Returning to routines is also a matter of mental health

“ Para many children, the return to class means finding friends, going back to the routines and getting to know the news of the new school year. For an autistic child, however, this return may mean much more than going back to school. It could mean a new class, a new teacher, new colleagues, different rules, schedules or even a change of school. And when several of these changes happen simultaneously, what seems to be a natural adaptation can represent a significant effort.

Predictability can play an important role in how some autistic children deal with transitions. Knowing what will happen, getting to know spaces and people in advance, anticipating changes in routines or relying on reference adults can help reduce uncertainty and create greater security. It is not about preventing change, but about creating conditions so that it can be lived with greater tranquility.

This is also where mental health should enter the conversation. Anxiety, isolation, irritability, sleep disorders, school refusal, self-regulation difficulties or sudden changes in behavior and performance may be signs that a child is experiencing difficulties that he cannot always express. In the case of autistic children, some of these signs may be interpreted only as behavioral problems, when they may be translating discomfort, overload or emotional suffering.

World Mental Health Day is therefore an opportunity for us to look at prevention from childhood. And in this context, talking about child mental health is also talking about inclusion.

A truly inclusive school is not just the one where the child is physically present. It is the one where it is recognized, respected and accepted in its singularity; where it manages to participate, learn, communicate, establish relationships and feel that it belongs. Including is not asking the child to stop being who he is to fit into a particular model. It is to create conditions for you to be who you are, with dignity, security and respect for your unique way of feeling, communicating, learning and being in the world.

Talking about inclusion is, therefore, also talking about unconditional acceptance of the human being and respect for human diversity and neurodivergence. Neurological differences should not only be seen as something that needs to be corrected or standardised. They must be understood, respected and framed, recognizing that there are different ways to process information, communicate, establish relationships, regulate emotions and respond to the environment.

A truly inclusive society is not built when all people are forced to adapt to the same standard. It builds when we are able to break down barriers that prevent participation, learning, communication and the feeling of belonging. Some of these barriers are physical; others are communicational, social, emotional and attitudinal. And often it is precisely the latter that remain most invisible.

It is not enough to ask the child: “How can we make it adapt?” It is also necessary to ask: “What can we transform around her so that she can participate, feel safe and belong?” This change of gaze is essential. Because inclusion cannot depend exclusively on the ability of the person to adapt to society; society also has the responsibility to adapt to the diversity of the people who make it.

To include is to understand that belonging is a fundamental human need. No child should feel that he needs to hide his characteristics, silence his needs or stop expressing who he is to be accepted. True inclusion occurs when the difference is no longer a reason for exclusion and becomes recognized as a natural part of human diversity.

An emotionally secure school is not a school where all children behave the same way. It is a school that recognizes different ways of existing, learning and communicating; that seeks to understand before judging; that adapts strategies without diminishing expectations; that respects limits and needs without taking opportunities; and that creates conditions for each child to develop their potential.

Breaking down barriers is therefore a collective responsibility. Schools, families, professionals, institutions and society. We can't keep putting all the weight of the adaptation on the neurodivergent child. We need to build more accessible, more flexible, more humane and truly prepared contexts for diversity.

Mental health and inclusion are not two distinct concerns. They are part of the same responsibility: to build environments where each child can grow, learn, relate and develop without having to renounce what is to be accepted.

Because inclusion isn't just being there. Inclusion is being seen. It's being heard. It's being respected. It's being able to participate. It's feeling like you belong. And above all, it is being able to be, without having to stop being who one is to fit in the world.”