Autistic students often confront challenges in class. Could 'more creativity in the curriculum' change that?
ABCFor recent graduates Bella Marsh and Austin Boath, school did not always feel inclusive. Bella said greater flexibility in assessment formats would help neurodivergent students "get a better education". Austin, who has always been interested in planes, said being given freedom to choose his research topics would have improved his learning experience, but his teachers often tried to "get him off the flight trackers" and into work that "had nothing to do with planes". The main problems they encountered were: Fitting in socially Learning difficulties Communication difficulties Graham Forbes, who taught both Bella and Austin, recently submitted a master's dissertation, about the experiences of autistic students, in which he found that mainstream school support could feel "stigmatising". He said that, instead of throwing "more teachers and money" into schools, a sustainable solution would involve a holistic re-imagining of the education system.
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