Creating Inclusive Classrooms: Moving Beyond Stereotypes to Support Autistic Students
Adrián has been at this school since he was three years old. He walked through those doors as a tiny little person who already had so much to say, in his own unique way. And now, at twelve, he is getting ready for high school. I am excited for him. Genuinely, deeply excited. And also, if I am honest, a little anxious in the way that only a parent who has been held by something truly good can understand. Because leaving a school that has given us everything feels enormous.
The silver lining is this: Guillermo is still there. He has years ahead of him at that school, and knowing that brings me so much peace.
One of the things that tells me everything I need to know about our school is this: when I see their number come up on my phone, my first instinct is not dread. I know, with complete certainty, that if they are calling me, it is because they have genuinely exhausted every option they had. I am their last resort, not their first reaction. That is the kind of trust that took years to build. And it is everything.
