students in there who are autistic, they will require a different way of learning, so it’s not just the training it is also the resourcing, so they have the time and space to do it well,” she says.
Senior Lecturer for School of Education at Curtin University, Dr Cindy Smith, agrees for the need for all educators to have an in-depth understanding of what autism is.
“I think because we are having so many more students with autism being diagnosed, it puts a great responsibility on us to train teachers, and to improve our teacher education programs so that we can do the best job at preparing our educator to work with students with autism,” she says.
She says fostering a school culture that genuinely accepts and values neurodiversity rather than merely tolerating differences, is key to tackling the widespread bullying and social isolation neurodiverse students feel.
Parents with children who are neurodiverse say they are happy to see change is finally happening in the education system.
Kylie Clark-Parry discusses the impact of the Academy. Video: Tess Pringle.
According to Emily Pearce, 40 per cent of autistic adults face unemployment challenges in the workforce, highlighting the urgent need for better educational pathways for students to transition smoothly into careers after education.