Surrey Schools recognizes the work of support staff for World Autism Month

Queen Elizabeth Secondary student Elijah Castillo and his Education Assistant, Algene Delos Santos.

In recognition of World Autism Month, Surrey Schools is celebrating the outstanding work of education assistants, applied behaviour analysis workers and support staff in our district who provide extra support to students with autism.

The district has approximately 2,260 students designated on the autism spectrum, with support staff assisting them in their learning every day. One of those students is Elijah Castillo, currently in Grade 8 at Queen Elizabeth Secondary and supported by Algene Delos Santos, an EA who provides full-time support in the classroom.

“I met Elijah when he was in elementary school but this is my first year working with him in the classroom,” said Delos Santos. “He’s always happy and he’s always excited to come to school.”

Since September, Delos Santos has implemented strategies to address Castillo’s challenges, such as managing loud noises and handling distractions brought on by his impulsive curiosity.

“One of his challenges is walking down the hallway because he sometimes will run into a classroom,” said Delos Santos. “Before we go on a walk, I will explain to him the expectations and what he needs to do while we’re walking in the hallways. Giving him instructions in advance and making sure it’s clear and that he understands it has helped him to remain focused.”

“Elijah’s come a really long way,” said district inclusion teacher Jennifer Hopkins. “School was pretty challenging for him at the beginning of the year but because of the support that Algene has offered and the programming for him, he’s come so far.”

With the support of Delos Santos, Castillo has stayed in school longer this school year than any previous year and has displayed a happiness to attend school and learn with his peers. Hopkins said Castillo is known to skip to class, has a great sense of humour and has an incredible memory about everyone he meets.

“Algene has such a high level of respect for Elijah and treats him with such dignity … and talks to him in a way that’s both respectful but also that can be understood at his level – that’s not an easy thing to do, that’s a real art,” Hopkins said. “The two of them have found a way to work through some challenging behaviour by communicating and working on skills of tolerance and delay and denial. It’s almost like a dance, they just work so well together, and at the same time, they have a lot of fun.”

“The trust that we have for each other is important,” said Delos Santos. “Knowing him really well helps me to work and support him better, which helps him to be successful in school.

“I’m proud of how he’s doing and I’m really happy with the improvement in the number of good days he has in school.”

Hopkins describes Delos Santos and Castillo as “a really strong team,” but Delos Santos is quick to say he can’t take all of the credit for Castillo’s progress.

“There’s some really good support that I’m getting from the teachers here at Queen Elizabeth Secondary,” said Delos Santos. “It helps me help Elijah to become more successful.”

Thank you to all of our student support staff for all your hard work!