When we talk about autism inclusion today, we often use words such as acceptance, accessibility, accommodation, belonging, and neurodiversity. These are important words, but as a Métis person, and as a mother to an autistic child, I have come to understand that the ideas behind these words are not necessarily new. They reflect concepts my Métis ancestors believed in and held dear.
Within Métis teachings, Wahkohtowin and Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk offer a powerful way of understanding what inclusion can mean. Wahkohtowin speaks to our relationships, kinship, and interconnectedness. Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk means “we take care of each other.”
Together, these teachings create a powerful message: Because we are connected, we have responsibilities to one another. When we bring this understanding into autism, inclusion becomes more than an educational strategy or a disability accommodation, it becomes a matter of relationship, responsibility, and belonging.
These Metis principles can change how we think about the concept of autism inclusion and how we take care of each other.
Wahkohtowin: Understanding Autism Through Relationship
Wahkohtowin reminds us that we do not exist as individuals entirely separate from the people around us.
We are connected through family, community, and our relationships with one another. I am often reminded of the buffalo hunt. Everyone had a role to play, and no task was too small. Neurodivergent Métis minds may have been among the first to notice patterns in the way the buffalo migrated, helping guide the hunt in the right direction. Those insights were valued.
This matters when we think about autism.
Autism is often discussed as something that exists within the individual.
We may ask:
- What are this child’s challenges?
- What behaviours need to change?
- What skills does this child need to learn?
- How can we help this child fit into the classroom?
But a relational perspective invites different questions.
- What is our relationship with this child?
- How are we listening to them?
- What are they communicating?
- What strengths do they bring to our community?
- What barriers are we creating around them?
- What can we change so they can participate?
This is an important shift. The child is no longer viewed only through what they cannot do. We begin to see the child as a whole person who exists within a network of relationships.
Kaa-Wiichihitoyaahk: Because We Are Connected, We Care for One Another
This is where Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk brings Wahkohtowin into action.
If Wahkohtowin reminds us that we are connected, Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk reminds us what we do with that connection: We take care of each other.
For autism inclusion, this can transform the way we think about support.
An autistic person needing a sensory break is not an inconvenience. An autistic person needing additional processing time is not a burden. A student using technology to communicate or complete schoolwork is not receiving an unfair advantage. A child who communicates differently is not failing to communicate simply because they do not communicate in the way others expect.
These are opportunities for the community to respond.
We take care of each other.
Inclusion Begins with the Question: “What Is Our Responsibility?”
Sometimes disability support is framed as something we provide to an individual.
The child has a need. The school provides an accommodation. The family advocates for services. The professional recommends a strategy.
But a Métis relational lens allows us to ask something deeper: What is our responsibility to this child?
That question moves us away from seeing inclusion as charity. It moves us away from, “We’re making an exception for this student.”
Instead, we begin to say: “This student belongs here. What do we need to do to ensure they can participate?”
That is a very different philosophy.
Autism Does Not Remove Anyone from the Circle
An autistic child does not stop being part of the community because they communicate differently. They do not become less capable of contributing because their strengths may look different from those of their peers. And they should not have to perform “normal” behaviour before they are welcomed.
They are already part of the circle. Our responsibility is to recognize their place within it.
This is where Wahkohtowin and Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk can speak directly to contemporary neurodiversity.
We are connected.
Therefore:
We listen.
We adapt.
We support.
We make room.
We learn.
We take care of each other.
What Does This Look Like in an Autism-Inclusive Society?
Autistic people may experience sensory information, emotions and environments differently. A person may become overwhelmed by noise, crowds, transitions or unexpected changes.
It can be tempting to see dysregulation as simply a behaviour problem. But what if we see regulation through relationship?
Instead of, “How do we make the behaviour stop?” we ask, “How do we help this child feel safe enough to regulate?”
The answer is not always to change the autistic person.
Sometimes the answer is to change the environment around them.
People around them can help. The environment can change. Expectations can be adjusted. Communication can be supported. Relationships can provide safety.
Again, the two teachings connect:
Wahkohtowin = we are connected.
Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk = we take care of each other.
Métis Identity and Autism Belong Together
For Métis people with Autism, inclusion also means recognizing that cultural identity and disability identity do not exist separately.
Someone can be:
Métis and autistic.
Neurodivergent and culturally connected.
A different communicator and a valued community member.
Their autism does not make them less Métis. Their support needs do not make them less capable of contributing to their community. Their disability does not remove their responsibilities, relationships, gifts or place within their family. And their Métis identity should never be treated as secondary when disability supports are being discussed.
We need systems that understand the whole child.
Not just the diagnosis.
Not just the disability.
Not just the cultural identity.
The whole person.
From Inclusion to Belonging
There is a difference between inclusion and belonging. A child can be physically included in a classroom while still feeling disconnected. They can attend the same school but spend most of their time separated from peers. They can be present at a cultural event without being able to participate meaningfully. They can receive accommodations without anyone asking what they themselves want.
Belonging asks something deeper.
- Do you know that you matter here?
- Do people understand you?
- Can you contribute?
- Are your differences respected?
- Is your culture respected?
- Are you listened to?
- Do you have relationships?
That is where Wahkohtowin becomes so important.
Belonging is relational.
And Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk reminds us that relationships come with responsibility.
What Autism Inclusion Can Learn from Métis Teachings
Modern autism advocacy has brought important ideas into public conversation:
- Neurodiversity
- Universal Design
- Accessibility
- Communication rights
- Sensory inclusion
- Self-advocacy
- Disability rights
- Belonging
These ideas are important.
But Métis teachings can help us ask an additional question: How do we live these values in relationship with one another?
Because inclusion is not just something we design. It is something we practice.
We practice it when we listen. We practice it when we make space. We practice it when we change environments rather than demanding that every person adapt to them. We practice it when we recognize strengths and when we respect different forms of communication. We practice it when we teach children that their classmates do not have to be the same to belong.
We practice it when we care for one another.
Inclusion Is Not New
As a Métis person, I do not see inclusion as something we are inventing for the first time in a modern era. I see a connection between contemporary conversations about neurodiversity and longstanding Métis understandings of relationship, kinship, community and responsibility.
Wahkohtowin reminds us: We are connected.
Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk reminds us: We take care of each other.
Autism inclusion asks us: How do we ensure that autistic people can fully belong within those relationships and communities?
Put together, these ideas offer a powerful answer:
We do not make autistic people earn their place in the community.
We recognize that they already have one.
Our responsibility is to build communities where that belonging is visible, felt, and respected.
The Circle Has Room
Perhaps the most important lesson is this:
We do not need to create a world where everyone communicates the same way. We do not need everyone to learn the same way. We do not need everyone to experience the world in the same way.
We need communities strong enough to make room for difference.
A Métis understanding of relationship can remind us that our differences do not disconnect us from one another. They give us another opportunity to practice relationship.
Another opportunity to listen.
Another opportunity to care.
Another opportunity to learn.
Wahkohtowin: We are connected.
Kaa-wiichihitoyaahk: We take care of each other.
Autism inclusion: Everyone belongs.
And perhaps that is the most important message we can give an autistic child:
You do not have to become someone else to belong here.
You already belong.
And we will take care of each other.
