Autistic Inclusion, Bullying, and Mental Health Concerns in K-12 Public Sch

Christopher Peters will share insights from his PhD research exploring the real-life, non-academic experiences of autistic students in K–12 public schools. While his research focused on Ontario, the findings strongly resonate across Alberta and beyond.

Drawing on both survey data and in-depth interviews, Christopher highlights common experiences reported by autistic students, including bullying, social exclusion, sensory overload, and the pressure to mask their authentic selves to fit in. Over time, many participants also described developing mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression, alongside feeling misunderstood by educators.

The session will also introduce emerging autism frameworks—such as the double empathy problem and monotropism—to help reframe how we understand autistic students’ experiences in school settings. Using the social model of disability, Christopher will explore practical ways schools can become more inclusive, emphasizing the importance of up-to-date neurodiversity training for educators and the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Finally, the session will discuss why teaching students about neurodiversity from an early age matters, highlighting promising approaches like the University of Edinburgh’s Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS) program.

This session is ideal for educators, parents, professionals, and anyone interested in creating safer, more inclusive school environments for autistic students.

Facilitator

Dr. Christopher Peters is an autistic educator with 13 years of experience teaching science, mathematics, and computer science in secondary schools in England and Ontario.

He recently completed a PhD in Education at Nipissing University, where his research focused on the non-academic experiences that autistic students have in Ontario public schools. He has a Master of Mathematics for Teachers (MMT) degree from the University of Waterloo, a Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree from Brock University, and an Honours Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from McMaster University.

He believes strongly that public education systems must adapt and modernize to meet the social and academic needs of autistic students.