Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders - Essay Example

INCLUSION AND FAIRNESS IN THE MAINSTREAM ROOM: CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS ID of 14 March 2008 Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have been brought into the mainstream media. The Student with Disabilities Act in the United States and Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 brought children with disabilities into the regular classroom, no longer isolating them to specialist provision classes. But some people wonder if this is fair to the children without disabilities. Does mainstreaming children help all children or does it hold some children back? Is the idea of including working for both sets of children? This paper will explore these issues. DEFINITION: AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD) In order to understand the issues that arise in education, we must first look at what we mean by "Autism Spectrum." This definition is applied to a series of disorders classified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as Communication Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 65). Children with this disabilities have challenges with social development and communication. Many may not be able to interact with peers and have a variety of nonverbal behaviours (p. 66). According to the checklist for ASD, children have: Impairment in use of multiple nonverbal behaviours, i.e. eye-to-eye Gaze, facial expression, body postures, gestures. Failure to develop appropriate peer interaction Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment/achievements and interests with others Lack of social or emotional reciprocity. Impairments in communication. Delay in or lack of spoken language. If able to speak--difficulty initiating or sustaining conversation. Stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language Lack of make-believe or social play appropriate to developmental level. Repetitive and stereotyped patters of behaviour, interests and activities. (Armstead and Otten, 2007, p. 11). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the spectrum has different forms ranging from severe autism to Asperger Syndrome. The Autism Spectrum Disorders are usually detected between the ages of one and three, usually by parents. However, about 50% are not diagnosed until at least kindergarten. CHALLENGES FOR CHILDREN Most children with ASD have challenges in many areas. Socially they avoid eye contact and dont participate in the day to day human interaction with their parents or other siblings. They generally avoid physical contact. Many children with ASD dont talk in the first few years like other children. Some may start out making baby sounds but stop. Others may not develop language until much later in their development. Some can learn sign language or other ways of gesturing. Another trait for this these disorders is repetitive behaviours that are shown in a variety of ways. Some children spin in place, flap their arms repeatedly or walk on their toes. Order and consistency of routine are very important. Some children may line up their toys in specific ways. If something is moved, the child becomes anxious (NIMH). Because of this, it is important with ASD children to have a strict routine--any deviation from this routine will be distressing for them. These are the many challenges that a child will have inside the classroom as well. INCLUSION: POSITIVE RESULTS With all of these challenges an individual may wonder how a child would work inside a regular classroom. They also may wonder how much work it will be to include a child with so many problems. According to Barnard, Prior and Potter (2000), inclusion means that all children must be able to have appropriate learning. They did several surveys to see whether this was happening for children in mainstream classrooms. In one of the surveys, 50% of parents had children in mainstream classes and 50% had them in specialist provision classes away from the mainstream (p. 6). They found that most parents were happy with their childs education. Some of their conclusions from this survey include: There are skills that Autistic Spectrum children and Asperger syndrome children can bring to society. To bring these skills forward adjustments will have to be made for their special needs. With careful adjustments for these needs, students can function in the mainstream. Environmental modifications may need to be made to cut down on sensory overload that most of these children will experience. This will also cut down on distractions and poor concentration. Teachers must be trained to work with these children and schools must buy into inclusion wholly for it to work. (Barnard, Prior and Potter, 2000, p. 12). POSITIVE ASPECTS OF INCLUSION People who see inclusion as important feel that any classroom should be able to accommodate any child with a disability, no matter how severe their disability (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 1995, p. 1). Inclusion will lower the cost of special education programs if these children are included I regular classrooms. When children are isolated in special education programs, these programs tend not to have full programs for their students. Instead, they have a less complicated version of classes, the teaches have lower expectations and children tend to stay in these programs throughout their school life (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, p. 9). People that support inclusion also feel that special education programs are structured to produce a weak program and labelling a child as "special" can lower their self-esteem and create low expectations from the child and the student (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, p. 11). One of the largest reasons why some people believe that children with ASD should be in regular classrooms is because they are able to interact with their peers. This interaction will help them learn to interact with others and "control or modify their behaviours" (Long, 2008, p. 2). Educators who are trained in ASD are the ones most likely to be successful. Although this may seem like common sense, many programs dont take into consideration that everyone who will come in contact with these children need to be trained. Also, because children with ASD act differently from other children, they can be taught to treat these children with respect, but some will treat them indifferently. Some educators feel this helps to teach children tolerance (Long, p. 4). There are many model programs where educators have learned how to work wit these children. One such program is called "Circle of Friends". This program helps improve communication skills for ASD children in mainstreamed classrooms. It uses peer group support. In one particular study, this technique was used over a three month period, once a week, for 12 weeks. Preschool children were studied. The result of the study showed that small peer groups worked very well as an intervention for ASD children to improve communication skills (Kalya & Avramidis, 2005, p. 258). Whitaker (2004) took this process a step further and used shared play sessions with severe autistic children in primary school. These children participated in a similar schedule like the study by Long. Children from regular classrooms were asked to volunteer as a peer tutor and were given training in the Autistic Spectrum Disorders (Whitaker, p. 16). The results of this study were that all children, whether ASD or not, benefitted from this interaction. The peer tutors enjoyed the process and wanted to continue working with the ASD children. The peer tutors were able to get the ASD children to participate in "high and sustained levels of shared play" (Whitaker, p. 220). It is clear that with interventions and training of staff and others, ASD children can make positive improvement in regular classrooms. THE CONS OF ASD CHILDREN IN REGULAR CLASSROOMS Some people are wrestling with the definition of "inclusion." They are asking what it means and how it looks. They are questioning special education and are afraid that there will be too many changes in the regular classroom to include all children (Southwest Education Development Laboratory, p. 1). Although many people are in favour of inclusion, and although they law requires it, there are people who feel this is not a good idea. Some people feel that children with disabilities cant receive appropriate education unless they are in classrooms that are specifically fit to only their needs (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, p. 14). The National Education Association (NEA) reported news from around the globe about inclusion. Of particular interest is the information from The Scotsman a Scotland Newspaper. The Scotsman reported that there are so many autistic cases in the schools, that children are being "let down" because the mainstream school arent coping with their specific needs (Education Journal, 2007, p. 24). The problem was that many teachers werent prepared to teach ASD children, which creates more anxiety in the children. Other papers reported that schools may be "dumping" problem kids on other schools so they can keep their higher rating. Some ASD children are seen as problems. There seems to be a strong attitude of people who dont think inclusion is a good idea. The president of the Florida Education Association United said that they are concerned about inclusion because they think mainstreaming is happening without teacher training. Also teachers arent receiving the resources and other supports they need. He also says that "inclusion does not make sense in light of pressures from the state legislature and the public at large to develop higher academic standards …" (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, p. 14). A poll by the American Federation of Teachers showed that teacher attitude may be a problem to inclusion. The poll was done in West Virginia and 78% of teachers dont think that disabled children will benefit from inclusion (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, p. 15). Although some teachers are prepared to teach children with disabilities, the ASD children can be more difficult to teach for a variety of reasons. Some teachers feel that mainstreaming these children will slow down work and help with other children. There doesnt seem to be research to support this premise. Some parents are concerned that their children wont receive the advocacy they need when they are in a regular classroom (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, p. 19). In some schools, their children are more exposed to bullying because of their differences. A report by The National Autistic Society found that over 40% of children with ASD are bullied. Parents reported that their childrens "self-esteem, mental health and progress at school" suffer in these situations (Aynsley-Green, 2006, p. 1). The estimate is higher for children who are higher functioning autistic or who have Asperger syndrome. Girls are not as bullied as boys (Aynsley-Green, p. 1). Parents and children report that bullying can be anything from name calling to social isolation and physical violence (Aynsley-Green, p. 2). Bullying also affects siblings. Some get to the point that they dont want to go back to school, and for some families, who choose to keep their children home, this creates a hardship economically (Aynsley-Green, p. 4). For some schools, it is easier to exclude ASD children and because of lack of support for teachers. An article in The Observer (2000) quoted results of a study done by the National Autistic Society that said "on average [children with ASD are] 20 times more likely to be excluded from their schools…because [of] a lack of proper funding and support for schools" (The Observer, 2000). Amid all this controversy, the Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 still makes it illegal for schools not to allow students with disabilities into the classroom. This brings the question, is it fair for all children? Most people say that more research needs to be done to answer this question because there are so many variables. CONCLUSION It is clear from this review that there are mixed feelings as to whether children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders are receiving the help they need in the mainstreamed classroom. What seems to be most important in determining this factor is whether the teachers and other children in the classroom are getting the proper training that they need to work with these children. According to Barnard, Prior and Potter (2000), there need to be several improvements in order for inclusion to work for everyone. One change needs to be made in the National Curriculum. They feel it doesnt "reflect the broader educational needs of children with autism and Asperger syndrome" (Branard, et. al, p. 12) which means that some children are failed by the system. They further recommend that autism awareness should be a mandatory part of professional development for professionals in education, mental health, counselling, social services and employment (Barnard, et. al, p. 13). The Autism Society of America (2008) points out that for an inclusion program to be successful, everyone involved needs to understand how to work with ASD children. They can be more difficult because they dont understand that things about communication that are taken for granted by most people in society. Teachers must really pay attention to learning styles because some children with ASD may learn better through visual aids (Autism Society, 2008, p. 1). It is also clear that involving children with ASD in peer groups helps them move forward and it is helpful for children in the regular classroom, and teachers aids are tremendously helpful (Autism Society, p.2). It seems that the schools that are successful go into the process of inclusion understanding that there are a variety of pieces that need to be in place before they start encouraging children with ASD to come into regular classrooms. They must educate staff and put into place programs to teach other students about autistic behaviour. Children seem to be ready to help if they understand what they are doing. This will also mean that more money for schools to do this has to be available References American Psychiatric Association. 1994. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). Fourth Edition. Washington DC. Armstead, J. and Otten, A. 2007. Autism: disorder or difference? Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal. January 2007. vol. 7, no. 1, pps. 10-13. viewed 08 March 08. EBSCOhost database Academic Search Premier. Item: AN24213691. Autism Society of America. Educating child with autism. [WWW]. Accessed 12 March 2008.< http://www.answers-about-autism.info/educating-a-child-with-autism.html> . Aynsley-Green, Sir. 2006. A. B is for bullied: The experiences of children with autism and their families. The National Autistic Society. Viewed 12 March 2008. . Barnard, J. Prior, A. and Potter, D. (2000). Inclusion & Autism: Summary findings. National Autistic Society. Viewed 09 March 2008. . UK: Aidan Prior Communications. Educational Journal. Media Watch. March 2007. vol. 10 no. 1. p. 24. viewed 12 March 2008. EBSCOhost database Academic Search Premier. Item: AN 27036756. Kalyva, E. and Avramidis, E. 2005. Improving communication between children with autism and their peers through the "Circle of Friends": A small-scale intervention study. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. Vol. 18 pp. 253-261. viewed 09 March 2008. EBSCOhost database Academic Search Premier. Item: AN 17802297. Long, C. 2008. Going Mainstream. NEA Today. February 2008. viewed 12 March 2008. EBSCOhost database Academic Search Premier. Item: AN 28784133. National Institute of Health. 2008 Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders). [WWW] The Observer UK News. Dont Fail These Children. Comment. May 14, 2001 [Online] Accessed 12 March 08. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,220750,00.html#article_continue Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Inclusion: The pros and cons. Vol. 4 no.3 1995 [WWW]. Accessed 12 March 2008. . Whitaker, P. (2004). Fostering communication and shared play between mainstream peers and children with autism: Approaches, outcomes and experiences. British Journal of Special Education. Vol. 31 no. 3 pp. 215-22. EBSCOhost database Academic Search Premier. Item: AN 15373450. Read More