It’s gotten harder as Matt’s gotten older. It’s not all fun and games in the classroom anymore. A number of things frustrate him. if he isn’t interested in the subject matter and has to sit through the lesson, or events don’t happen according to schedule. Occasionally being corrected by someone has made him very angry. If he’s in a state he can yell inappropriate things and sometimes become violent. It can escalate quickly and it takes him a while to calm down. This year Matt is going to counselling 1x a week. Hopefully it will make a difference. He probably should have started last year.

Autism speak as a good section on listening
Growing up I never was given any resource teacher

Communication Strategies
Get Attention First: Make sure the person is focused on you before speaking by calling their name or providing a gentle tap.
Use Clear & Simple Language: Keep instructions short, direct, and concise. Avoid complex sentence structures or multiple steps at once.
Break Down Tasks: For multi-step actions, break them into smaller, manageable steps.
Provide Visuals: Use pictures, visual schedules, checklists, or "wait" cards to support verbal communication and create predictability.
Avoid Forcing Eye Contact: Some autistic individuals find direct eye contact overwhelming or uncomfortable.
Give Feedback, Not Repetition: Instead of repeating instructions, give a clear, simple instruction once.
Offer Choices: Presenting simple choices can increase cooperation and engagement

https://www.autismspeaks.org/expert-opinion/how...

Kindergarten was the worst for my daughter only because I placed her in the mainstream class and agreeing w/ staff that that was a good placement. I needed a lawyer to get her out of there and put in the small spec ed class. Mainstream was both It got better for her after this because she remained in the small spec ed classes until High School when she was in the larger Spec Ed classes.

For me, Kindergarten was when autism became apparent. I remember vividly on the first day, running around with the other kids like normal, then out of nowhere, I froze. I looked around, noise was everywhere, different stations of things to do, and I was lost. Before that, I had meltdowns (or little fits, as my parents referred to them), but this was the first time something made me know I was different. Unfortunately, the Autism spectrum wasn't widely known or discussed back then (2002) as it is today.
Although looking back, I remember being pulled into the speech teacher's room to do hearing and speech tests. I think they thought I was nonverbal for a moment there, but to their surprise, I'm sure, my communication and hearing were developing like normal.
School wasn't fun. I'm glad things have changed to where we can give kids the accommodations they need.

I think about 4th-6th grade were bad for my nonverbal son. The other years were better. Some strife was due extra transitions during covid. There will probably be good and bad years.