Article Text
Nuril Kingsley’s experience helping her autistic son navigate school ultimately inspired her to become the kind of teacher she knew children like him needed.
Kingsley, who grew up in Indonesia, learned the importance of service and dignity from her father, the chief of their village. Those lessons stayed with her when her son, Danny, struggled in a Fairfax County Public Schools preschool autism class.
She began homeschooling Danny, taking on the dual role of parent and educator. When he was ready to return to a classroom, one teacher saw him as a child who needed understanding and support—not as a problem.
The experience motivated Kingsley to return to school herself and train as a teacher. Now in her eighth year, she works with students whose needs often resemble those of her son.
“I learned so much from this process and I don’t want to keep this for myself,” Kingsley recalled thinking. “I want to share it with others.”
Fairfax County’s enhanced autism classrooms generally have no more than eight students, supported by one teacher and two instructional assistants. Students can span multiple ages and grade levels, with a wide range of communication and learning needs.
They still study the standard curriculum. In one recent first-grade lesson, for example, students learned about past, present and future tenses—the same material being taught to other first graders across the county.
Fairhill Elementary School Assistant Principal Maura Cotter said enhanced autism classrooms are among the school division’s most demanding teaching assignments. She credited Kingsley with drawing on both her family life and professional training when making classroom decisions.
That personal experience is especially valuable when Kingsley tries to understand student behavior. Some children communicate with gestures or sign language, while others rely on assistive technology. Difficulty expressing a need can sometimes turn into frustration.
Rather than simply telling a student to stop a behavior, Kingsley considers what skills the child already has. She asks whether the student understands emotions or knows how to request help or a break.
“If they don’t, that is my job to teach them,” she said.
Kingsley uses visual materials and hands-on activities throughout her classes, strategies she also developed while helping Danny. Because he can become anxious, she prepares stories before car trips explaining what to expect while traveling and why the door must remain closed on the highway. They also discuss appropriate behavior in public places.
Kingsley said that preparation substantially reduced Danny’s anxiety, and she now regularly uses the same approach with her students.
During a recent class, a student named Kiaan described his relationship with Kingsley as “good.”
Kingsley has also worked with parents and colleagues to create a parent-teacher support group, addressing a gap she encountered while guiding her own son through public school.
For Kingsley, sharing what has helped Danny and her students is part of a larger commitment to serving others.
“This is a path of service for me,” she said. “That’s what keeps me going every day.”