What was your journey through school like?

I’m an Autistic High School Relationships teacher. That may be surprising to you. I’m curious what kinds of images pop up in your head as to what this may look like. Some of them may be correct, but you should know that I am an awesome teacher. 

I’m aware that goes against all of the stereotypes. What I’ve come to find is that being autistic makes me a better relationship teacher. I’m also ADHD, and this makes me a better teacher as well. 

I’m not one of those who believe these are superpowers, and being an AuDHDer, as they call it, has made my life as a teacher more difficult in many ways, but I don’t think I would be nearly as good if I weren’t an AuDHDer. (before you think I’m too cocky just know that I am aware that I’m a mess in so many other ways) 

One of the reasons is that I can see the kids. I mean, really see them. I know that this goes against stereotypes as well. Most people have an image in their head of neurodivergents like me being clueless to social cues and people, but it’s time to learn new things.

Some of my students are also ADHD and Autistic. Sometimes I wonder if there is another group of people with disabilities who get criticized more, who are criticized as lazy or odd because of their disability. 

One of the most important things about seeing people is seeing their brains. When I teach my child development class, I ask the students to guess how much something is nature vs nurture. I’ve noticed that most people tend to think of physical traits, such as height and eye color, as more genetically determined, and personality traits, like being shy, as more environmentally influenced. Part of the reason for this is that people see personality traits not as things we are born with but as things we choose. 

Personality traits are about 50% genetic. 

Check out these videos I made about this with Megamind and Lilo and Stitch then keep reading below:

Too many kids are called lazy for forgetting things or not paying attention, when in reality, this is a part of their brain. They aren’t choosing to forget things, and many times, the kids are working twice as hard as the other kids to pay attention. Every time a teacher or a parent gets annoyed at someone for forgetting things (for the ADHDers), or for having a hard time following all of the social rules (for the autistics), they feel it deeply. 

I made a youtube video on this also, see it at the bottom: 

ADHD and Autism are around 80-90% genetic. It’s not a choice, it’s part of who we are. I have found that when I see and accept kids for who they are, something special happens. One of the best compliments I can get from a student is that they feel seen by me. 

Just last week, I had a student post on Facebook that they felt their experience at the high school where I teach was horrible, with one exception: they felt that I cared.

I know that there are other caring teachers at my school, but some kids have a hard time feeling it from the adults.

What was your experience at school like? 

Did you have teachers who made it survivable for you? What were they like?