Is inclusion working for children with autism?

Question

Inclusion I know does work for some. Children who are more severely affected are being placed in learning environments we know not to be appropriate. I am concerned that we are experimenting with a generation of children. Who cares as long as the government save money. Some children NEED specialist provision, but this is becoming hard to find locally as so many have been closed. Somthing must be done for these children. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Yes, in a Utopian education, autistic children would be bussed to a certain area school and grouped together under the supervision of a teacher whom earned a degree specialized in Autism, for the sake of these children, other teachers who lack the education and resources (and are therefore most likely using incorrect methods of "teaching" these children) and students who are considered "regular" ed.  I am an advocate for what is best for these guys and I truly feel that putting them in a regular ed class is doing everyone an injustice.  I myself am a third grade teacher and if I ended up with an autistic child in my class, I would be given minimal training and advice on how to appropriately modify for this child, when in reality, we would all suffer.  Soo, like I said, I feel the only solution is to group these guys together in a smaller class, OR yes, put them in an inclusion setting, maybe  a little smaller group, but have the two teachers in the classroom: an autistic specialist and regular ed.  We know this will never happen though, because there is never enough money given towards education for that to happen.  Instead politicians get to wine and dine and fly on their private jets while discussing how to allocate monies.

Answer 2

As a person who has worked with and undergone much training to work with children that have Autism, I really feel the need for inclusion should be addressed in a case to case manner.  I don't feel every child with Autism is suited for an inclusive setting.  I think each child needs to be evaluated to make sure they can learn from that type of environment before they are placed into it.  Some children with Autism are very high functioning and their social skills are adequate, however you have such a wide spectrum and no two children are alike in severity or their needs.

Answer 3

Yes but Ithink it can be overdone. The social aspects are just as important, but the end all.

This question could go either way.

Answer 4

There are many different kinds of autistic students. Very high function children can talk and do well in general education, depending on their anxiety levels and social skills. However, children who have moderate to severe autism, have to have direct instruction in communication and social skills.

We know that many autistic children do not imitate and because of this have severe social issues. So I can't see the benefit of of putting them in the regular classroom for any great length of time. Part of the reason disabled children spend time in gen education is for socialization. That's fine, but unless someone is teaching social behaviors and coaching them in the gen ed classroom, the biggest result will be high anxiety for the Autistic child.

Generally speaking I think inclusion is a failure because there isn't enough money available to do it properly. The inclusion folks run around with their highly idealistic ideas, but the truth of the matter, we are spending so much money on the war and NASA that we don't have the money to do this properly.

I don't most people realize that our government has NEVER fully funded IDEA. They were supposed to fund 40% and the most they have ever funded was 17%. We can't buy a Cadillac with the gov funding at Ford levels.

Answer 5

According to federal special ed law IDEA, all children who are first qualified for special education services   are to be put in reg ed classes with the correct help in that classroom, with a special ed teacher and not 'just' a regular ed teacher that does not know how to help the child.

ALL children who are in special ed are suppose to have a special ed teacher IN the REGULAR classroom and NOT have JUST a REG ED teacher helping them.

BUT, this is usually not the case because

1) the school is trying to save money and they don't care about helping the child

2) the reg ed teacher does not know that by law they are NOT suppose to be helping the child

(IDEA law states schools are NOT to use lack of funds as a reason NOT to provide services, but public schools think they are ABOVE federal law because NO ONE makes them pay for their wrong doings. )

If the child does not progress in the regular ed class with special help , THEN he is to be put in a more 'restrictive environment' (legal term) such as a special ed class.

So if schools followed this law, the child WOULD be in the correct situation to help him succeed.  BUT, schools do NOT follow these laws because they KNOW they will NEVER be 'in trouble' for doing things their own way to save their money and not caring for the best interest in the child.

Answer 6

Once again, the "fake" inclusion is ONLY appropriate for students capable of being in a regular classroom along with the special education support.  The "IEP meeting" would NOT suggest a student who cannot function in a regular classroom to be in a "fake" inclusion class.  It wouldn't make sense to put them there when their needs cannot be met.  There is a reason why their school is called "mainstream school" meaning that they practice mainstreaming.  This means a student with special needs must have SKILLS in order to be in a regular classroom.  If they have more skills than students in a self-contained classroom, but STILL need more support then the "fake" inclusion class would be appropriate for them.