The disregard of autistic youth

Broadening my horizons and maintaining an academic presence in fields closest to my heart, I enrolled in 'Human Rights and Global Injustice'. Confronted with introspection upon issues which mattered to me, I automatically waded through a sea of ugly news headlines that had slowly risen from the deepest folds of my brain. A sludge of New Times Roman font swirled into unintelligible patterns, barely resembling the words they intended to spell. Day in and day out, more and more issues trickled into my mental sewage. Too many worthy causes to keep track of. Disfigured articles of disregard slipped through my grasp, only occupying my attention for a moment.

Cutting through my murky swamp of thoughts, her voice. The electricity in the air of the room buzzed and hummed. Passion rolled off the tongue of the lecturer before me. Invigoration and hope. I was reminded of the many individuals who failed to disregard childlike ambition to the squalid corners of offices. The prevailing, impassioned few. I became intent on sifting through my abandoned perfervid beliefs and goals.

Absently mindedly, I opened my laptop and created an empty draft titled: 'Scream it from the rooftops'. 

Anyone who has spoken to me for even just a moment will have heard of my ludicrous family. My two younger brothers have always been one of my favourite bragging points. Being a front-row spectator of the hurdles they have been affronted with instated a strong sense of injustice within me from an early age. I remember, as young as 8 years old, presenting to my class. One hand clutching my beloved stuffed toy (a brilliant caramel-furred bunny rabbit), the other reading from scribbled notes and felt tip abstract diagrams I had produced the night before. Intent to educate each one of my peers on Autism. Unfortunately, Jack Mitchell failed to become the activist I had hoped to inspire and simply punched me in the arm after our teacher wove our line of snotty-nosed classmates into the hallway, assembly-bound. 

In retrospect, a class of children would have probably been better incentivised by an offering of sweets. 

Regardless, below is an excerpt from a recently drafted assignment, for which I chose to outline inequalities autistic children face within mainstream education. The excerpt is very small, barely touching the sides. Forgive this. It also reads as very 'waffly'. Forgive this also. I mainly wanted to provoke conversation concerning the topic by sharing it here.

I refuse to abandon my inner, grubby, 8-year-old self. I will continue to doodle on notebook covers, refuse to heed weather warnings and will certainly never learn when to shut up. 

[How are the rights of autistic youth being assaulted: mainstream primary school education and its often-unlawful shortcomings in the United Kingdom.] 

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is classified as a “neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2024).

According to the National Autistic Society (Kennedy, 2023), it is estimated that over 70% of autistic children are enrolled in mainstream education, begging the question: why is their right to education still contested? The following collated research evidences the persistent abuse of the rights of autistic youth in mainstream education. This essay explores the different facets of discrimination these children face; ranging from ostracisation within the classroom, the persecution of children simply for exhibiting symptoms, unlawful exclusion from mainstream education and then finally the funnelling of said lost children into inadequate pupil referral units (PRU). Such premises will conform to that order and will be dissected and evidenced.

 The following paper will go on to explore how the right to education, as described under the Human Rights Act 2010, is frequently disregarded at the expense of autistic children via the means previously listed. The conceptual frameworks of social identity theory, decoloniality and the neurodiversity movement will be applied and used to explain the flagrant abuse of rights rampant among mainstream primary schools within the United Kingdom (UK).

The Human Rights Act (HRA) outlines fundamental liberties that should be given to all of humankind. Blanketing these freedoms in a codified manner has required some testaments to remain abstract in efforts to appeal to a broad, multicultural population. This has allowed the HRA to be signed by 46 countries. Despite this, some rights remain starkly concise, with no room for misinterpretation.

An example of this is the right to education, Part 2, Article II: “No person shall be denied the right to education” (Gov.uk, 1998).  

Eclectic research concludes that the shortcomings of our governing bodies, poor rebuilding of social frameworks, lack of advocacy and an under-funded education institution are the primary culprits behind allowing this continuous maltreatment of ASD children. Looking historically, the Blair administration can be used as an example of the influence of government on educational standards. Schools need the initiation and support of the government to meet targets. This can be seen in 1998 when implementing the 30 children per classroom initiative (Contributor, 1998). The rights of autistic youth are being repeatedly disregarded by the government. Refusal to face a glaring shortcoming in UK education has bred stigma and insecurity. We have seen the influence of government regarding education and have seen the lack of action towards this particular issue, concluding the prominent top-down nature of educational inequality. Therefore, it is falsifiable to state that ASD youth are ostracised by inadequate measures set in place within schools, a consequence of an apathetic, un-serving government. This has already been acknowledged by numerous organisations that lobby politicians in the hope of educational reform, including Ambitious About Autism.

“Coloniality outlasts colonialism and perpetuates patterns of power in social, economic, cultural, and educational relations that were established as a result of colonialism.”, Walter, 2018.

Modern literature has begun to explore the structural building of pedagogy post World War II. Following social reconstruction post-Second World War, management of social diversity inclusion began to morph. The separation between the global north and south reproduced neo-colonial policies of oppression through educational policies and practices. Viewing inequality in education through acknowledging the stains of coloniality, one arrives at decoloniality theory. Applying this conceptual framework and leading with postcolonial perspectives, “[it can be argued] that disability is a constitutive material presence in many postcolonial societies and that progressive disability politics arise from postcolonial concerns.” (Chatatika, 2024).

Shifting such a lens over the issue reveals historical footprints which lead to the present abuse of rights. Reflecting on colonial roots tenaciously woven throughout pedagogy provides a more comprehensive understanding of the issue at hand. Inclusive education itself as a field is dominated by knowledge from Euro-Americans (Walton, 2018). Inequality in education is repeatedly presented as a global north and western issue.

When reflecting on indigenous practices within education, many congruences with inclusive education appear (Kisanji, 1998). Thorough reviews of academic journals,  consistent reference to coloniality as a key perpetrator of inequality within education is prevalent. Popular opinion encourages this reality to be acknowledged. Driving an end to “oppressor innocence” as the populous becomes more aware of how entrenched coloniality is within modern-day society. When answering the titled premise, it would be a disservice not to mention decoloniality theory when answering how the rights of autistic youth are systemically abused.