Canadian Journal of Autism Equity

Foreword

Whitney Hodgins — 2023-04-25

The Risk Factors and Preventative methods of Self-Harm and Suicidality for Autistic People

Kai Elias Forcey-Rodriguez — 2023-04-25

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicide are not new concepts. However, prevention and intervention strategies are evolving. This paper explores NSSI/Self-Harm and suicidality in the context of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), starting with neurotypical children and adolescents aged 10-24 to compare differences. Suicide is a leading cause of death in adolescents and young adults and is disturbingly high in the autistic community. While evidence about causes and risk factors for NSSI, self-harm, and suicidal behavior in autistic people exist, a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed publications revealed significant gaps in research about severe mental health concern prevention. With high chances of developing mental health disorders, autistic people have higher rates of experiencing self-injury of various types throughout their lives and increased cases of suicide than neurotypical people. Four major risk factors for autistic people: Demographics/SES, ableism and otherness, autism camouflaging, and autistic burnout. Three recommendations for educators are provided on how to support autistic mental health. The implicit focus on causation and behavior identification in research needs to be addressed instead of comprehensive preventative strategy creation. If educators and mental health practitioners know mental health literacy methods and risk factors for suicide and self-harm, specifically for neurotypical students, neurodivergent students deserve equitable support and attention.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Heather Gillespie — 2023-04-25

Adults have a significantly harder time being diagnosed with autism, and this is due to many reasons, such as the paucity of information about adults with autism, their diagnosis being missed as a child, lack of providers who feel confident in their knowledge to diagnose autism in adults, and an autistic adult’s ability to mask and cope in a neurotypical world since childhood, among others. Few tests are available and specifically target adult diagnosis. Most tests are created for children or youth and may not account for the difference in the presentation of autism in adults and the coping skills and masking they have required to develop throughout their lives. This paper talks about the need for adequate knowledge and testing for autism in the adult population.

Heuristics in medicine:

Heather Gillespie — 2023-04-25

Heuristics, or mental shortcuts, are used by everyone to make decision making easier and quicker in daily life. In jobs such as medicine, however, using heuristics can lead to biased decision making and, in turn, misdiagnosis of patients. Doctors are not immune to being biased, or stereotyping. In fact, many healthcare professions have implicit bias training to try and minimize this. Knowledge about one’s own bias can make a difference short term, but the person will be thinking more about whether they are being biased and less on how they can solve the problem in front of them. Bias is, unfortunately, something that must be acknowledged in all corners of society. So, how do we accommodate our biases to get the best results — knowing that we will fall back on heuristics and stereotyping?

Teaching Strategies for Autistic Students

Rebekah Kintzinger — 2023-04-25

This article explores teaching and the educational environment with the Autistic student in mind. It begins by approaching the medical and social models of disability and discussing the implications of their use in an educational setting, focusing on why a social model of disability best supports the learning of Autistic and neurodivergent students in order to be as inclusive as possible in the education setting. The article then goes into detail on the strategies found within the support tiers of Communication, Visual Aide, and Environment in a classroom setting to bolster the success of Autistic and neurodivergent students. This includes a comprehensive breakdown of best ways to support students in these areas, and why this is important. Focussing on the idea that all behavior is communication, the article discusses the importance of inclusivity in the classroom, and preserving the agency of Autistic students. This article aims to give educators the tools they need to support students who are Autistic and neurodivergent, so that they are experiencing less stress and an improved school experience across their learning journey.

The Past, Present and Future of Early Childhood Inclusion in Canada

Adora Wong — 2023-04-25

This article examines the roots of inclusion in Canada’s educational and early childhood settings as a colonized nation. It discusses how to address the damage done to create inclusive environments where every child is empowered. While we have moved away from exclusion and segregation, inclusion policies are still resisted by parents, educators, and policymakers due to a turbulent past and the lack of coherent programming and funding (Halfton & Friendly, 2015). The author examines the dichotomy of care and education in relation to inclusion, criticizes using children as objects of scientific inquiry, and maintains the importance of upholding a capable image of the child. Modern-day inclusion policies may harm autistic children instead of helping, as they may not truly be in the best interest of children with disabilities.