To The Teachers

Seventh Grade. Junior High. How did this happen?

My autistic son becomes one of the big kids this year, and I am sitting here wondering where the time went. How did I go from the terrified mother sending her non-verbal child to a special preschool, to the mom of a 7th Grader who has very strong opinions about which lunch kit looks cool?

I don’t need to pause long to know the answer. We got here with a lot of support and a lot of love. I’ve thanked the teacher’s aides, and the classmates. Today, I thank the teachers.

As we begin another year, I cannot help but feel enormous respect and gratefulness. As I type out these words of thanks, I am deeply aware that our experience is not everyone’s. I know that so many families like mine have struggled, have fought, and have had to change schools multiple times. I know how privileged we are. And that fact makes me all the more thankful, and all the more motivated to give credit where it is very due.

To the Teachers…

To the Pre-K teacher who welcomed my non-verbal, not toilet-trained, highly dysregulated, disabled son into your classroom every single day with warmth, love, and gentleness; I am convinced you are an angel in disguise. I still see you in the halls. You’re still sitting on the floor comforting the most little and most vulnerable. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for keeping him safe.

To the Kindergarten and Grade One teacher: I’m not sure if you know this, because you transferred away, but we owe you so much. You were the teacher who handed my son a mini white board and marker when verbal communication was hard. This simple and kind accommodation unlocked a love or writing and drawing in him. He still writes out his thoughts on a little white board before sharing them with me. Thank you for giving me a window to his soul. Sometimes I see you across a soccer field or at a large city event, and I smile; knowing the students in your school are in such good hands.

To the Grade Two Teacher: your time with my son was cut short by the pandemic, but I’ll never forget you. You were the teacher that went out of your way to photocopy all of my son’s worksheets onto his favourite colour of paper. You were the one who rolled with his stims, and encouraged the class to embrace them. I will never forget a story his aide told me about you: one time, my son was lost in his own thoughts and started singing out loud in the middle of class. She locked eyes with you, wordlessly asking if she should take him out of the room. Instead, you started dancing, and told all the other students to stand up and take a dance break too! Thank you for accepting my kid, and teaching his peers to do the same.

To the Grade Three Teacher: you did so much for my son’s confidence! You showed him how to take pride in his strengths, and even how to show off a little. You knew that he needed to feel good about himself, and helped him get there in ways no one before you had. Thank you for all the positive things you said. He heard you. And so did I.

To the teacher who somehow got herself assigned to my son in Grade Four, Five, AND Six: you are something else. I once nervously joked that you must be tired of us, and you shut me down immediately! You told me that you loved having my kid in your class, then spent three years proving it every day. You advocated for him, were patient with him, and stretched him. You encouraged his independence, even when it made things less convenient for you. I cannot thank you enough for the three consistent years that allowed him to grow in leaps and bounds. In my mind, you are a rockstar.

To the Math Teacher: you didn’t have my kid for a whole grade, but you welcomed him into your class and nurtured his skills at the level he was at. My son recently declared that math is his favourite. He has never said a positive thing about a class or school subject before… not before you. Thank you.

To the Grade Seven Teacher who starts teaching my son this week: you took more notes in the hand-off meeting than any teacher before you, and asked thoughtful questions. Thank you for filling this disability mom’s heart with confidence and hope. I believe it’s going to be a good year.

To the LST: the teacher who has been by my son’s side for eight whole school years. There are no words that could adequately thank you for absolutely everything. From integration plans, to education plans, to teaching him custom classes, to having my number on speed-dial and talking me through the hardest of days. Could we adopt you? Take you with us when he gets to high school? (I’m only half-joking. Could someone look into the logistics of that?)

To every educator reading this, thank you for putting in extra time and care for your disabled students. Know that you make a difference.

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