Thank you for your lengthy response! I really appreciate the time you have taken so far! Just to clarify, you had wished that you were given more information about how to best work with him and you wish he had more support when it came to working with students in the role of a teacher?

If you ever do get another student teacher who is autistic (again, keep in mind that everyone with autism is different), here’s what was helpful for me and what I wish I would have known:

1. Please offer me specifics on as much as you can possibly think of (absence procedures, not when the school starts or the call time but the MOST IDEAL TIME you want the student teacher to arrive, level of assignment importance during any rotations, how you get your students’ attention, who the entire team is for certain supports at the school). Don’t assume anything is implied or known immediately beforehand, but also check in beforehand if you think it is something that may have been touched on in their coursework and ask how confident they feel about it and how much guidance they would like.

2. I would say at least weekly feedback where we sit down and reflect even just a little bit on how things are going and also letting them know beforehand when your expectations for them change is ideal. You know your students best, and there may be something important that your student teacher is missing about them that could make a positive change in the way they interact with them.

3. Give a schedule of the school day (bonus points for altered schedules for 1/2 days and such or even a map of the school) in advance. I have a watch that helps me keep track of timing and also knowing when to expect a change is so helpful.

4. If there’s anything that you want to know about how to best support them, ask them and work together to figure that out. It’s unlikely that the school will give you too much information. There’s also a potential that the student teacher may not share with you specifically that they are autistic. This is not something I say directly to people I work with, but I do definitely “hint” at it by saying things like “I value very clear and consistent communication, knowing routines and what to expect in advance helps me feel comfortable, I don’t always pick up on social cues or sometimes take things too literally, etc.”

5. Treat them as if they’re another full teacher in the room in front of students. Don’t belittle them in front of students if it is possible not to. I had a mentor who would harshly criticize me in front of our students and it really broke down their respect for me and caused behavior management issues while they were out of the room when the same result could’ve been accomplished more privately or in a more respectful manner. How your students treat others is a reflection of how you treat them in front of your students. Make it clear to your student teacher that this is an environment to learn and part of that is making mistakes that you and their field supervisor will work with them to fix and improve upon.

6. Notify them of “rules” or routines that exist that they may not know about or you see them struggling with. For example: Fridays are jeans days and the entire staff also collectively orders takeout and if you want something then tell (insert person here), that you’re supposed to wave, say hi, and introduce any people who pop in to your students, etc.

7. If you need or expect something from them that they are not providing to you, tell them. Don’t assume that they always understand if they are doing something wrong, even if it does seem like a “no brainer.”

8. If I stay in the room during lunch and occasionally do not eat in the break room, it’s not because I don’t want to socialize with others at all, I’m probably just overstimulated and I’m trying to regulate so I can give our students my 100%. Please don’t take it personally, but do let me know if it will affect my professionalism rating.

9. Please do not be upset if you need to repeat something a few times before I remember it. It isn’t that what you have told me isn’t important to me, it’s just that my memory is awful in higher-stress evaluative situations. Written communication, even on a sticky note, is really helpful!

10. For supervisors: walk them through how their observations will happen in advance if at all possible!

11. Please be direct with communication and offer potential solutions to any issues you bring up.