SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – April is autism awareness month, and one neighborhood school is educating youngsters what that means and how to deal with differences around them.
Each Thursday this particular month, anyone can see lots of students, personnel, and teachers at Springfield elementary, high and middle schools dressing in some type of the similar t-shirt that reads “Autism Awareness Month.”
These t-shirts are not simply to show support, they are only that one piece of the puzzle in educating pupils what autism is and the way to be kind to people with differences.
Every day, a fact about autism is read on the morning announcements and added to a tree in the school hall. Teachers also are reading books to children with stories about kids coping with autism so that they can relate with it if somebody behaves differently than they’re familiar with.
Director of special services, Laura McBride said, with the expanding amount of kids experiencing autism, it is essential for them to spread the word at a early age to help make school run smoothly and train boys and girls life skills they’ll want away from class room.
“It just makes for a better future for all of the kids as they go out into the real world one day to work with individuals in a workplace that might be a little different. Having that foundation early on will have a big impact,” McBride stated.
Trainees happen to be very engaged in learning about one another and teachers are enjoying it, too. Training the audience all together rather than talking with every student individually like a situation appears is a lot easier and much more productive.
“They can always go back to that and remember we learned this about this child and that is why this is happening,” McBride explained.
