For school leaders, this often coincides with delivering professional learning on supporting neurodivergent learners. For some, this will be their first time facilitating this type of content as part of Department of Education priorities, and they are working to support their teams to make sense of it in practice.

While this professional learning provides an important starting point, the challenge is what happens next.

How do we support teachers to apply this learning in their classrooms? 

This is where many schools experience a gap. Leaders are equipped with content to deliver, but there is often less clarity around how to translate this into everyday classroom practice.

The opportunity is that small, practical changes can make a meaningful difference for both teachers and students.

What is autism?

Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference that affects communication, sensory processing, social interaction, and how a person experiences and makes sense of the world.

Many autistic individuals experience the world more intensely or differently.

Autism is a spectrum. A commonly used phrase is:

“If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.”

This reflects the wide variation between individuals. It is also important to recognise that autistic students can vary from themselves across time.

Leaders also need to be aware that many of us carry a narrow or stereotypical image of what autism looks like.

There are common myths about autistic people, such as that they are “not social,” “lack empathy,” or “only have fixed interests.” These beliefs can unintentionally shape expectations and limit how we interpret students’ behaviour, strengths, and potential.

In reality, autistic students may communicate, connect, and express empathy in different ways. When we move beyond these assumptions, we are better positioned to recognise and respond to what students are showing us.

What this can look like in the classroom

Autistic students may experience communication differences, sometimes similar to developmental language disorders, and may find social interaction with peers challenging.

Some may have specific interests or engage in repetitive or stimming behaviours, such as hand flapping or vocal stimming.

Others may find it difficult to shift attention between tasks or may seek or avoid sensory input such as sound, touch, movement, or confined spaces.

At the same time, many autistic students bring strengths such as deep focus, strong interests, attention to detail, and unique ways of thinking that can enrich classroom learning when recognised and supported.

These strengths can be powerful starting points for engagement when teachers are supported to notice and build on them.

Teachers may also notice that a student can complete a task independently one day and appear unable to do so the next.

This variability means some students’ needs are more visible, while others are easier to miss. Students who are quiet, compliant, or highly independent can be overlooked, even when they require significant support to engage in learning.

Some students may also be autistic but not yet formally diagnosed, and may still require similar support in the classroom. This reinforces the importance of responding to student need, rather than waiting for a label.

Understanding fluctuating capacity

This variation is often linked to fluctuating capacity.

A student’s ability to engage can shift depending on sensory load, emotional regulation, fatigue, and the predictability of the environment. This can be confusing, particularly when expectations are based on what a student has previously demonstrated.

Recognising this can support teachers to respond more effectively, rather than assuming disengagement or defiance.

Common classroom scenarios

In practice, this may present as a student becoming distressed when a peer does not share and responding by hitting, biting, or knocking something over.

Another student may repeatedly ask peers to play, without recognising social cues. In other cases, a student may spend extended periods drawing, appearing settled and compliant, but not engaging with others.

These behaviours are often a response to unmet needs, rather than intentional misbehaviour.

They are also often responded to differently. More visible behaviours tend to be corrected, while quieter behaviours may be left alone. Both can indicate areas where support is needed.

Teachers may also feel that it is unfair to spend additional time supporting some students, particularly when others appear to be managing independently.

This is a common and understandable response, and one that needs to be acknowledged in professional learning.

Moving from behaviour to skill development

In many classrooms, time is spent recording incidents, managing behaviour, and applying consequences. When behaviours continue, it can be frustrating and create the sense that little is changing.

Often, the issue is not a lack of response, but a gap in skill development, shaped by what that individual student needs to feel safe, understood, and ready to engage.

Extending the ABC framework — antecedent, behaviour, consequence — to include the question:

'What is the skill this student needs to be taught?' can support a more helpful and impactful response for both the student and the teacher.

Teaching the skill

Many autistic students benefit from explicit teaching of how to communicate in social situations, particularly when they feel frustrated, uncomfortable, or rejected.

This includes modelling what to say or do, providing communication options (verbal or alternative, such as visuals or AAC), and practising these responses during calm, regulated moments where they feel safe.

One effective approach is the use of social stories. A social story is a short, structured narrative that describes a situation, outlines expectations, and models appropriate responses.

These are often visual and can be revisited multiple times, including before relevant situations.

For example, rather than avoiding a game where a student may lose, teachers can prepare the student by explaining what might happen, how it may feel, and what they can do or say in response.

This supports students to anticipate challenges, understand expectations, and feel more confident in social situations.

Recommended classroom strategies

  • Establish predictable routines and clearly communicate expectations (e.g. consistent lesson structure, clear starting points for tasks).

  • Preview changes in advance to support transitions (e.g. “In 5 minutes we’ll pack up and move to…”, or letting students know ahead of time about changes such as a fire drill, assembly, different teacher, or altered routine).
  • Adjust the environment or provide tools and breaks to support sensory needs (e.g. quiet spaces with soft cushions, access to books or materials linked to a student’s interests, movement breaks, reducing noise or visual load).
  • Use visual and alternative communication supports where appropriate (e.g. visuals, sentence starters, modelling responses).
  • Leverage student interests to increase motivation and engagement (e.g. incorporating interests into tasks or examples).

These are not additional strategies, but small adjustments to existing practice that support access to learning and often benefit a wider range of students.

Supporting implementation at a leadership level

School leaders are often responsible for introducing these approaches through professional learning.

A common challenge is that while staff may be aware of a range of strategies, they can feel overwhelmed by the number of options and unsure which approaches will best support their autistic students, or why.

This may also mean supporting teachers to focus on smaller, achievable goals with appropriate support, rather than expecting all students to independently meet the same syllabus outcome at the same time.

Supporting implementation may involve working with real student examples, using recent classroom scenarios or work samples, and focusing on one or two small, achievable adjustments.

Follow-up discussion or coaching can support consistency and confidence over time.

This work becomes more manageable when leaders focus on small, practical changes rather than large shifts.

Closing the gap

Awareness and acceptance are important starting points, but they are not enough on their own. The next step is supporting teachers to translate understanding into practice, and this is where many schools experience a gap.

Leaders are often equipped with content to deliver, but have limited structures to support implementation in classrooms.

Sustainable change doesn’t happen in one session. It happens when leaders create the conditions for this work to be explored, refined, and embedded in classrooms over time.

This includes opening up space for honest conversations about supporting neurodivergent learners, surfacing underlying beliefs, and acknowledging gaps in our knowledge. It also requires a shared willingness to try, reflect, and adjust practice together.

Alongside workshops for teachers and support staff, we work with leadership teams to support this process in schools.

Our goal is to help create the conditions where neurodivergent learners can access, engage with, and succeed in the classroom. For more information, contact hello@mindsinbloomlearning.com.

What small change can we make tomorrow to better support our autistic students?