Navigating Social Expectations: Supporting Autistic System-Involved Youth in Structured Environments

Shoshana Phoenixx

Training Description

Autistic system-involved youth are regularly expected to interpret, absorb, and adapt to unspoken social norms in structured environments—such as classrooms, courtrooms, Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, and group homes—without being taught what those expectations are or why they matter. This training provides participants with the tools to identify where those social assumptions live, how they are communicated, and what alternatives exist. Participants will explore how to support autistic system-involved youth in naming, rejecting, or working around neurotypical social demands that may conflict with their natural communication styles. This session centers the dignity of autistic experience while offering practical approaches for reducing misinterpretations, relational ruptures, and environmental pressure in structured settings.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• Identify three unspoken or structural social expectations commonly imposed on autistic SIY in structured environments.