.png)
When we work with school teams and educators, we spend a lot of time hearing about the barriers to inclusive education.
Time.
Funding.
Lack of commitment / belief in inclusion.
Staff turnover.
And those are just the top few. There are so many little (and not so little) issues that create roadblocks to the inclusion and meaningful education of nonspeaking students.
It can be overwhelming trying to address each and every issue. It can be so overwhelming, in fact, that people give up. Thinking about barriers makes us see even more barriers.
In our work with school teams and educators, we try to shift our focus to the small things we can control. Instead of listing the roadblocks, we focus on what IS possible.
We encourage our educators to be the change they want to see in their schools. We believe that small actions lead to big changes. And the first step is often tiny.
Our team also reflect on this practice within our own work at Communication for Education. When we think about getting our training to more schools and educators, we often feel overwhelmed by the barriers to entry.
Time.
Funding.
Lack of commitment / belief in inclusion.
Staff turnover.
This list looks familiar right? The other roadblocks and barriers that exist to getting more schools the training they need to effectively support their nonspeaking students is just as long as the list for reasons why inclusion is hard.
So we're taking our own advice and we're going to be the change. We're going to take a tiny step and believe it will lead to big change. While we can't fund training for the entire nation, we can remove that barrier for a few school teams.
The Autism and Communication Center at CLU is sponsoring three grant awards for school teams to participate in private cohorts of Communication for Education's training course.
The grant will fund training opportunities for teams of 7 school professionals with priority given to public schools in the United States.
If you are a part of a school team who deeply believes that your nonspeaking autistic students are smart, but you're not quite sure how to support them, please apply.
Be the change within your school.
Applications close June 30. Learn more here.
Comments