Autistic inclusion in mainstream
classroom settings
J
Journal article
Disadvantages of Autistic inclusion in mainstream classroom settings:
-Can further separate and stigmatise the student.
-Class material may be too advanced, move too quickly, or be presented in a format that is too anxiety-provoking to be beneficial to the student with ASD.
- The number of students, sights, sounds, smells, and other sensory or social stimulants can be frustrating and irritating for many students with ASD.
-General education teachers and one-on-one assistants are usually untrained in specific techniques to use to help with ASD.
- Extra costs, due to buying new materials for each class with a student with ASD, as opposed to one class with students with ASD.
Overall, inclusion should always be considered on a base by case basis.
-Some students may benefit from full inclusion, while others may learn more by attending a smaller class with a more direct instruction with highly trained teachers and therapists.
Sydney Morning Herald,
Date, July 2, 2011.
Children with special needs be taught in a mainstream class?
Positive implications of schools promoting autistic inclusion in classroom settings-
Advantages of mainstream inclusion in schools
THE SENATOR: SUE BOYCE
All students, irrespective of their disability, should be educated in mainstream schools. That's what inclusive education, an alleged aspiration and requirement of state and federal governments for 40 years or so, means.
All governments pay lip service to inclusive education but practice is, at best, patchy and, at times, perverted. A few years ago, the Queensland Education Department even managed to include special schools in its examples of "inclusive education", to howls of protest.
But all governments regularly include special education units in their inclusive education figures, irrespective of whether the units offer genuine educational support or function as separate "special school" islands within the mainstream school grounds.
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The WA education academic, Professor Bob Jackson, has said there is no research anywhere in the world that special schooling - segregated education - produces better outcomes for students with disabilities.
On the other hand, there are many studies demonstrating that inclusive education produces better outcomes for all students.
I've come to the view that the only way to make inclusive education a reality is to close down the special schools, and move all their resources into the mainstream system.
If mainstream schools had no option but to accept children with disabilities, they would concentrate on how to make it work, not how to avoid getting involved. If state governments had no option, they would better fund schools, teachers and training bodies to make it work.
I'm not advocating that students currently in special schools be immediately sent off as little human ''experiments'' into the mainstream system. I acknowledge that parents who choose special schooling for their child do so because it's the current best option for their child.
I also acknowledge that there are many reasonable objections to sending all children with disabilities into our mainstream schools, but they are all problems with the system, not with the children.
What are we teaching children in mainstream schools about lifelong inclusion as they watch the ''special'' bus take the ''special'' children to their ''special'' school every day? What are we teaching children with disabilities and their families about their worth by telling them they can't ''fit''?
Is it any wonder that adults with disabilities struggle to find work in open employment, or have a real social life?
Senator Sue Boyce is an LNP senator for Queensland and parent of an adult daughter with Down syndrome.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/should-children-with-special-needs-be-taught-in-a-mainstream-class-20110701-1gv3a.html#ixzz2AafIKzin
Studies show that students with disabilities who are mainstreamed in their classroom settings have:
Higher academic achievement:
-Mainstreaming has shown to be more academically effective than exclusion practices. For example, The National Research Center on Learning Disabilities found that graduation rates of all students with disabilities in the U.S. increased by 14% from 1984 to 1997.
-Compared to full-time placement in a special education class or special school, both part-time and full-time placement in the regular classroom have been shown to improve academic achievement in students with mild academic disabilities, as well as to improve their long-term behavior
Higher self-esteem:
-By being included in a regular-paced education setting, students with autism have shown to be more confident and display qualities of raised self-efficacy.
- Students felt that they were equal to their peers and felt that they should not be treated any differently.
• Higher academic achievement
increased expectations by teachers of the learning potential of included students
-behavioral modeling of normally developing peers
-Provides positive role models for children with ASD.
-More accepting attitudes on the part of peers
- Increased opportunities for children with ASD for typical social interactions with non ASD peers.
-Great acceptance for children with ASD in the overall school community.
-Allows teachers and typical students to experience accept differences.
- Minimises segregation of individuals with ASD.
• Higher self-esteem
• Improved social skills
-Promotes pleasant interactions between students with differences tending to produce changes in attitudes.
What is Autism?
Journal Article-
What is meant by inclusion and mainstreaming?
Inclusion is another term for "mainstreaming," or merging special education with regular education classes.
Autistic students are educated in the same settings as their normally developing peers with appropriate support services, rather than being placed in special education classrooms
or schools.
What are some benefits of Autistic inclusion in mainstream classroom settings?
• Improve social skills:
-Mainstreaming, allows students with autism to learn social skills through observation, gain a better understanding of the world around them, and become a part of the “regular” community.
• Mainstreaming is particularly beneficial for children with autism as they are interacting with same-aged non-disabled children.
- Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a lifelong, nonprogressive neurological spectrum disorder typically appearing before the age of three years.
- The symptoms and characteristics of autism can vary from mild to severe.
- Although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity. Two children, both with the same diagnosis, can act very differently from one another and have varying skills.
- The word “autism” means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication and social interactions. It is characterised by:
- - Difficulties in social interaction,
- Impaired communication,
- Restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours
- Sensory sensitivities.
The three main areas of difficulty are:
1. Impairment in social interaction:
May include:
-Limited use and understanding of non-verbal communication such as eye gaze, facial expression and gesture
-Difficulties forming and sustaining friendships
-Lack of seeking to share enjoyment, interest and activities with other people
-Difficulties with social and emotional responsiveness
2. Impairment in communication:
May include:
Delayed language development
Difficulties initiating and sustaining conversations
-Stereotyped and repetitive use of language such as repeating phrases from television
-Limited imaginative or make-believe play
3. Restricted and repetitive interests, activities and behaviours:
May include:
-Unusually intense or focused interests
-Stereotyped and repetitive body movements such as hand flapping and spinning
-Repetitive use of objects such as repeatedly flicking a doll’s eyes or lining up toys
-Adherence to non-functional routines such as insisting on travelling the same route home each day
Useful Links-
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/autism/inclusion.htm
Children blog-
http://autisticchildren.com.au/59/mainstream-school-versus-special-school/
www.autismspectrum.org.au/
www.ninds.nih.gov
aut.sagepub.com/content/15/4/397.abstract
Disadvantages of Austistic students in mainstream schools:
• Student may require more attention from the teacher than non-disabled students in a general class.
• Time and attention may be taken away from the rest of the class to meet the needs of a students with additional needs and attention.
- It could cause distractions with non ASD students in the classroom.
• Lack of teacher training and skills to accommodate additional needs students in a general education classroom setting.
- Social issues, could lead to Bullying.
-Excess costs
• Behavioural issues may lead to disruptions as well as overall decreased classroom productivity.
Useful Websites:
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/directions/autism/inclusion.htm
Children blog-
http://autisticchildren.com.au/59/mainstream-school-versus-special-school/
References
Buckley, B. (2011, July 2). Should children with special needs be taught in a mainstream class. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/should-children-with-special-needs-be-taught-in-a-mainstream-class-20110701-1gv3a.html
Connor, M (1999). Children on the autistic spectrum: Guidelines for mainstream practice. Retrieved from http://www.mugsy.org/connor2.htm
MacLeod (2007, January 5). Mainstream challenge. TESS, Retrieved from http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=2327012
Hampshire County Council-Children’s Services Department SEN Service. (2008). (2010). The Autistic Spectrum – Approaches to facilitate inclusion in mainstream schools. Retrieved from http://www3.hants.gov.uk/sen-autistic-spectrum-schools-2010.pdf
Humphrey, N. (2008). Including pupils with autistic spectrum disorders in mainstream
Schools. Support for learning, vol 23. Issue Number 1, p41-47. Retrieved from Database: Education Research Complete
Spencer, Vicky; Simpson, Cynthia (2009). Teaching Children With Autism in the General Classroom : Strategies for Effective Inclusion and Instruction. Prufrock Press, Inc.. Retrieved May 23, 2012, from Ebook Library.