5 Activities for Autism Acceptance Month

Today I’m sharing 5 activities for autism acceptance month in the classroom. During April, there is a huge focus on autism awareness and acceptance. And it’s vitally important that the actions we put in to place in April, and what we learn.. We make that long-term, not just for April.

If you are looking for activities to do this April with your students, here are some of my favorites;

1. Read Books

There are so many amazing books that are written by and/or about neurodivergent children. I love to use books to help my students learn more about topics. And I’ve put together a blog post with my favorite books about autism here.

2. Listen to Autistic Voices

There are lots of great videos on YouTube and podcasts by autistic individuals who share what their experiences of the world are like. Some of my favorite ones to use are ones that explain how sensory differences can affect their day-to-day life. This is perfect for helping our students understand how we are all different and experience the world differently.

3. Teach About Autism

Education about autism is really important. If we want our students to understand and accept others, the best way to achieve this is to educate them. One of my favorite activities to use is this PowerPoint. I have used this as part of training other teachers in general education classrooms too. And it’s perfect to use with all students. You can download and use it here.

4. Create a Bulletin Board Display

I put together this free bulletin board display that you can download here. We use this with the book Isaac and His Amazing Aspergers Superpowers. Students will love reading the story with you and then completing these follow-up activities. This is the perfect way to ensure you are helping to spread autism awareness and acceptance.

5. Facts and Myths

There are so many facts and myths that get mixed up when talking about autism. I love to use these fact and myth posters around our school hallways so that everyone can see them and learn about autism.

As a bonus, you can also send home these autism reading comprehension worksheets. Have students complete them as homework and encourage them to share some facts with their families that they learned about autism. Now, you’re not only teaching your students.. But you’re also spreading information further outside of your classroom to your student’s homes too.

Some other activities you can do throughout Autism Acceptance Month;

• Invite in local autism charities to present and teach your students.
• Have a fundraising day or activity to raise money for local autism charities.

Helpful Links

You may find the following links helpful;

• Children’s Books about Autism
• Why NOT to Use the Puzzle Piece
• How Can I Teach Autism Awareness in the Classroom?
• Autism Acceptance Classroom Resources and Activities

P.S. Have you signed up for a 3 day free trial of my VIP membership yet? If not, click here to do it now and go and get access to a huge range of resources, templates, crafts and more for free.

Nikki