Do you think inclusion is always appropriate for all children with Autism?

Question

I am a teacher in a psychoeducational center and was wondering peoples feelings on this subject.

I teach children with Autism 3yr old - 5th grade

Answer 1

I think it depends on the child and the degree of severity. Some kids it would be detrimental to them to do inclusion as they couldnt handle all the stimulation of a classroom full of kids, noises, flickering lights and constant changes. High functioning kids can usually adapt with help.

Answer 2

When dealing with people, I've learned that any time someone advocates that we "always" pursue a certain course--you're headed for trouple.

Clearly, a large proportion of children with autism (and other disabilities) should be included in regular classes. But it's equally clear some have impairments severe enough that they cannot function in a normal classroom environment, accomodations or no.

The cheif problem in practice in todays schools is that the majority of children with disabilities in special education classes should not be--they can and should be in regular classes.

This hurts everyone. The children who really need those seperate classes get less attention because special ed teachers are overburdened. The children excluded from regular classes don't have the educational opportunities they could have (and by law are supposed to get). And non-disabled children, instead of interacting with and learning to accept peers who are different, get the message (intended or not) that "disability" means "those wierd kids down the hall."

Not a pretty picture. The system needs to be balanced--there is no "always." But even more, the system needs a drastic overhaul.

Answer 3

No. Inclusion isn't ALWAYS appropriate for children with autism. My 11 year old son displays features of both autism and asbergers syndrome. He has an IQ which indicates that he should be in a mainstream classroom setting, however IQ isn't everything. The school attempted to put him in regular classes...it was a disaster. The other children routinely ridiculed him due to his hand flapping and other behaviors common to autistic children. As a result, my son ended up not wanting to go to school at all.

Answer 4

It is helpful to some extent for most every child with autism. We were just discussing this last night at my support group meeting. The truth is that kids with autism need special supports in a mainstream setting, and that schools often fail to provide that support. These kids need to be around typical kids, not other children with autism, to practice appropriate behavior and for the most part with assistance more than half are capable of learning academics in regular ed settings. However, they need a one-on-one assistant, esp those who are just starting out, or may be nonverbal.
There are some children, that no matter what supports you have, would have trouble in a regular classroom. Part of it may be sensory, too many noises, too many distractions. The unpredictability of classmates, as well as the fast pace, would be frustrating. Those children should not be in the regular ed classroom at all, but efforts should be made to bring typical kids into the autism room for stories and playtime (reverse inclusion).
Inclusion does not mean that they are in the classroom seven hours every day. it could mean that they attend for circle time, or certain lessons that are easier. It could mean that they go to PE or recess, or just eat lunch. But as i mentioned, this is really dependent on having a school that supports the children, AS IS REQUIRED BY LAW, and is willing to provide personnel, technology and training to make it possible. In our area, they hire people with high school degrees for $5 an hour to work with the autistic kids. They have no training and it's no wonder that inclusion doesn't work. You can have the best autism (or reged) teacher, if the people work daily with the kids have no training! I am sorry to hear of the child above who is frightened of the child with autism. That tells me that he does not have an aide, and that the school is not working on an effective behavior plan. He's going to be lost and fail throughout his school career without the foundation being built now.
My daughter had the best aide in kindergarden, understanding, compassionate, and willing to learn. Because of this, my daughter really succeeded in the regular setting, even though she was nonverbal and stims a lot. In first grade, the school decided that they needed to switch aides daily, and things went downhill rapidly. She did start to hit to get out of the classroom (which I'll point out that she learned from a typical child in the classroom) and was very depressed and angry. It took a lot of work for ME in the school to get them to do the right thing, redesign the program, and then have them implement it. It worked.
It all depends on the school and personnel. And on the parent, the entire IEP team needs to work together, as equal members, to really think about what works for the child rather than what the school 'provides' (I get phone calls from parents all the time who's schools have said, we can't teach your child in an autism classroom because we don't have the room, or the training, or the materials, so we'll stick them in regular ed, with no help...)

Answer 5

I work with special needs students also. I do not think that all autistic children benefit from inclusion. It can be detrimental to progress for some. It works better on a case by case application. Some children with milder autistic behaviors can benefit greatly from inclusion but there are many who will never reach their full potential in this setting.

Answer 6

No. I do not want my son mainstreamed. He needs the small class sizes and the "gentler" atmosphere of his special needs class. In fact, when he gets to be Kindergarten age, (the age at which my district usually mainstreams), we might just take him out and homeschool him if it isn't working well, bringing him in for his therapy and doing his academics with him at home. I strongly suspect that my autistic son will not really flourish in the noisy, fast-paced environment of a typical classroom. He needs to be gently guided into learning to socialize with other children, not thrown in with the sharks at age 5.

The mother above had a smart idea with "partial" inclusion. These kids need changes to come slowly to really be at their best and be ready to learn. It really should be about what seems to work for the individual child, but it seems that the trendy thing in my area is to "toss 'em in" with the regular class and hope for the best.

Answer 7

i don't think anything is appropriate for all children with autism--the autism spectrum is so large, and the children with autism are just as diverse. Each child must be assessed separately in order to determine the best course of action for the individual.

Answer 8

Inclusion is the practice of educating students with special needs in regular classes for all or nearly all of the day instead of in special education classes. I don't think it is appropriate. Children with Autism need special education classes unless the school is an inclusive school, then it would be different. Inclusive schools provide supports in the inclusive class so that all students can learn together.

Answer 9

I can't say that it is appropriate for ALL children with autism. I think it is hard on the other children in the class, and just as hard on the autistic child. I taught preschool for a while, and I had one autistic child that came in the evenings. We almost needed another teacher in the room while he was there for those 3 hours. He put toys in the fish tank, was violent with the other children when he didn't get "his" bike, and urinated in the playgound! I had to spend all my time with him while he was there, and the other children suffered for it.

My daughter has a classmate in her 3-year old class that was just diagnosed with autism. I ask her what her favorite part of her day was...when he's not there, she says that "Jacob wasn't there." He pushes her down. He doesn't communicate, except to say "ugga-ugga." The teacher said that, again, one teacher must spend one-on-one time with him, while the other teacher handles the rest of the class.

I wish there was an easy answer, but I don't believe that inclusion works for all situations. I understand the special needs' child desire and need to be in with the typically developing children, but to me, there needs to be a happy medium.

Answer 10

NO NO NO