My school, my voice: Development of an inclusive student council in a large special school for autism

Abstract

The voice of the autistic population is diverse; some communicate verbally, and some non-verbally, using symbols or assistive technology. That variation within the group can also extend to purpose, interest, pattern of communication. In order to enable and amplify the voices of autistic children and young people, options for expression must be just as diverse and flexible. This chapter is a case study presenting development of an inclusive student voice system within a maintained special school. This school team provides education for nearly 300 students aged 3-19 living with autism and a range of associated communication, interaction, social, sensory, and learning differences. Moving away from a somewhat-traditional approach, which favours verbal and confident speakers, to a more inclusive and democratic approach, the change process and lessons learnt, as shared by the school staff, are analysed. The aim of this chapter is to encourage educators and leaders to challenge systems which are inaccessible by design and to take action to co-produce new solutions with not only those who are already involved but also those who could be. By sharing one story of such an experiment, the idea is not to share a final or ideal model but to initiate discussion and development with others.