Urban Schoolhouse

Episode 20: Autism Awareness in the Black Community

• Chelsea and Ebony Wysinger • Season 1 • Episode 20

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This episode explores autism spectrum disorder (ASD) awareness in the Black community, addressing stigma, cultural misunderstandings, and barriers to early diagnosis and support. Chelsea Wysinger highlight the importance of representation, access to resources, and open conversations that empower families to seek help without fear or judgment. Listeners will learn practical strategies for advocating for their child within the special education system, including understanding their rights and participating confidently in IEP meetings. We also discuss how to build collaborative relationships with teachers and school staff to ensure appropriate accommodations and services are provided. The Urban Schoolhouse encourages parents and caregivers to become informed, persistent advocates who can help their children thrive both academically and socially.

Our opinions/views are our own and not representative of our employers. 

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SPEAKER_02

Hey, hey. Welcome to the Urban Schoolhouse where school is cool. This is Ebony Weisinger and Chelsea Weisinger. And we just want to welcome you back. This month we are here, the month of April. Yes. We are celebrating Autism Awareness Month. Yay! Chelsea and I are going to be discussing um signs of ASD, which stands for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Um ASD in the school setting because we are the urban schoolhouse. And parent support for students who are dealing with ASD. Exactly. So we're here to help the community and um I think a lot of students deal with ASD um in the public school setting. And I think the numbers are actually growing. What do you think?

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, the numbers are definitely growing. Um I think the conversation and the awareness of autism. I'm gonna use autism and ASD um interchangeably. Um I think the conversation is definitely growing in some positive ways, some negative ways. Um, we have folks saying that Tylenol causes autism. That is not true. Um, we have people saying that it's being over-diagnosed. Um, and I actually believe that it's just been underdiagnosed for so long, and that there really has never been accurate representation for different racial groups with ASD because I have seen every single um race um child be diagnosed with ASD, but they have been represented in research, um, things like that. The diagnostic criteria has expanded. Um, it wasn't always considered a spectrum, that's a very new development. Like, oh, there are different types of autism. Autism is not a one-size-fits-all, so I that also expands diagnostic criteria as well. So I think that goes into this conversation that we're having now.

SPEAKER_02

All right, thanks. So, um, Chelsea is our in-house expert. I want to now discuss the signs of ASD.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, let's do it. Let's do it. Um, so firstly, going back to being diagnosed, usually about one out of 36 um children are diagnosed with ASD. Um, and most are diagnosed before the age of three, actually. Um, and since we are the urban schoolhouse, the majority of students that make up urban areas are black African American children. So, talking about black children specifically, um, on average, they receive an ASD ASD diagnosis three years later of when a parent has voiced a concern to a medical professional. Um, so this is mainly caused due to they like to blame delays on racial stereotypes or culture versus thinking that ASD or another cognitive disability could be a factor. I think that goes into black college saying um medical bias, research bias, um black children are not represent represented um in that data until very, very recently. So I think that's why. And so when you see a black child that's super hyper, that might be super talkative, that might not answer to their name all the time, things of that nature, they just go more so the punishment discipline route, yeah, which goes into square prison pipeline, which which we talked about before, and I'll kind of get into that more, specifically with black students with IEPs and with a disability, um, and how that's disproportionate. So meaning that they're getting punished at a way higher rate, um, where it's very much unequal, very much the math is not mathing with that rate. Um that's basically what basically what disproportionate means. The math is not mathing. Right. Um so they rather go that route than say, hey, you know what, this child might need to be evaluated. This child might have ASD or something else going on. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So that takes compassion, that takes expertise, skill. And again, helping minded.

SPEAKER_00

And how we talked about before, not only that, but even if the school does say, hey, you know, we think, we think little Steve, I don't know, has X, Y, and Z. How we said many many times before, the school can say whatever they want, they can suggest things, but the parent can always say no. And then it's kind of just out there. Yeah. And so then that might unfortunately also delay a child really getting the support they need.

SPEAKER_02

In order to learn.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Um, but we'll get into that too.

SPEAKER_02

Not only learn, just assimilate into like society.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I think being a kid, period, but especially, you know, how to be an adult with a cognitive disability. But there are things for that. I know, like in middle schools and high schools, they might have like living classes or living skills classes, um, for their special education students, so they can learn how to grocery shop, learn how to learn how to take care of themselves. Life skills. Life skills. Yep. Um, so that's that about diagnoses. Um, the main signs um or I guess warning signs that a child may have ASD. Um, first one is not responding to their name. So if they're a baby, so again, usually kids kids are diagnosed between two to three years old. So if they're at a point where they should be responding to their name and they're not, um, no eye contact, that's a big one. That's a really big one. No eye contact at all.

SPEAKER_02

Because it can it seems to me like that stays, you know, like no contact might be a common sign.

SPEAKER_00

Um walking on their tiptoes, that's also a huge one. If they never walk flat on their feet, that's that's a that could be a warning sign. Um developmental delay such as speech, um, and that can go into them not responding to their name because they might lack those receptive language skills. Um, they might have apraxia, which is basically like in their head they know what they're trying to say, but they cannot vocalize it. Yeah. Um, so speech mixing up, you know.

SPEAKER_02

That's frustrating.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Um not speaking at all.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

If they are nonverbal or non-speaking, people like to say. Um, and also developmental delays in their fine slash gross motor skills. So fine motor skills like very small, like fine, like detail, like uh pencil grasp, picking up small picking up things, um gross motor, big things, can they jump, can they do whatever? So delays in that area, when did they crawl, if did they crawl late, did they walk late? Um, things like that. Um, if moms had a traumatic birth experience, um, which could have something could have happened to their cognition, their brain, that could also be if they were born too early, um, if they were a preemie. Most some most of my students, I've had a couple of premies. Um, so there is there is a correlation. Question doesn't mean causation, but there's a correlation there uh where moms have had traumatic birth experiences and then there's some developmental delays. Um, so that's why if you have an evaluation at school, the psychologist is probably gonna ask you, ask the mom about their pregnancy experience and their birth experience.

SPEAKER_02

So let me just ask a question for the sake of flushing it out for our audience. ASD is genetic.

SPEAKER_00

It is genetic, yes.

SPEAKER_02

And that basically means it's inherited.

SPEAKER_00

Yes.

SPEAKER_02

So I guess uh the next question would be what if neither parent has ASD?

SPEAKER_00

I think that goes back. Well, we're I think we're still figuring that out. Um researchers do recognize that it is genetic. I learned that it's mostly passed down through the father. I did learn that. It's mostly passed down through dad. Um are boys more likely to have boys are more likely to have ASD, yes. Like literally, I think in both of the special A rooms in my job, there's only one girl in each.

SPEAKER_02

I'm actually watching Love on the Spectrum right now, and they have a set of twins, and the boy is the ASD individual, and the girl isn't. It's a dynamic interesting to watch because she's still just as uh involved with him as uh he she probably would be if he weren't because they were twins, you know. I kinda had beef with that show, I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_00

I because I I just think it represents such a little percentage of people with autism. I think it represents the quote good or quirky and functional type of autism. Yeah, and that's usually not the case.

SPEAKER_02

I know, but how can you really design a show around non-functional people? I mean, that's the actual they do that a lot.

SPEAKER_00

I feel like they they make a show anything. I know, I'm not saying it's bad.

SPEAKER_02

I think it's good that it's out there with them because they have representation.

SPEAKER_00

Is there but it's a very small percent, but yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Representation starts somewhere. It does. We're getting there, I think. We're getting there with organizations like Autism, Autism Speaks, and you know, just doing different community involvement as it relates to autism.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Did I answer your question? I said it was genetic, or you said if neither parent has it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, we honestly we're not seeing like older people with autism. I think they're finding a grandmother who has it or dad or mom who has it.

SPEAKER_00

Well, they might, they might just not be diagnosed.

SPEAKER_02

No, but some of you know, just to the point where you can actually see the um the signs. You don't see it. They might.

SPEAKER_00

I've I feel like there's so many niche signs where it's like it's like if you don't, if you're not familiar with autism, you might not be able to pick it out. And I think that a lot of older people in families, they have functional autism. And so it might not seem like they do, but sometimes you'd be like, no, you know, they might have it. And again, it wasn't it wasn't diagnosed before. And also back in the 60s, you know, things like that, people who had not or very low functioning autism, they would just be put in a mental institution. So you didn't see them out in society how you see them now. Yeah. So I I think that's also a really big reason why it looks like oh, everybody has autism now, nobody had it before. Yeah, because they were locked up.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And they had no access to society.

SPEAKER_02

But the issue is that it's such a large range of of symptoms of autism, that like we said, some people are completely functional while others are not. So not being locked up, but actually in a situation where they're receiving the help they need, you know.

SPEAKER_00

Right. But I think again, with laws like American Disability Act, idea, f like I think all these laws are still fairly new. Disability rights are still fairly very new. Um, so again, it's just a whole new concept, and I think we're still getting there. Yeah. But I think that's another reason why people say, Oh, it's everywhere now. Yeah, because people who had disabilities weren't out.

SPEAKER_02

So, what do you think about environmental things causing it? I guess that's the other piece.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not sure. I'm not really educated on that piece. I I don't really have an answer to that right now. No. But I would encourage people to research valid sources if they want if they want to look that up. But I have Indeed.

SPEAKER_02

I guess I'm one of those people.

SPEAKER_00

But I'm not really sure about that one.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00

You're welcome. Um, going back to the symptoms, um, not social if they really are not interacting with people. Unless they might have a few favorite people, which most babies do. So that that one kind of gets like looked over a lot because most babies do have like their specific favorite people. Um, but when your child is not being social at all, or they engage in a lot of parallel play, meaning there's a child right there that they could be playing with. Um, but they're still choosing to kind of be next to the child, still doing their own thing. Um, also, if they don't really have imaginative play, imaginative play is very crucial for child development. And so if your child cannot imagine that this table is a magic tree house, they're like, no, that's a table, it's not a tree house. Because uh most folks with ASD are very literal and they've and they want everything to be predictable, um, and that's usually why they have such niche interests, because that's what they know and they want to-like trains. Uh I I get a lot of sea animals, um, things like that. Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs. Um, I have one kid, he's very, he's he's so good at technology. Like he like he's so good at technology. Yeah. Um, because it's what they know and they want to stick with it. Um, because so they can kind of be in control of what's gonna be said next. And if you notice, if you ever talk to him, like I have this one kid, the minute you change subjects, he get he gets right back on that subject because he wants to be able to have some sort of control um and familiarity in the conversation.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, input too, because I I know something is being said that they're unfamiliar with and less likely to want to to engage in the conversation, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So if you start to notice that if they're very schedule-oriented, I think this one gets overlooked a lot too, because again, kids need a schedule, they need a routine, but it's like, you know, even today, um, one of my kids, you know, mom was like picking them up. Big deal. Very big deal. And he was like, I'm always parent pickup, I'm always the and we're like, we know mom's coming. You know, it's like it's things like that. Um, where it's just very like it has to happen. Like they know what's supposed to happen, and when it doesn't happen, it's a problem.

SPEAKER_02

I had a student when I worked in the high school setting, and he wore shorts every day. I don't care how cold it was, he wore shorts. And he also never went in the lunchroom, but he always had a coat for lunch every day. That was his lunch. And one day he didn't have, I guess, the money to buy his coat. Well, that was when they were still selling uh soda and pop in the vending machine at the school because now they don't. But um I found myself uh wanting to give him the money to buy it because he was really it seemed traumatized or in stress, in distress because his routine had been broken up.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, exactly. So or it was in danger of being. Yeah, like again, when that familiarity piece leaves, no, they're not with it. No, um, very picky eater, and mainly with with like textures, if they don't like certain textures, so very picky eater, like if they eat the exact same thing every single day, which again I think this also gets overlooked because it's also common for just kids, period. Yeah. Um sensitive to noises and textures. So if they're always covering their ears, um, if they don't like certain clothing, um a lot of ASD kids will strip their clothes, usually when they're uncomfortable, when they um don't like the texture, maybe it's not soft enough. The way it feels on the what the way they don't like how it feels. Some of them don't like water. So some of them love water, you know. It just depends. So things like that. And the biggest one is stimming. So stimming is just repetitive, quick movements. Um, they can be movements or they can be vocal. Um, I have some kids that just kind of go like uh all day long. Um, and they might it's usually like they'll flap their hands, they might do it in front of their face because they like the movement, um, things like that. They might move their legs a lot, but it's usually or they'll rock back and forth. Like I have a kid who just rock all day long. He had a special like rocking chair in the um in the classroom because and I wrote that in his behavior into venture plan, like he needs his rocker. So because he just so has so much energy and that's just how he stems.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Um, so yeah, those were all the ones I could think off the top of my head for signs, and those are the ones that I probably see um the most in my job right now. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

That was one I wanted to comment on. I can't remember though.

SPEAKER_00

Can you just I have so yeah, so just all together, I put not responding to their name, no eye contact, walking on their tiptoes, um, developmental delays, speech, and fine and gross motor, um, traumatic birth uh for mom, not very social. Um I thought of a I thought of a good one, but um not being able to recognize emotion or social cues, but Yes, that's huge. That's huge. But that that comes, well actually no comes when you when they're little because sometimes um I had a I had an eval one time and mom was saying that her child every time somebody laughed, they thought they were laughing at them. You know, and they can't like they they can't read the rule.

SPEAKER_02

They cannot read the rules of the emotional non-verbal cue. Yeah, they don't people with that don't have ASD.

SPEAKER_00

Emotions of others, like they can't say, oh, this person is crying because they're sad or they're being sarcastic, they're they don't understand sarcasm. Not oh my god, this one kid, this one student, I love him so much. He's kinda he's that he's that quirky ASD. And one time his teacher was like, You're such a cutie patootie, and he said, I'm uh cutie patootie. He's like, Well, I guess I am so it's like he doesn't understand that, you know. So it's stuff like that. But yeah, social cues, and that's the main thing. That's like one of the main things I would work on in my job with uh my ASD kids. I like to pull them with general education kids too. I usually love to do groups so they can get that social aspect. Um, so sometimes we'll just literally, I just have pictures of different emotions. So we'll go over them, and once they can recall them by pictures, then I'll say, okay, what makes you happy? What makes you sad? What makes you mad? And we'll kind of so that they kind of start to connect those dots. Um social skills, uh we'll practice asking people to play. Be like, hi, like I'm so-and-so. Would you want to play with me? Or hi, do you want to share my toy or whatever? We'll work on that. Um, so that's like one of the main things I do is I work on their social skills. Nice. Yep.

SPEAKER_02

So was that the end of the summary?

SPEAKER_00

Because I don't think uh yeah, picky eater, sensitive to noises and textures. That's it.

SPEAKER_02

That's it. Sensitive to noise. So if you have an ASD student and um they are sensitive to noise, you can um we have students using those earphones, headphones. Um, I see kids at basketball games with them and stuff like that. So yeah. And then sometimes it's a light issue, a sensitivity lights.

SPEAKER_00

I have some kids that love light, they'll they'll look right at the light. Some kids that hate them, and they every every room they go into they turn off the light. So that's what I wanted to comment on.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, well good.

SPEAKER_00

That's why I have like moo lighting in my room because you can go either way. Yeah, you can go either way. Um, so next, so ASD in the school setting. So we touched on this last episode about medical versus school diagnosis.

SPEAKER_02

So I'm not gonna like go completely into that, but if you just know you can get diagnosed at a doctor or it can be testing at a school.

SPEAKER_00

Yes, but and they're different because ASD in the school setting is the eligibility, it's not really a diagnosis, but you have to be eligible for something to have an IEP like how we mentioned before.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. But if you get a diagnosis that just gives the school district the eligibility.

SPEAKER_00

Not all the time.

SPEAKER_02

Well, if it affects the learning, right?

SPEAKER_00

It could be something else. Because I have kids that they have an outside AHD diagnosis, but they don't qualify for it in the school setting. So they could be OHI, which is other health impairment. They could be well, ADHD usually falls under OHI.

SPEAKER_02

Um if it's standalone.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Or it could be ECDD, which is early child childhood developmental delay. So it's not always ASD. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um and also, I hate to say, to interject, I mean, but usually um students that are on that spectrum, they have other issues as well.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's called so one of the most common they call them Audi HD, words autism and ADHD at the same time. Um which I have a lot of students like that too. Yes. Um that's why I had to throw it in there. Yeah. It's common. That's why I was saying it's usually it's not always ASD, it could be something else.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's like a combination.

SPEAKER_00

Mm-hmm. So you can always ask for a full eval to see if your student was eligible for school diet, school diagnosis or eligibility, whatever you want to call it. Um, so if so, then an IEP will be put into place where they will receive interventions. So that will be from their teacher, speech, me, social work, um, OT occupational therapy, so occupational therapy, they work on those fine slash gross motor skills. Um, depending on the child's needs, I've had a physical therapist come to the school, um, things like that, resource teachers. Um, I have there's a hearing specialist that comes for some kids. They might have hearing aids, things like that. So the team can be huge. Um, it depends on the child's needs, and this is all at no cost to the family because that's that's part of fape. Yeah, free, appropriate, public education.

SPEAKER_02

And if you missed that, check back with our last episode because we talked about all that stuff and we talked about IEPs and how you get them.

SPEAKER_00

So rewind, rewind, or rewind. Um, so that was pretty much all I say about that. We talked about that a lot in our last two episodes. Um, so third was the discipline portion. So this is from the Department of Education. This is kind of old data. I feel like it's probably way worse now.

SPEAKER_02

Um black disciplining students who have ASD.

SPEAKER_00

Specifically, black students with IEPs. Okay. So black students on average, so I think this was from a from one school district. So there was a 15.5% of black students in the school district, and they made up of 40% of the disciplines. So that is disproportionate. That is that math is not mathing.

SPEAKER_01

That's jarring.

SPEAKER_00

Um, yeah, so and this was be pre pre-COVID, so I feel like post-COVID is probably even worse. Yeah. Um, black students are more likely to be identified for special services for an intellectual disability, such as ASD or a behavior disorder like ODD, which is a uh what's it called? What's ODD you get?

SPEAKER_02

Opposition to defiance disorder.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I got beef with that diagnosis, but that's another topic for another day. Oh yeah. But black students are more likely to be the uh diagnosed with ASD or ODD or whatever versus a learning disability. Let me integrate such as dyslexia or a speech impairment.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

I would just like to say that the students that I've encountered with ODD have not been minority. They've been of the majority.

SPEAKER_00

Well, that goes into your population, I think, also. But I just don't like it as a whole. It's like I'm gonna talk about like school.

SPEAKER_02

I'm talking about I'm talking about school, clinical urban kids are being overdiagnosed with ODD.

SPEAKER_00

I saw it in the clinical setting when I was um doing my internship.

SPEAKER_02

I see it.

SPEAKER_00

I see it. But I don't like it, period. I don't think it should exist, period. But that's just me.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Um I agree in a way, but okay, that's another day.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's another day. But yeah, so black students. Yeah, we get so wrapped up in these topics. So black students are more likely to be identified for special services versus a learning disability. So they're less likely to be looked at for dyslexia or a speech language impairment. They just automatically assume it's a behavior of they might miss the mark. Right. So that's that. So be careful when you're getting these diagnoses. But it's I feel like for black children, it's always the behavior. If they look at the the forefront of the behavior, not what's behind the behavior, and if you fix what's behind the behavior, the behavior will probably stop. Well, if it's genetic, then even then, then put in interventions. Yeah, but if we're just thinking all the badges because they're bad, but really they got ASD or something else that is undiagnosed, but they can't take another ADHD discipline away and put it in the accommodation. I'm saying, let's look at the root. But I feel like a lot of times black students black students are not given the grace for the root to be looked at. Okay, it's it's the forefront. Oh, they're bad. Oh, I'm done, I'm done. I'm not dealing with them. Yeah, kick them out. No.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

But what there's more. But you don't, but you don't bother to fish for the whole story.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

You write them off. That's my problem.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

So that's that's that.

SPEAKER_02

I have a different perspective, but that's for another day too. Yeah, I mean, it's not completely different, but I know when I was in elementary, like where you are now, that's where a lot of these autism diagnoses start. If am I right? Like in the elementary. I feel like once you're in high school or middle school, I think that you know, for the most part, those diagnoses are already out there. And I I used to see that a lot in an urban setting where, you know, there was autism, but yeah, and we knew it and we put it out there, but the district wasn't really responding to it. What do you mean by that? We just didn't feel supported. You know how we have to go through the NTSS process of making sure we give um, you know, 90 days of of observation. Well, if these uh symptoms are like running a child's life, ruining the classroom experience for everyone the teacher, the students, the actual child himself. And I believe that, you know, it shouldn't take that long to implement a service that we all know as professionals are needed.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I've had experiences where we've kind of spread things up a bit in severe cases.

SPEAKER_02

And I think that that's what should happen, but sometimes that support isn't always there. And I think that that's what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. That's fair. Yeah. But it has nothing to do with the child. Like it can't, I think we just gotta be listening.

SPEAKER_02

But it still bears to the frustration of the adults who are dealing with the child because the child is the child. But you know we still got a class, you know? Right. And and and and I'm not saying that the class is more important than the child or the child is more important than the class, but be the teacher. It's a fine dance.

SPEAKER_00

Well, I think that anger should be pointed towards the administration or the district or whoever else. But again, going back to fate, and you know, I don't know, I kind of love telling teachers, well, that's the year.

SPEAKER_02

Right, I'm not saying let the student out the room and keep going teaching, no, not at all. And not saying keep on sending the student to the office either. But just providing the um accommodations that you know as a teacher should probably be in place would be helpful, and if the district would expedite services in severe cases, in severe cases, yeah.

SPEAKER_00

And then so going back to the discipline MDRs, which I think we've talked about before, which is a manifestation determination review. So those are usually for middle school, high school. Um, so basically rarely elementary. Rarely elementary, because they only come about if a child is suspended for more than 10 days. Yes. Um, and they have an IEP. So then the team has to have a meeting to determine the behavior manifested through their disability. Usually, yes. So, but it's just legally you have to have that meeting. So just keep track if your child has an IEP and they're constantly being sent home, yes, and stuff like that, they're gonna suspend it.

SPEAKER_02

Keep track, keep track of if they contacted you, told you why, told you the frequency, told you the issues. That all really does matter.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and I'm gonna get into that but because the the next one is also about like how to advocate for your for your child. Um, lastly, ABA. Um, so ABA is applied behavior analysis. Now, people have mixed feelings about ABA. Um, most of my students It's a form of therapy. Yeah, so it's it's in it's a clinic, it's a clinic setting. Um, it has mixed reviews, but most of my students do attend ABA because again, they're still younger. Um you can attend at any age, but they love to say the early intervention is what's best. So basically, ABA is um they kind of it's like it's like a behavior science, and they try to minimize behaviors that come with ASD as much as possible. Um, it's usually administered by an RBT, which is a registered behavior technician. Um the clinical setting, they have everything there. They have uh occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech, a psychologist, all that. They have that all there for you. So most students receive ABA and they receive it services in the school setting as well. Um, most take insurance, some take Medicaid if you have that. Um, also your ABA clinic can communicate and collaborate with the school as well. Um, parents just have to sign a release form for that to happen, but I think that's best because then um the behaviors and the services are consistent with ABA and in school.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

So advocating for your child, um, going back, I'll definitely look out for the micro slash macro aggressions from staff members when it comes to your child.

SPEAKER_02

But don't be overly sensitive.

SPEAKER_00

No, but I think that there's a lot of dangerous language that I feel like can be reserved.

SPEAKER_02

Because it's not as easy as one, two, three, and I just think that everyone should be extended grace.

SPEAKER_00

I'm not saying that. I'm just saying there's certain language that I feel like is reserved for black students, and that I think that's pretty harmful. I mean, teachers' concerns are are valid, but I just think um all staff members that I've that a lot of people that I've encountered, a lot of adults that I've encountered, should be a little bit more mindful about how they label um and talk about children with disabilities, especially openly. I agree. Um, yeah, stay on top of their discipline records for sure. In attendance. In attendance, teachers should not be only reaching out when there is an issue. Um, I think that's how rapport gets damaged between the staff and the parent, is when the teacher's only reaching out when something bad happens. Um and I learned that usually teachers should give two positives for every negative. And when I reach out to a parent, I always mention the child's strengths as well as what we need to work on.

SPEAKER_02

And if a teacher doesn't, then you can ask, what are my child's strengths?

SPEAKER_00

And also, again, going back to FAPE and LRE, students, your child, no matter what, no matter what, every child in a public school setting um should have access to everything that everyone else has access to. Um, yeah, transportation, field trips, whatever it may be, extracurricular activities, they should have access to everything. Um, lastly, different support systems that could be other families in the district, it could be staff members. Um, specifically for the state of Michigan, there's a website called Michigan Alliance for Families, which breaks down the whole special education process um and other advocacy resources that parents can use, specifically for um black families that are dealing with ASD. Are we gonna be able to post any of that? I will post them on our Instagram. The color of autism, that's a really big good one um for families of color who are dealing with autism. Um, autism in Black Incorporated, that's another good website with a lot of resources, and specifically in Michigan, Detroit, Autism in the D. That is a new um Autism in the D. Yes, that is a new nonprofit parent-led advocacy group um that you can look into as well. Nice. And that is all I have.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. Well, that was a lot, and I want to thank you, Chelsea, for bringing all that knowledge to our audience. And I am now gonna ask you guys if you could do us a favor and follow us on our social media. Yes. Instagram, what else we got?

SPEAKER_00

Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, at Urban Schoolhouse Podcasts.

SPEAKER_02

At Urban Schoolhouse Podcasts, not the Urban Schoolhouse Podcast, but at Urban Schoolhouse Podcast. And next week we will be talking about scholarships, kicking it up to high school, y'all. Financial aid. So stay tuned for our next episode. And I think that's it. Is that it, y'all? That is it. See you next time on the urban schoolhouse where school is cool.