I would say that Ryan has educated hundreds of teachers either by physically sitting in their classroom or by sharing his story with teachers all over the world and as a parent I can tell you that knowing my autistic son who struggled to communicate his feelings, his needs and his struggles, having him out of my sight for eight hours a day was very concerning. However, knowing we had educated his teachers about how autism impacts Ryan, made watching him walk out the door for school each morning a little easier.
I would say, “This one’s for you Ryan”, but he knows it is, as is every other shout out, ribbon, list and honor bestowed upon AWEnesty. But this one is also for all the teachers who don’t “see past the label/diagnosis”, but who see the challenges and the strengths that label/diagnosis bring to a particular student in your classroom and doing what you can to accommodate that student’s learning style and seeing them for the unique and wonderful learner they are for providing YOU an opportunity to keep learning, regardless of how many lesson plans you have created in your career.
So yeah teachers, this one’s for you too.
As for my son Ryan, please keep teaching all of us, we still have so much to learn.