Welcome back to our Autism Acceptance in the classroom series, where we spent part 1 talking about some core values to use as guideposts for building acceptance in the classroom and part 2 talking about some best practices to build an accepting environment. 

In part 3 we are going to share some activities that are particularly useful during Autism Acceptance Month. In some cases we have a prepared version of these activities available in the AGU store if you would like to save some time, but it is also perfectly reasonable to make your own version of these activities, or to adjust as necessary to fit the needs of your classroom!

While it is possible to teach a class about Autism any time during the school year, it can also be a helpful and substantive lesson to include as part of Autism Acceptance Month. Part of acceptance is building understanding, which makes taking the time and effort to learn about the basics of autism and the lives of Autistic people a helpful tool in fulfilling that goal. 

The AGU store has versions available for elementary, middle, and high school students but it’s also completely reasonable to create your own lesson suited to your classroom’s specific needs. Some key concepts worth highlighting in a lesson about autism include a working definition of autism, an overview of the huge variance of experiences and needs among Autistic people, common challenges Autistic people may face out in the world, and famous or historically significant Autistic people. 

A helpful message to send during such a lesson is that there are lots of differences between Autistic people but the one thing they all have in common is that we should be listening to what they have to say about themselves.

As important as it is to learn about Autistic people and how best to support their needs, it is also perfectly reasonable and encouraged to celebrate Autistic people during this month with fun activities. Celebrations can have more substantive learning embedded in the activities or just to have a nice break while still getting to interact with the topic at hand. 

In the AGU store we have a few different types of coloring pages available, from a free neurodiversity symbol to a variety of positive slogans to famous Autistic leaders. But a celebration can be so many things, from a small party to an opportunity for students to share their talents or talk about fun topics they research outside of school. 

While it is important not to lose sight of the very real challenges Autistic people face in society, finding ways to celebrate Autistic people through fun activities can be a valuable tool in building acceptance and understanding.

Another great way to continue the conversation around Autism acceptance is to complete a project as a class, and a bulletin board is a great way to offer you the chance to create some basic templates and for students to fill them in the way they think is best! An example might include this free Autism Month Bulletin Board, which includes some pre-made messages on what Autism Acceptance Month is all about. Students could contribute to the bulletin board with their own thoughts on what Autism Acceptance month is all about to create a classroom community bulletin. 

Alternately this Autism Acceptance Art Activity gives students the opportunity both to color and to share the strengths and things they admire most about their Autistic peers. Of course a bulletin board can be anything you dream it to be! We mainly encourage a template that gives students an opportunity to show how they value Autism Acceptance in their own way.

We hope these activity ideas have sparked some thoughts on how to apply them in your classroom, and if you’d like to see more Autism Acceptance related lessons and activities then we would love to hear from you! Just drop us a line at hello@autismgrownup.com and we will be back in part 4 with some activities you can use to promote autism acceptance year round.