From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

JoEllen Kessler thinks her son’s second-grade classmates would be more accepting of him if they understood his autism, so she makes classroom presentations and answers questions about his disability. “I think teachers in general are overwhelmed with responsibilities, and we don’t always feel like we’re the experts in everything,” said Lisa Hamlett, a school counselor. “Hearing it straight from Ryan’s mom was really beneficial for everyone.”

Autism experts say Kessler’s approach is important and somewhat uncommon; most parents don’t feel comfortable enough to do it.

Having Ryan in a class with children who understand that they can help is a great asset for Ryan’s development, Kessler wrote in a note sent home to parents the day of her presentation. “The best tool for any child with autism is a strong support group.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 18th, 2008 at 3:40 pm and is filed under autism, education, parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.