Elizabeth Banister has always had a passion for students with disabilities. “Too often, these kids are forgotten, and I want them to have their own voice. I want them to be heard,” said Banister.
Banister grew up in a family of 18 children, the majority of whom were adopted. Banister took care of her younger siblings and served as the “town babysitter.” Her favorite charge was a young man with disabilities. She hated how some of his classmates taunted him. “I think my gift is compassion and being an advocate for those that can’t advocate for themselves,” she said.
Banister, a member of the Buffalo Educational Support Team, has been a teaching assistant at Buffalo Public Schools since 2009, working with students with special needs. During that time, she has repeatedly been a champion for her students, whether it meant getting them glasses from the Lions Club, securing a trip to Disney World through the Make a Wish Foundation, spearheading handicap accommodations at a school playground or potty training.
Since 2020, Banister has been assisting a cohort of eight students with autism in a self-contained classroom at City Honors School. “My motto for the kids is that everybody has their own superpower, and our job is to find that superpower and enhance it,” she said.
Every year, during the first week of school, Banister visits her students’ specials prior to their arrival and explains what autism is, what triggers are, and how to react to a meltdown. Banister also does inclusion training with fellow educators to help them understand that autistic students just have a different way of learning. “I think some people assume my students can’t do something, and so they don’t bother to ask them. My goal is to raise awareness about how much capacity these students have, if they just get the right tools.”
In January, Banister finished a children’s book, Ruby’s Sparkling Day: A Story About Autism at School. In it, Ruby, a little girl with autism, wants to be part of the school’s science fair but some people aren’t sure she can handle it. With support from a teacher, however, Ruby gains the confidence she needs to participate — and ends up winning first place.
"With the confidence and support of people who thought she could, she succeeded,” Banister said. “It shows that with the right tools and right support anyone can succeed at anything.” The book includes a robust resource section, containing helpful links to additional information and support.
What’s next for Banister? She is currently working on her master’s degree with the goal of becoming a special education teacher.