More Capable Than You Think: A Paraprofessional’s View of Autism in the Classroom

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What does support for an autistic student actually look like inside the classroom?

In this episode of Autism Awareness, paraprofessional Jaya Shelton takes listeners inside her day-to-day work supporting students with autism and other disabilities in the school system.

Jaya explains that the ultimate goal of a paraprofessional is not to remain beside a student forever—it is to help that student become as independent, confident, and capable of self-advocacy as possible.

From helping students understand classroom concepts and social cues to working toward IEP and behavior-plan goals, paraprofessionals often become an important part of a student's educational journey. But Jaya emphasizes that support should always move toward teaching students how to communicate their needs, ask for help, interact with peers, and navigate the classroom more independently.

She also challenges several common misconceptions about autism, including the belief that autistic students are unable to learn or that difficult behaviors simply require more discipline.

Jaya explains that autistic students often communicate in different ways—through speech, gestures, ASL, communication devices, or behavior itself. What may appear to be “bad behavior” can sometimes be a student trying to communicate overwhelm, frustration, discomfort, or an unmet need.

The conversation also explores the importance of early identification and access to support. Jaya discusses how fear of labeling a child can sometimes prevent families from pursuing an evaluation, potentially delaying access to resources that could help that student succeed.

Throughout the episode, Jaya shares encouraging success stories from her own classroom experience, including students making major gains in communication, behavior, memory, academics, and social interaction.

She also explains why life skills are such an important part of special education. Students may work on everything from brushing their teeth and folding clothes to sewing, preparing simple food, using manners, and learning how to ask for what they need.

For Jaya, the goal is bigger than succeeding in school. It is helping every student develop the skills needed for as much independence as possible—because no one knows what that child's future might hold.

Drawing from her own childhood experiences of being diagnosed but not receiving the support she needed, Jaya closes with a simple message for parents, educators, peers, and communities:

Be kind. Be patient. Be willing to look beyond what you see on the surface.

A person's struggles may not always be visible, but the right support, understanding, and encouragement can make an enormous difference.

Listen to this episode of Autism Awareness for an inside look at special education, paraprofessional support, autism in the classroom, communication, life skills, behavior, independence, and the incredible potential of students when someone believes in what they can become.

Transcript

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The whole goal is for us to help the child become more independent. The real goal of a pair is for the student to become independent. We want them to be able to learn how to ask for the help that they need. Hi, my name is Jaya Shelton and I am a paraprofessional. I would like to take you through a journey of my daily life, if you will, as a paraprofessional and helping kids in the school system. It's been such a rewarding experience. Every day we help them set rules and teach them the things that they need to succeed, like life skills, and we're able to just assist them with everyday learning and need. So from day to day, a paraprofessional, we are assigned to certain students or to a classroom to assist students' needs, whether that be from learning and helping them in the classroom learn concepts a little better. Maybe they aren't able to pick up on a large group setting. So we're there to help them with their with understanding the concepts of what the teacher is teaching. We are also there to help them with social cues and social needs. The whole goal is for us to help the child become more independent. A lot of misconceptions about a parent is that we are to follow them throughout the rest of their schools, school, schooling as far as going from grade to grade with them. A lot of times, with the help of the teacher and the para, the students end up being independent. We're supposed to help them in the areas that the IEPs, um, which is their individual plans, or their BIPs, which is their behavior plans, are to our set. They're set. We're supposed to help them with their IEPs and BIP goals. So as a para, we are often seen as what you consider the friend of the student. But the real goal of a para is for the student to become independent. We want them to be able to learn how to ask for the help that they need, whether it be from peers or whether it be from their teacher. We want to see them learn how to communicate and play with their student with the other students and learn how to do the basic things that they need in order to succeed in the classroom themselves. I've seen a lot of success throughout my career as a para, and I've seen students who were selected mutes start to interact and communicate with other students, or students who were on BIPs and um and other IEP goals for behavior and education. I've seen them go from the student that was very difficult to deal with to the student that was a model student. It's really a rewarding job in order to see a child go from one point to another. One of the misconceptions of autism is that the student is unable to learn, and that is not true. The students might have a harder time learning in a traditional fashion, but they are more than capable of learning. Some students that have ASD are very intelligent and they succeed far beyond some of the goals that other gen ed students would, but they might have an issue with behavior, they might have an issue with learning how to ask for help or becoming overwhelmed and throwing things, and a lot of people don't see that as them being able to learn, but they are able to learn. Matter of fact, a lot of them have, especially when it's one field, they have the knowledge of all the details of that one thing that they really love. One other misconception is that you can you can discipline them, and you're not disciplining them enough, or you can discipline disability out of them, if you will. I see a lot of times where the teachers have a hard time with getting students diagnosed. There's a stigma behind getting diagnosed, and it's really important that a student gets diagnosed early enough so that they can succeed throughout school. So my encouragement is for both parents and loved ones that if you see that there are signs, um, whether it be social signs that they are having a hard time communicating with someone their age, or they are info dumping, if you will. That's a very big thing with um children with ASD. They find one subject and they can info dump, if you will. But if you start seeing those signs, get them diagnosed. The big issue with it, I do believe, is that a lot of people believe that if they don't diagnose them, they won't be labeled. But what will happen is you'll have a student who is suffering and could have a whole bunch of resources available to them, but they're not able to get those resources because they're not diagnosed. So it's so important for parents to work with not only the educators, but work with, you know, with others around them. If they start to notice those things, they should work with the people around them who are willing to support them. As a para, we are responsible for aiding your students, um, aiding the students in the school system. Um, we don't do the paperwork, we actually don't have the means to communicate with the parents all the time. Um, that's usually the teacher. We we are specifically there to aid the student in the required IEP and BIP um goals that they have. A lot of times people think because of that, parents are are almost like teachers, but they're not. Um they are actually underteachers, and the teachers are the ones who are helping the paras help the student learn how to do the things they need to do. We are supposed to be there as a support though. Um, one of the things I've learned about my students with ASD is that they are very communicate, they communicate very well. Um they they communicate, they just communicate in a different way. So, you know, maybe it's gesturing or maybe it's ASL or how or using a talker device is as we call it. Um, if you're patient with them and allow them to lead you to what they want, they will communicate with you. A lot of times people see that behaviors, bad behaviors, they see that as a sign of a bad student. When that's not the case, oftentimes when there are behaviors, there is something attached to that behavior, whether it be a need not being met or then not wanting to do something, you have to figure out as a parent and as even a parer or a teacher what that need is. So we ask, we ask the questions, we we ask them, do what do you need? We try to teach them to ask for what they want. Show me what you want. Um, because they are they can't communicate, they are not only capable of communicating, but they do it rather effectively, and they expect you to listen. One of the most beautiful parts about my job is seeing success stories. We work with kids that have various disabilities, um, not just ASD, but there are many other aspects of it, whether it be some who struggle with working memory, or some who struggle with speaking and social interaction, um, or some who are what we call level three, and they are not really as independent as say a one or two would be, um, as far as autism is concerned. And we also work with students with AH, ADHD. So one of the things that I've loved about this job is seeing the success stories. Um, one of my favorite success stories from this year is we had a young man who had working memory issues. I mean, one minute we would say we would tell him something, and the next minute he would forget it, and we would have to repeat it again. Um, but by the end of the year, we saw a shift, and he started remembering all of these things. I am in charge of the ELA and social studies portion of the class, and I started seeing him remember all of the parts of government, I started seeing him rattle off facts about voting. I started seeing so many different things and growth, and his working memory became way better at the um towards the end of the year. The other thing I love is that or the other success story, if you will, is when I had the opportunity to see the students learn presidents. I personally am not one who knew all the presidents, not even the first 10. Um, but this year I watched as students who most people don't realize have the ability to do so, but they memorize to at least 10 presidents. And they are in all actuality, remember rough, memorize all of them. So those are just a few success stories. As far as our life skills are concerned, um, it's a really big part of our goals for the students. We want them to be as independent as possible. We don't know what tomorrow might hold for them. They might be the next um race car driver or they might be the next astronaut. We don't know what they have in store for their future, but one thing we do know is daily living is a must. So one of the things that we try to make sure they know how to do is life skills. Um, this year we worked on sewing with a young girl and she learned how to sew and mend things, and so throughout the school, we were able to gather shirts and plushies and all kinds of things to help her learn how to sew, and at the end of the year, she succeeded very well. Um, but we also teach them basic stuff like brushing your teeth or combing your hair, folding clothes, and even cooking in the microwave. These things are necessary for students with ASD because we don't know their situation at home. Sometimes they might be left alone and they're hungry. They need to know how to open those cookies, they need to know how to cook in the microwave, they need to know how to do their laundry and fold clothes just to help out parents at the house. So we try to incorporate as much life skills as possible. But also with life skills, one of the life skills that we have taught is learning how to use manners and learning how to ask. We're really big on that because if you can't do it, then it's always a way. And so we try to teach them that there is a way, but sometimes it requires you to ask. My inspiration for working with students with um special needs is my own struggles that I had growing up. Um, because I was diagnosed, however, we didn't receive the help. So I would like to encourage others. When you meet someone that may not seem to be doing the things that you think are what you consider status quo normal, be kind, be patient, be friendly. Some struggles aren't seen from the outside. Um, they're really more than skin deep. You don't know what that person is going through, and you could be the one to help them push past what they are struggling with. Thank you so much, and you be encouraged and have a good day.