Autism and Education

Hannah Gadsby Remembers the Day her Teacher Started Hating Her

Have you seen Hannah Gadsby’s comedy show, Douglas? This and another performance of hers, Nanette, are on Netflix right now. (I think you should watch Nanette first, but that is beside the point here). I relate to almost everything she says as a late-diagnosed autistic woman.

For one, she has realized why she didn’t understand her grade-school teacher’s lesson on prepositions. It’s a funny story, but it also shows how misunderstood autistic children can be in classrooms. The teacher becomes so upset with Hannah that she hesitates to ask any more questions and never does understand the lesson.

I’m interested in autism and education because I’m an educator, and my sons and I are autistic. I’ve seen many problems in our classrooms over the years that affect every child but are especially hard on the neurodiverse. Hannah’s story explains it so well.

I remember going from being the teacher’s pet to the teacher’s nemesis in one lesson. And until I was diagnosed, I never understood what had happened.

To be a teacher, you must be able to take the perspective of your students; to understand why they are asking what they are asking and where they got confused. In this way, you can go back and reteach from their perspective in a way that makes sense to…