Last updated on November 26, 2023
As a professor, sometimes I am faced with conflicting impulses: positive advocacy vs. negative reality.
Like many advocates, I wish to remind people that most autistics are not violent, bullies, or any more risky than other people in classrooms or workplaces. If anything, people with special needs are more likely to be bullied and to be victims of violence in various forms, from verbal abuse to physical abuse.
Statistics, however, only capture generalities. No matter how often I tell audiences and myself that most people with mental health challenges are not dangerous, the stereotypes persist. Often every major school shooting, stabbing, or other negative event, mental health concerns are raised.
The reality is that I have met students (and adults) who engage in self-harm, have violent outbursts, and are a genuine risk to others. When you see a young person throw things, pull hair, scratch skin, and scream, it is impossible to deny that some small number of autistic individuals need some cautious, caring, protection from their own actions. Other students (and staff) also have a right to feel safe in a classroom.
The problem is, I’m not sure how to balance the need to protect with the message I wish to promote as an advocate.
I’m not concerned with the student who has a loud voice and makes other people uncomfortable. I’m that student, too. What concerns me are the students who throw objects — including chairs — in a classroom. The students who pose a physical danger to other people cannot be ignored.
As a teacher, I’m a mandated reporter when students are abused by anyone, including a peer. I have to report Title IX abuses, too, which some autistic students seem unable to recognize.
We need better coaching and better supports for all students. Unfortunately for some autistic students, their behaviors put them at risk of suspension or expulsion from college courses.