Being disabled means hundreds of thousands of people believe they always know better than you do.

I watch my son, Julian, work one of his chunky wooden puzzles, the pieces a perfect fit in his hands. Mine were made of laminated cardboard when I was his age, just shy of five; I almost envy Julian’s Winnie-the-Pooh characters with their coats of non-toxic paint, each with their own space to nestle in, little licensed islands in a solid sea.

School should be a place of belonging for every student. This aspirational statement would certainly be affirmed by educators, school leaders, and families alike. We all hope that students will feel truly “at home” in their classrooms. We want them to feel valued and accepted by their peers and teachers. We strive to create connections among students that lead to reciprocal relationships. We work to ensure they feel like true members of their school. Every student should know for certain that they belong (Slaten et al., 2016).

When I first became an ABA Therapist, I was thrilled. I was actually going to use my psych degree, get paid more than minimum wage, and above all, make a positive difference in Autistic children’s lives. Or at least, that’s what I thought.

Autism is seen, in popular representations, largely as a social and communication disorder. Formerly framed as stemming from an autistic lack of a “social instinct”, the current dominant idea is that something is deficient or missing in autistic social cognition. Often referred to as a cognitive deficit in “empathy” or “theory of mind”, much research on autistic social issues has focused on trying to clarify and detect this inside autistic brains and minds.

Maybe you’ve been teaching autistic students for years, or maybe you’re about to have one in your class for the first time. Either way, thinking about autism as a culture and the communication and behavior implications of this social justice approach will support your efforts to have productive interactions with and among all your students, including the neurodivergent ones.

Ever wonder why some websites just feel intuitive and a joy to visit? That’s the essence of digital accessibility! It’s the art and the science of designing the digital world—from websites, apps, or any online content—so that everyone, including people with disabilities, can easily use and understand them.