EDUCATING CHILDREN WITH AUTISM WITHIN THE REGULAR EDUCATION CLASSROOM
The increase in the number of children with ASD and the range of abilities they harbor has brought with it a host of questions and concerns on how to provide them with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the reauthorization of IDEA in 1997 and 2004, the emphasis on educating students with ASD in the general education setting has increased dramatically (Yell, 2003). When a child is placced in a special education program, there is a presumption that it is a temporary situation. Being placed in a special education classroom is not badge of distinction for the child or parent. As a matter of fact, if parents suspected that, once identified as having special needs, their child would be permanently tracked into special education, it is very unlikely that they would be so eager to sign them up to receive special education services.
When students with disabilities such as autism are kept out of the mainstream of normal school life, it undescores the differences between them and their typically developing peers. Indeed, separate special education classrooms are often labeled "emotionally disturbed", "behavior disordere", "cognitively impaired".
What is inclusion?
Inclusion is a movement designed to bring special education services into the general classroom. This is a significant change from the traditional practice of having students receive special services in resource rooms or self-contained special education classrooms and then return to the general education classrooms without special education support. Inclusion has become increasingly popular, because the law calls for all "children to be taught alongside with their peers to the extent that it is appropriate".
However, inclusion has different meanings to different people and it is often used interchangeably with the terms "mainstreaming". Mainstreaming refers to the "reentry of children with mild disabilities into regular education settings" (Bricker, 1995, p. 181). Children may be mainstreamed for part or all day, and they may or may not received any special education supports or services in the mainstreamed environment. Inclusion, on the other hand, indicates that children with special needs are in the regular education classroom all day. In inclusion, all children learning together in environments that provide special services, supports and supplements for all children as needed and are guided by well-trained professionals from the fields of education.
Many parents and teachers believe that the best placement for their children is in a general education classroom. Many believe that all children have the right to be included in general education classrooms. A substantial body of research supports the effectiveness of inclusive practices for children with disabilities and children who are developing typically. However, there are countless examples of students with special needs included in the general education classroom without success.
Arguably just because inclusion should be made available to all students, it does not mean that it is appropriate for all students. This is a decision that must be made case by case. However, inclusion is not an end in iself. The goal of inclusion is that children with disabilities be able to participate fully in general education. Educators must support the child's full participation in the environment and his or her social integration with typically developing peers. Careful planning precedes the implementation of successful inclusion programs. Inclusion will not work if teachers are coerced to comply of if special and general education teachers are not given the time they need to consult one another. Children with autism or other disabilities do not learn from osmosis. They should not just be expected to "follow the curriculum" but to "learn the curriculum". Their inclusion must be carefully orchestrated.
In order for it to work, and to increase the developmental progress and social competence of the students for whom it is said to be appropriate, several ingredients must be in place:
What is the difference between accommodations and modifications in the classroom?
Accommodations are adjustments made in how a student with a disability is taught or tested. Accommodations do not change what the student is taught or what he is expected to know. Common examples of accommodations are: highlighted textbooks, extensions of time for a student who writes slowly, or seating close to the teacher.
Modifications change the level of instruction provided or tested. Modifications create a different standard for the student receiving them. The most common modifications are those made to the general education curriculum for a student with a cognitive disability. When used, curriculum modifications should be written specifically in the student’s IEP and not left to interpretation by different individuals.
In order, for inclusion to be effective, the teacher must first understand the students' needs.
Learning Characteristics of Autism
It is important to remember that autism, particularly in the area of cognition, is characterized by uneven rather than simply delayed development. This means that it is common for a child with ASD to show "splinter" skills, appearing to be highly capable in some tasks (i.e., math computation) but unable to follow simple routines independently or carry on a conversation. These discrepancies in skill development should be viewed as an opportunity to build on a child's strengths and extra abilities in one area while assisting them in improving or functioning more independently in other areas. Learning characteristics of autism include:
Silver, Strong and Perini (1997) theorized four basic learning styles: the understanding styles, the self-expressive styles, the mastery styles and the interpersonal styles. The understanding style learner is comfortable with abstraction. He tests well and learns through reason and questioning. the self-expressive learner relies more on feelings and emotions. Metaphors, aesthetics and discovery appeal to this style of learner. The mastery-style learner is a concrete learner who prefers information presented in a sequential, step by step manner. Practical and hands on applications work well with this type of student. The interpersonal style learner likes social conditions. He is oriented towards others and he also likes concrete, palpable information. The student on the autism spectrum is a mastery-style learner.
