In a webinar, Dr Jessica Tupou (Victoria University Wellington) discussed the importance of taking a culturally responsive approach to supporting autistic children, particularly in the context of her work and research with autistic Māori children and their kaiako and whānau. The webinar explored the needs of autistic tamariki Māori and how they can be supported in early childhood settings.
Children’s access to their culture and the development of a strong cultural identity is crucial to their overall wellbeing, learning, and engagement. This is no different for autistic tamariki. When children have an intersection of identities often associated with marginalisation, such as being both autistic and Māori, the barriers they experience can be compounded. This means they experience unique, and often greater, barriers and challenges to accessing education (although these intersecting identities can also offer strengths too). While kaiako often recognise the importance of supporting children’s cultural identities, they can feel unprepared to support autistic children in their cultural development. Whānau report feeling that they have to choose between the autism-related needs of the child, and their culture-related needs. This is because indigenous experiences and understandings of autism are largely absent from research and practice, and it can be difficult to access culturally-based knowledge resources for supporting autistic tamariki Māori.
Culture can have a huge influence on how families and others around the child perceive and understand autism, as well as their attitudes and ideas about supporting autistic children. Families perceive and understand autism through the cultural lenses and discourses that are available to them. While there is not a universal Māori perspective on autism, in general most Māori subscribe to a view of the child, including the autistic child, as a taonga or treasure. Māori perspectives on autistic children may include an understanding of the autistic child having a special sensitivity and connection to their environment and to the spiritual realm, which is seen as a gift.
Takiwātanga is a term used in te reo to refer to autism and autistic people, and means ‘in their own time and in their own space’. It aims to capture the non-judgemental te ao Māori perspective on autism. It is a recently developed kupu (word) for autism, coined by Keri Opai, because pre-colonialisation, identity was provided by whakapapa, genealogy, and related to children’s inheritance from ancestors, with no specific word to differentiate autistic people. While takiwātanga speaks to the idea that autistic children have their own unique experience of and interactions with the world and trajectory of development, it also conveys something of the respect with which the child, and their way of experiencing, interacting, and developing, is held. This includes an idea that the ‘time’ and ‘space’ of the child should be respected, and that whānau and communities around the child should provide the time and space that the child needs in order to support their wellbeing and enable them to flourish.
The concept of takiwātanga offers another way of thinking about how to support autistic children. With respect for the time and space of the autistic child, teachers might try to be open-minded and humble, seeking to observe, understand, and really come to know each autistic child. This means acknowledging that others may not think in the same way that we do, and that it is impossible to ever truly know another’s experience. This can prompt teachers to step back and take the time to notice, learn, and gently understand each child, which might include coming to know what interests the child, how they communicate, how they navigate the space, what environments make them feel safe and comfortable, what makes them feel uncomfortable and unsafe, and what can be done to help minimise and remove these features from the environment. All autistic children are different from one another. Teachers can follow an autistic child’s lead, thinking about ways to intentionally invite or create opportunities for different learning opportunities, and different experiences, that may be connected to their cultural development.
Traditional early support for autism offered quite formulaic approaches to the support of autistic children. The medicalisation of autism, in which autism is seen as a medical disorder requiring mediation and intervention in order to improve ‘symptoms’, can suggest to kaiako that there are very specific techniques and programmes that must be used to remedy the disorder and associated deficits. Traditional early support is often behaviourally based and more forceful in terms of what teaching is provided and the expectations for the ways in which children should participate, with goals aligned to expected outcomes from a more normative developmental perspective. Rather than medical goals and developmental norms, kaiako should be guided by what whānau want for their children, and what is important to them. They should be confident that their practices for supporting all children, through strong relationships that enable them to get to know each child, and through celebrating and working with strengths and interests, will work well for autistic children.
Whānau can provide a wealth of information and knowledge on their autistic children and can help kaiako to get to know the child, and the strategies that do and don’t work for that child (often whānau have tried many things!). Kaiako should respect that whānau are all on different stages of their journey with their child and coming to understand them as autistic. Some whānau may feel overburdened, and kaiako should be mindful of this when seeking whānau help with ideas for supporting the child. This depends on whanaungatanga (relationship-building), and its focus on being respectful, sharing knowledge, and following the whānau’s lead.
Cultural experiences and learning should always be offered in ways that are gentle, safe, and respectful of the child. This might mean adapting the way that a child engages with kapa haka so that their sensory preferences for noise, movement, and groups of people are accommodated. Teachers can also be alert to observing what children enjoy, whether it is rhythm, colour, or patterns, and work with that interest.
All children benefit from exposure to te reo whether they have spoken communication or not. Sometimes teachers refrain from the use of te reo with autistic children with concerns it will confuse them. However, te reo can be a useful resource for all autistic children (Māori and non-Māori). Te reo can be incorporated into conversations, into visuals (which might also include te ao Māori imagery), waiata, and te rakau. Spoken te reo is often clear, expressive, and accompanied with gesticulation in ways which can benefit all children.
The deficit-focused medical approach to diagnosis and assessment can be challenging for whānau Māori, due to the mismatch with Māori conceptualisations of autism, and the negative and medicalised language that needs to be used. However, children and their whānau may experience significant challenges and difficulties as a result of contexts and environments which are not a good fit for the child. Autistic children can also have high rates of co-occurring challenges, related to digestion, sleep, toilet, and anxiety. The practices required for the process of diagnosis, which include emphasising all the things that are difficult for the child, can be both unfamiliar and confronting for whānau Māori. While diagnosis can be a pathway to accessing formal supports, some whānau may choose not to engage in the process of diagnosis, and their wishes should be respected. Whānau can be reassured that it is okay not to embark on diagnosis, and that some of the supports available to them do not depend on a formal diagnosis.
Further resources
Supporting whānau: Parent to parent
He Takiwā He Wawata is an online e-learning module that teachers can access, and Altogether Autism also offer an online e-learning focused on understanding and supporting autistic people from a Māori perspective.
