WORCESTER – The Worcester School Committee has voted to support a resolution that establishes April as Autism Acceptance and Awareness Month at Worcester Public Schools.
The committee cast a unanimous vote on April 17, which serves to reaffirm the districts commitment to the support and understanding of the autistic community.
The resolution was championed by Nelly Medina who learned about the Autistic community while on the campaign trail as a candidate for the school committee during the 2023 election season. She explained how talking with parents and families revealed a significant need for assistance and awareness in Worcester.
“The most significant concern expressed was about accessing educational opportunities, autism assessments,” Medina said, “and recreation and after school programs spaces specifically for children with special needs as well as basic information on autism services available outside of the Worcester Public School system. This proclamation is not only necessary, but vital. While it isn’t legally binding, it sends a strong message that we hold our schools to high standards and will remain committed to this cause.”
Medina told the Worcester Guardian that her involvement in the autism community goes back five years due to her son, Manolo, who is autistic. Manolo also spoke at the committee meeting.
“I’ve been actively advocating to educate others about autism for quite some time now,” said Medina.
The Worcester City Council cast its own unanimous vote to recognizing a similar resolution on April 1 and declared April 2 Autism Awareness Day in the city. The school committee’s vote took place a day after the Trump Administration’s Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy made controversial comments regarding the Autistic community. His statements were referenced by numerous advocates who spoke in support of the resolution throughout the night.
The public comment segment of the meeting was filled with a wide range of supporters ranging from a mother who described the negative treatment of her autistic child by a fellow student to paraprofessionals begging for more training for educators and those seeking to improve tolerance and acceptance in the community both within and beyond the school walls.
Among the speakers was Anne Bureau, a co-chair of Worcester’s Autism Task Force, who summed up the sentiment of many in asking the school committee to support the resolution.
“The treatment and the climate towards kids with autism is one of the great needs in our community,” said Bureau. “This is so imperative, the atmosphere and how children on the spectrum are treated in the schools. It’s crucially important.”
The resolution noted the large increase in those diagnosed with autism in the commonwealth over the last two decades while laying out a series of goals for the district to embrace to better serve its Autistic students and their educators and classmates.
These include a commitment to fostering understanding and support for the Autistic community, providing students with autism and their educators with more resources to support their success, and providing paraeducators and those working most directly with these students ongoing professional development regarding neurodiversity.
It concludes by calling these initiatives part of the larger mission to provide “safe, supportive, and equitable learning environments for all” at Worcester Public Schools
Jason Bleau, a seasoned reporter from Connecticut’s Quiet Corner, has over 11 years of news media experience. He has worked as a news anchor for WINY 1350 AM, contributed to Stonebridge Press publications, and covered racing as a Press Box coordinator at Thompson Speedway. Outside journalism, he is a movie enthusiast, freelance film reviewer, banker, and solo musician. He can be reached at bleau.jason@yahoo.com
