An influx of students with high functioning autism is leading some schools to develop innovative programs to foster academic abilities while addressing social deficits.
This unique crop of students can succeed, or even excel, in grade level academics making them prime candidates for inclusion in mainstream classrooms. But, their social struggles mean they stand out in classroom environments that aren’t set up to teach coping skills.
For many students with high functioning autism one-to-one assistants and other special education support services attempt to fill in this gap, but increasingly parents worry that this approach may merely single out these students as “weird” rather than teach them the skills they need to foster independence.
As a result, some school districts are introducing new programs for middle and high school students with milder forms of autism to learn grade level academics while focusing intensely on social skills in a segregated classroom. And several private schools cater exclusively to this unique student group.
Other school districts, however, remain committed to inclusion, saying that the new models merely simulate an unrealistic environment. Instead, they say, teens with autism are better off in regular classrooms with the peers they will encounter in their adult lives, reports The Washington Post. To read more click here.
A school system that “commits to inclusion” is not commited to providing the Least Restrictive Environment to students with disabilities nor to the spirit of IDEA. What is the good of the ability to earn a 4.0 average if the kid is too nervous to do the school work or if he has a meltdown and embarrasses himself. LRE has been de-interpreted by school systems for the last few years and kids are being hurt because a lot of times they are “included” because it is a cheaper setting. You cannot expect the typical students to be kind to a student who is “different” especially in middle and high school settings where “fitting in” is more important than academics as far as the kids are concerned. They are rarely really included in these settings. Having a child specific paraprofessional is likely to hurt more than help because having an adult constantly hovering nearby inhibits teen social interaction. Instead, an inclusion class should have an extra classroom para who helps anyone who needs it.
Most high functioning students likely need a Resource setting, that is, they go to a special setting one or two periods per day to work on social or academic skills or mainly for the purpose of decompressing and taking care of their personal needs or just to be with other people like them—WITH THEIR REAL PEERS WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS LIKE TO HAVE A DISABILITY. High functioning orthopedically impaired/other health impaired students also function well this way. Resource can prevent problems and keeps them in touch with the experts who know how to reach them—special education teachers. The safety of the special education class fortifies the students, makes them feel like someone has their back, and gives them a time and a place to discuss what is on their minds with someone who does not consider them “weird”. (Teachers can be about as bad as students. And how many regular teachers are going to deal effectively on a daily basis with a student who has OCD and Aspergers who is rattling on about some perceived slight or irrelevant event.) I had my nephew who had ADHD, a volatile temper, emotional issues, and health impairments in Resource for math, where he had a learning disability and also social studies, which he did not like, in order to avoid behavior problems. As long as he stayed with that type of schedule he was ok. When a lazy administrator let him slip out, he started skipping, acting out and eventually quit school. Now he is in jail, the fate of a lot of behaviorally disabled kids.
Some high functioning students may even need a self contained setting, perhaps with some online learning and be gradually slipped into some regular classes when their social skills improve if possible. They are not all going to make it but a self contained education is certainly better than dropping out or the total isolation of homeschooling or prison when that meltdown hurts somebody.
People with autism are delicate and should not be forced into difficult situations without a lot of preparation and support and the option to back up when they need to. The schools need to be careful. Inclusion can be the worst form of exclusion. There is nothing wrong with a good self contained class when a competent special education teacher leads it and that is what the student needs.