Autistic educators’ views and experiences of inclusion and exclusion: How workplace culture shapes belonging

It is not all bleak; there are stories of autistic educators working in schools with inclusive cultures. Here they report having control and autonomy over their roles. They have the freedom and ability to create their own environments:

‘it was a very calming classroom. That was all part of the making it like that deliberately – and getting away with it’.

This research used elicited diaries kept weekly for a month from 14 autistic educators including teachers, trainees, TAs, a technician, and departmental and school leaders. These diary entries became the basis for interviews, usually over Teams but also over emails. Data was reflexively and thematically analysed.

Stigmatised views of autism in school settings

Autistic educators talked about assumptive attitudes that led to them being othered. False beliefs held by others that you can either be autistic or professional, led autistic educators to feel that they had to ‘do twice a good a job’. There was a fear of disclosing in case they were infantilised and treated ‘like one of the kids’. A deficit-based framing of autistic identity can shame autistic educators, causing worries, a hard division between school and home, and anxiety. None of this is helped by workplaces that seem to see autism accommodations as voluntary rather than essential.

Inaccessible processes and structures as the norm

If you work in a school, you probably already know that there are sensory barriers and that important information is sometimes hidden. Autistic educators spoke about lack of clarity, or opposing information about children that is passed to them. Poor organisational structures (leading to things like last-minute cover, arrival of unexpected external agencies, or having to work with out-of-date information) do not help a supportive culture.
The sensory environment of the staff room or noisy lunch halls can be isolating and exhausting. This inaccessibility seems rarely understood and having it downplayed by colleagues generates a further layer of inaccessibility.

Centring relationality and collaboration

Sometimes this inaccessibility was outweighed by a sense of belonging. Trusting relationships with colleagues were an antidote to stress, anxiety and exclusion. The school cultures in places like this were flattened and non-hierarchical, where autistic expertise was valued – especially with the education of neurodivergent children and young people. As one participant put it;

‘it’s having a culture of everyone can learn from everyone. It doesn’t matter who has been teaching for longer. Everyone’s willing to learn the whole time’.

Celebrating and valuing autistic professionalism

These collegial relationships recognise the importance of monotropic interests and insider understanding of autism. Active recognition fosters belonging. For some, a positive sense of self was reinforced through explicit celebration and ‘amazing’ relationships with headteachers. Schools where educators’ autonomy and control over the working environment make a massive difference.

So, what to do?

We must avoid precarious systems for those with stigmatised identities; shaky systems are risky for those already carrying enough. Misunderstandings about autism can be deepened by colleagues who frame autism as a childhood deficit, rather than as a lifelong and valued difference. This creates fear about disclosing and builds cultures where support is extended only to pupils, not the whole community. In response, autistic educators felt they had to mask, with the isolation, exhaustion and loneliness that masking entails. Of those who did disclose, some had supportive encounters, and some had their needs dismissed.

Autistic educators seem to be an indicator of broader school culture; if they are flourishing, then there is a culture of belonging taking root that values unique skillsets over conformity. Increasing political talk of belonging over competitive metrics may be paving the way towards more inclusive and accepting schools. These may be places where teaching itself can be a special interest, and special interests can be the spark that ignites pupils’ engagement.