The conversation about autism is gaining momentum, and day by day, we are witnessing the rise in numbers, the concerns of families, society’s growing awareness, and, above all, the school’s astonishment.

The school was surprised by the number of students with autism now entering its gates. While, on the one hand, there is much to celebrate about the arrival of students with autism in schools, on the other hand, there is cause for concern regarding the high percentage of teachers who refuse to work with them, always using the same excuse: “I’m not prepared to work with them.”

We, as educators, need to ask ourselves: Will we ever truly be prepared to work with students with disabilities? This is the most important question to ask, because the process of inclusion in schools depends on it.

No educator will ever be able to develop the knowledge needed to handle the day-to-day management of disabilities. It is impossible to enter the world of an autistic person if the expectation is to understand everything. But autism is just one of the issues schools must address. There are others, such as those with high-functioning disabilities, the deaf, the blind, and the other 45 million Brazilians who have some form of disability. We are not—and will never be—in a position to deal with this precisely because disability requires multiple perspectives: from doctors, therapists, religious leaders, educators, families, and the world of work.

See also:

+ The New Face of Early Childhood Education in the Era of the BNCC

+ 10 Ways to Include Students Without Compromising the Quality of Instruction

+ Registration is now open for the Bett Nordeste Conference

This is where the mistake lies. We—the school—are looking at inclusion on our own, and that is not working and never will. The school is only part of the inclusion process. Other social organizations also need to participate in inclusive life. Here we must consider whether other institutions are not participating because they do not want to, or whether the school has taken this issue upon itself and left no room for others.

If we don’t address this division, this lack of sharing, the process of inclusion is at serious risk of disappearing. Educators fail, too. But we fail on our own. Without families, without healthcare, without social services, without other social supports. Inclusion depends on voices, and those voices are out there. They need to reach the schools.

We need to learn what we can do to improve our compassionate outlook, our sense of mercy, and our judgment—which often leads us to focus only on what is right, perfect, and flawless—all of which none of us can be, not even those of us who are “typical.” Children and young people who don’t fit the mold need to be seen for who they are. They need to be heard when they speak, and this empowerment is the beginning of an inclusion that is crying out to happen. Let’s think about this together.

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