ABSTRACT
In the area of special educational needs, the voices of young people, in particular of those who are diagnosed as autistic, and of family members, are often unheard despite their legal entitlements to have their views taken into account during decision-making about support to address their learning needs. This chapter, written in the first person, explores what can be learnt about inclusion in education from memories of the lived experiences of Noah, an autistic teenager, and his mother through the years of mainstream schooling. Noah’s memories are interspersed with those of his mother.
At relevant points, Noah and his mother discuss aspects of his experience that enhanced his learning and achievement, and, hence, his future life chances, and the barriers.
Implicit in these first-hand narratives are issues of human rights, fairness and social justice in the sphere of education related to why, if educators are really interested in enhancing future life chances, it is essential:
to see all young people, in this case those who experience autism, as more than simply a label;
to recognise individuality and potential beyond the orthodox deficiency descriptors of autism; and
to listen to what those young people have to say about themselves, their strengths and interests and what they know they themselves need.
