In this essay, I will be evaluating the concept of inclusion relating to the individuals on the autistic spectrum between the ages of 5 to 16. The paper will reflect on the range of impairment and disability-related barriers and the use of diverse approaches that can help to achieve inclusion on the spectrum. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995, the Equality Act 2010, and the United Nations (UN) Convention came into effect to protect people with disabilities from discrimination ("Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)", 2018). The acts also safeguard the rights of individuals associated with a disabled person, such as a carer or a parent. The DDA defines disability as “a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities” ("Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)", 2018). As a result, educators become legally bound to make sure individuals who have Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and any individuals with additional educational needs overcome a range of barriers to improve their quality of life, for example, independence, visual support, sensory over/under load, and communication. I have the privilege of working in a setting that is a great advocate to ASC learners by creating so many opportunities to be included and be part of their community; this equips me with the ability to understand and contribute inclusion in numerous ways. I am a part of a team which has a dedicated creative professional in art, drama, music, and dance to bring out confidence, making connections with others, learning to express and communicate feelings. Learners would be taken annually via public transport to the Tate Modern to join in performances. Public transport is busy with many commuters and travel can be demanding and distracting, with some learners. For some learners, the whole experience can be overwhelming, and it may trigger sensory overload. For other learners, being in an unfamiliar environment, the journey may be very traumatic, but when we all look at the end work and how they have overcome some of the barriers of their impairments this makes it all worthwhile to carry on trying it again. There is also a linked (to my school) sweets and pottery shop, and under the guidance and support of us, this shop is run by our senior learners and provides ASC learners with exceptional opportunities to undertake work-related learning, including vocational courses designed to develop ability to communicate, social interaction, and independence which is beneficial for everyday life.
Above my analysis of ‘contribution to inclusion’ shows nearly all intervention’s purpose is to empower ASC learners with the use of communication skills. Notably, that makes me believe in the absence of nonexistence of verbal communication it is imperative to give them alternative ways of showing their desire to communicate their inner thoughts and feelings, thus may vanquish their anxieties and eradicate the obstacles holding them back for them to thrive in their society. In my professional experience, the ASC learners’ primary impairments have been, in both educational and social communicational abilities, although only a few of our learners with autism have standard language skills; for other learners, their language skills are significantly below their age expectations or none, and targeted intervention can give them the tools they need to express themselves. One of the interventions that can be used to improve the communication barrier between ASC learners is the ‘exercise of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), devices.’ An appropriate AAC system can help the child meet his/her communication needs, self-sufficiency, and interaction with others which would give them the sense of belonging. The favoured system should be taken into consideration when planning AAC interventions for learners with autism and associated developmental disabilities. Below are three commonly used alternative communication modes, I used them all according to the individual’s choice and ability to achieve inclusion.
The inclusion of Students with Autism
ASD comprises of impairment that characterises children with ASD in their social interaction, social communication, and social imagination. Because of the pervasive nature of the above difficulties, such children end up facing challenges in their education within the contemporary settings. Based on this, it is upon the educational practitioner to take responsibility of the child and ensure that they provide a fully inclusive and meaningful education that caters for the needs of the child (Cohen, Bleiweiss, Mouzakitis " Fahim, 2010). While many pundits support such a position, there exists debate on means through which teachers can achieve such a position. Particularly, this position raises a lot of issues for teachers on means of identifying some of the complex needs of such students in enabling them to achieve their utmost potential. In the modern education system, it is hard to come across a classroom within the public education system that does not include those children with special education needs. Notably, this indicates the commitment of the UK government in supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities (Cohen, Bleiweiss, Mouzakitis " Fahim, 2010). In some classes, such students with disabilities include those students that may have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Often, such students can have individualised education programs (IEP), and at other times they can lack one. According to Cohen, Bleiweiss, Mouzakitis and Fahim (2010), those children with ASD and particularly those who are in inclusion programs exhibit low levels of meeting stereotypes compared to those individuals with autism spectrum disorders with limited verbal communication. Further, students with limited verbal communication always display incredibly unusual behaviours.
Through the laws and policies in the country, many schools have embraced a comprehensive view of inclusion, and it is not solely about those children with special needs but is the right of all learners to acquire the education of the highest quality possible (Davidson, 2015). The education acts recognise that all children are in need of additional support at some point in their education and it is upon the teachers to provide the support. Therefore, in recognising the diversity of all those involved in the education programs of the children, teachers should embrace flexibility thus eliminating barriers to participation and thus promoting equality. The commitment to inclusion has implications for the educational practitioners (Davidson, 2015). For example, integration requires all educational practitioners to view each child as a whole and know how to access appropriate resources and supporting strategies thus responding to their needs on an individual basis. Some of the benefits of inclusion include but not limited to first; it provides a child with additional support. Second, inclusion helps in the overall development of the student’s peers. Lastly, integration helps in the development of the school ethos. According to Davidson (2015) exposing children with ASD to an enriched environment offers excellent simulation thereby creating a higher academic expectation. Such students end up taking more responsibility for their learning resulting in enhanced self-esteem. Proponents of inclusion argue that the mainstream classroom environment offers an environment that supports interaction and the acquisition of appropriate behaviours as the opportunities to learn and practise new skills occur naturally. Moreover, inclusion also provides other social benefits as it allows for opportunities for the children to share their experiences with a wide range of children. Ultimately, such children can manage to foster lasting friendship with all those children that they interact with at school.
While inclusion has a positive influence on the children with ASD, the classmates also benefit from the interaction. Of note, working and socialising with children that have special needs makes them develop an understanding of others and thus respecting and appreciating the skills and attributes of other children. As a result, such children end up becoming prepared for a life in a diverse society (Davidson, 2015). As such, encouraging inclusion in education can become a vital building block for a more inclusive society as it enables children to understand how the different type of people in the community. While inclusion has many advantages, it also has have some disadvantages. Davidson (2015) affirms that in most cases, educational practitioners can put an over-emphasis on socialisation and this can lead to a reduction in the education quality. Further, the quality of provision can also be lower in the mainstream classrooms as the staffs can lack the necessary specialist knowledge and the staff to the pupil being higher than the recommended in specialist settings. Moreover, inclusion rather than fostering friendship among the students it can in some cases lead to greater isolation among them in those instances that their peers do not accept the children with ASD. The unacceptance by their peers can lead to low self-esteem with researchers noting that in most cases the peers always act as helpers rather than becoming true friends (Davidson, 2015). While this is not all challenges that a teacher can experience in their encounter with children with ASD, some of these behaviours are typical of what teachers may see. In most cases, what teachers can fail to understand is the confusion and anxiety experienced by children with Autism.
Barriers to Inclusion
While there are regulations that allow children with ASD to be placed within the mainstream classes, the majority of the people are not aware of the challenges that these teachers face in including such students as full participants in the classroom. With more and more students joining the mainstream classrooms, the teachers are always expected to create a conducive environment for the students, and in most cases, this is usually with few or no guidelines on how to achieve them. According to Preece and Howley (2018), researchers indicate that schools continue to struggle in keeping pace in meeting the needs of the students with ASD. As a result, both teachers and parents agree that more need to be done to create an inclusive social environment within the classrooms. Because of the behavioural and social challenges facing children with ASD, teachers in most cases face barriers thus preventing such students to experience optimal inclusion thus meeting the students’ needs. Preece and Howley (2018) assert that there is compelling evidence that indicates the majority of the teachers always feel unprepared to support those students with ASD either socially, emotionally, academically, and behaviorally. Clearly, one of the significant challenges that teachers face while working with students with ASD in integrated classrooms is their lack of adequate knowledge of Autism. Further, such teachers always lack means of consulting thereby coming up with working support and advice. For example, in a study conducted in the UK to examine the level of training among the teachers, it found out that only 5% of the teachers received the requisite training about autism (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). The result of the study was even though the majority of the teachers had a student with autism in their class.
The prevalence of gaps in the training offered to teachers can make them feel discouraged, and this can have ripple effects on the students’ abilities to reach their full potential. Another barrier to inclusion that teachers experience includes their inability to understand and manage the students’ behaviour. In studies conducted to understand inclusive education, the teachers felt that they lacked adequate information regarding ASD and this was in particular how to work with children with ASD in a specific way and how to manage their behaviours when an outburst occurred (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). For example in our case, there are those instances that Bill and Sam can have a meltdown, and it becomes hard to deal with it there and then as other children also require your attention. In some other cases, children with ASD can at times exhibit behavioural patterns that include distress during play day, and they fail to win. In the majority of the cases, Autistic children do not understand any other type of fun unless that which they are winning. The challenge thus arises when such instances arise how the teacher can deal with them and what can they do with the rest of the children. As teachers always have multiple children that they can supervise, such a situation ends up pitting those students with autism against those without as a challenge arises when the teacher has to explain to the other children that the student with autism requires more time and care (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). In our case example, Sam and Bill at times exhibit specific interests and they can end up becoming frustrated when asked to handle another event. As a teacher, this creates a challenge as it can become hard for me to engage them well during lessons.
Another barrier to inclusion include social-structural obstacles and this consists of the lack of training resources and policies in schools that govern integration. Apart from lack of training, which was previously mentioned, teachers can also lack resources for equipment and teaching materials and also lack funding for their education assistants. In the study conducted to highlight the challenges experienced by teachers in inclusive education, some of the teachers indicated that they lacked funding in terms of Education Assistants unless the child exhibited a challenging behaviour such as being physical (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). Another barrier to inclusion is parental engagement and the maintenance of an open communication system with the parents of the child with ASD. Notably, this happens in those cases when the parents chose not to identify their child’s condition. For example, a child can have ASD. However, their parents can fail to understand and hear of such sickness. The lack of formal identification for such students made them lack eligibility to receive support and the resources that could assist them in enhancing their educational experience. Of note, the majority of the parents are at different levels of acceptance, and the creation of rapport between the parents and the teachers is often challenging (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). If the parents fail to support the initiatives offered at the school, then the success of the child becomes limited. The teachers can also encounter challenges from other parents as they try to explain to handle their concerns and make them understand that a child with autism was just as important as any other child.
Lastly, peer understanding and the acceptance of children with ASD also offers barriers to inclusion in the classroom environment. Indeed, teachers experience challenges in creating an atmosphere of harmony and peer acceptance while including children with ASD (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). Often, the other children can realise children with ASD might have something different when compared to other children. However, such children can lack awareness of how these differences can manifest in the children behaviours. As a result, it becomes hard for the teacher to create an understanding and empathic climate within their classrooms. The result as reported by teachers with ASD children in their classes is their exclusion from peer activities (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). The majority of the teachers and this includes those with extensive teaching experience and training, report having problems promoting peer interaction for ASD children. For example, for the case of Sam and Bill, if they become anxious, they cannot function, and this can lead to maladaptive social behaviours leading to the lack of friends. Indeed as a teacher, difficulties are bound to arise when you get other children to understand why their peer behaves differently and thus accept them in their interactions (Lindsay, Proulx, Thomson " Scott, 2013). In sum, the lack of understanding from their peers makes it hard for teachers to include children with ASD successfully in the classrooms. Of note, studies have collaborated on these findings, and this is usually the case when the teacher does not have enough training. The presence of proper mechanisms in the child’s social environment is a prerequisite for them to become valued members of the class. As such teachers should teach their students about the need to value diversity and this can enable inclusion.
Supporting Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
The inability of adolescents and the youth to enrol in a school is one factor that impacts their overall outcomes. The difficulties experienced by those individuals with ASD always place at high risk of school refusal. According to Preece and Howley (2018), given the nature of ASD, the majority of people with ASD can become anxious to fit in the school setting. Given the nature of ASD and the anxiety, it is therefore not surprising that some of those students with ASD are absent for extended periods and thus lacking in formal education. In line with this challenges that face students with ASD, to adopt an individualised focus involves working with the interests of each student. Having the freedom and capacity to understand each student and within the limits of what is available thus in one way or the other meeting their needs. One integral aspect of the individualised approach includes the relationship building strategies, and this is also based on the student’s needs (Preece " Howley, 2018). A calm and a patient approach that has lower demands is an important facet for building relationships by the teachers and the family members. The teachers can manage to build lasting relationships with the students through one-on-one conversations. Such teachers can at times involve the students in their decision making, the use of negotiation, and explanation why some actions need to be adopted. While students with ASD can at times lack means of expressing themselves, their involvement entails giving them space and time to think about what they wanted and providing choices.
Given the nature of the needs of students with ASD, there does not exist a single intervention that is sufficient in meeting all the needs of the students. Coming up with functioning strategies includes having a variety of policies aimed at meeting the individual needs. The teachers can achieve this by providing the students with clear expectations and rules. However, there is also the need to become flexible regarding the student’s experience (Preece " Howley, 2018). Effective communication also offers a necessary platform through which tutors can achieve effective communication and positive working relationships. The teachers should show their commitment to have an open and honest conversation with the families of children with ASD. Research conducted to highlight modes of dealing with ASD parents indicated that the presence of effective communication was helpful as the parents got to know the progress of their child (Preece " Howley, 2018). For the teachers to achieve optimal levels of effective communication, this is upon them to have an active collaboration with the parents. Notably, working together is vital in ASD as this can assist in meeting the behavioural needs of the young children effectively. The presence of cordial relationships with the students’ families can help both parties in understanding the needs and perspectives of such children. Of note, the range of factors that lead to disengagement from formal education is different from those students without ASD. As a result, the characteristics presented by ASD combined with the high levels of anxiety are some of the critical contributors to disengagement (Preece " Howley, 2018). However, the presence of a hands-on approach, effective communication, and collaboration with the parents can enable such students to regain their focus in schools.
Importance of Obtaining Viewpoints of ASD Individuals
With the rates of ASD continuing to increase and more students with ASD being enrolled in the mainstream schools, the educators face many challenges in the management of the plethora of issues that arises from teaching and managing children with ASD. The parents of the children with ASD at times report their discontentment with educational services, and this makes them advocate for better services that can meet the needs of their children. Thus in obtaining the viewpoints of the ASD individuals, there is the need for more work to create an autism-friendly and inclusive environments within the classroom environments (Lindsay, Proulx, Scott " Thomson, 2013). When referring to inclusion, it is imperative to understand that each child is an equally valued member of the school culture and this involves their presence, their participation, and their overall achievement. The educators should also understand that their attitude towards integration of children with ASD into the mainstream classes can also influence the process of coming up with an inclusive classroom environment. Therefore, meeting the needs of the children with ASD is important as they have a higher prevalence of school exclusion and being bullied. In achieving successful inclusion, it is imperative for the educators to understand the student’s perspective and this can come from the students or their families. As a result, the educators can have a good understanding of ASD and become prepared to respond to the characteristic behaviours of the children with needs. According to Lindsay, Proulx, Scott and Thomson (2013), the concept of inclusive classroom requires first, the shift in teaching and learning approach which works best for the majority of the learners to a method that involves the coming up with rich learning opportunities available to everyone.
Second, the educators should find ways of working with others in a way that respects the dignity of learners as members of the classroom. Of note, a child with autism can overcome autism if they have good teachers. Placing the child in a structured school with experienced teachers can enable the child to have good manners and show appropriate behaviours. The majority of the children with autism are visual thinkers, and this makes them think in pictures and not in languages. In learning, the teacher should demonstrate the words to the child using cards with the words. According to Lindsay, Proulx, Scott and Thomson (2013), a person with autism experience problems in remembering words in a sequence. As a result, a teacher should try as much as possible to avoid long strings of verbal instructions. In such a case, if the child can read, then it is up to the teacher to write the instructions on a paper. Moreover, children with autism have problems with sharp sounds, and because of this, the teachers should protect them from sounds that can hurt their ears. When the students are continuously subjected to sharp noise, they can end up fearing to go to a specific place leading to bad behaviours. Having an inclusive pedagogy can enable the teachers to focus on all the needs of the children. The teachers can have the ability to focus on the children’s strengths rather than their disabilities as the teacher is able to build upon the student’s interests. Of importance is consistency in the routines and also giving the students the chance to know when there will be a deviation in their routine.
Speech-Generating Devices (SGD)
The Speech-Generating Devices (SGD) intervention can be introduced to make specific requests to encourage social communication skills. One must also consider that it is the learner's preferred mode of communication, which would support and enable them to express their views. Some of our learners are more confident with the use of up-to-date technology, one of the devices that are approved by the schools is an IPad that is used to give confidence and motivate reluctant learners where other approaches have failed. It can also provide relevant, engaging opportunities that support learning in all areas of the curriculum. Bill a 15 years old non-verbal autistic young adult, communicates via Ipad. After talking with his parents and making a few observations in class, his personal Ipad - implemented by the school’s Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) team was tailored to his skills and needs. Bill can now make sentences on his Ipad for instance, ‘toilet please,’ he would choose everyone’s pictures to say, ‘good morning X.’ While it is a great communication aid, including him during class social interaction activities, when his personal Ipad run out of charge this aid device can be the cause of stress for him. Some of his peers would ask to have an Ipad because ‘Bill has got one,’ then the lesson would be disrupted. However, I would explain that ‘Bill needs the help of an Ipad to talk to friends,’ whereas the other peers can use verbal communication.
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
In becoming effective on our practicing of inclusion, one needs to understand ASC, as well as the similarities. There are also differences within the spectrum, as their personality and autism influence every child’s impairment in their unique ways. As an educator working with ASC learners, one must be aware of the uneven patterns of cognitive and educational strengths and deficits of ASC individuals and remember that autistic individuals also have their gifts and strengths. An example of my own experience of this uniqueness is 12-year-old Ella and 12-year-old Sam both autistic young females. In both instances, both are non-verbal and can display challenging behaviour. Ella came in our Special Educational Needs (SEN) school one year after Sam, they both are very familiar with the use of PECs approach. Although Ella became a student and began using the PECs system a year after Sam, Ella can navigate through the system to express her needs, the PECs became her self-advocacy tool, without prompting and very clearly, she can express what objects she would like from adults by finding the right symbol from her PECs book. Ella can navigate this approach to ask for a drink, in-class breakfast club she would ask for butter on her toast.
On the other hand, even though Sam had been exposed to the PECs system longer than Ella, when using this approach, one must prompt Sam by asking ‘Sam like a toast?’ Sam would reply neutrally with the sound ‘uurrhh’. Then I would say ‘if you want a toast give me the picture’ Sam would come and give me the picture, yet push the actual toast away, kick me and go back without the toast. I then understand Sam does not want any toast, due to her failure to understand the PECs system. Although we do use PECs and British Sign Language (BSL) actively in my setting, the way Sam expresses her dislikes is by hitting or kicking the individuals around her. Unfortunately, she would respond with the same action to show her enjoyment. I will be writing in more detail about Sam in my study, which will be about how to enable self-advocacy, support her to be included in education by alternative communication to reinforce her receptive and expressive communications appropriately.
Sign Language
Sign language is pictorial and which makes it more practical with several of the individuals I work with at school. Some can speak, however, due to a deficiency in spoken language, would cause them to struggle to express their words clearly. Max is a 13 years old ADHD, ASC boy with a very able receptive communication skill, but others who are not familiar with his speech struggle to understand him. Often it is assumed that this at times is the base of his aggressive behaviour for example, poking eye, head-butting. Max tries very hard to interact with his peers. As result of his impaired social communication skills, it limits his time with them, for instance, when he plays football, he always kicks the ball to a place where the other, the child cannot reach, and the child would say ‘too high I cannot reach it.’ Max would use sign language and express, ‘X naughty,’ I would help him to retrieve the ball then he would kick it over the fence because there is no ball to play with, friend X would walk away, leaving Max puzzled. On one occasion the gate to the playground was broken, Max was telling me something which I partially understood, he kept repeating the same word which I struggled to understand, I began signing as he was repeating the sentence that encouraged him to start signing with me then I understood what he was saying to me. ‘Mark fix gate’ (caretaker). The signing was a great help to him because he would typically and eventually give up and hit me with frustration for not being understood.
Individual Study
Sam is a twelve-year-old girl who lives with autism and the challenges it brings. Nevertheless, this never stops her from taking pleasure in watching bubbles going up, ribbons gliding in the air or producing joyful sounds when swimming. Sam needs support to lessen the impact on daily life of her autism-related impairments, such as reduced functional communication skills, that has an immense effect on her ability to use social communication appropriately, this then influences her impairments of joint attention and social interaction. Sam has been attending the same school since the age of four and being a member of the same place for a lengthy period, has benefits for Sam’s educational and social life. Notably, it helps us in developing an individual and adaptive communication targeted intervention, which then can provide Sam with the tools to express herself in a more socially acceptable manner. Sam’s impairment of social thinking, restricts her motor control system to adapt, determine, organise then execute, to generate a spontaneous look or gesture as an indication of communication and cannot understand to observe and think about her own or others’ feelings.
I have worked on a regular basis with her to understand that interacting with Sam requires thorough observation and listen to her chosen way of communication without spoken language, and focus on other indications such as eye gaze, a squeal of delight for an interest, use of limb movements to see her intent to communicate. Coupled with a noise Sam uses kicking as a communicative behaviour to express her hunger, thirst, medical, and sensory needs. My recent experience of this communicative behaviour was when I accompanied Sam to the lunch hall. While she was eating her lunch, suddenly she started crying and screaming then hit me and pulled my hair. I repositioned my chair to give her extra space, but Sam got up and repeated the same aggressive behaviour, this made me think that I was not seeing or hearing whatever she wanted me to notice. The challenging behaviour never comes out of nowhere, there is always a detonator. I looked around to see what it was then noticed her looking at another child as he was drinking his water, this action made her to cry loudly once again. I offered Sam a glass of water, she took it and drank two more cups of water, she was just very thirsty, she used aggressiveness as a communicative behaviour to meet her needs. I now give her a means of communication by randomly offering a cup of water, which in time helped to reduce frustration and provide her an alternative method of communicating because Sam now would tell me if she wants water or not by pushing or taking the cup from me. One of Sam’s favourite activities is to chase, then step onto a long ribbon to halt its flight. While the ribbon is being flicked continuously by an adult - if for any reason the person stopped flicking the ribbon, Sam would kick them, pull their hair and hit the person who is moving it around until the person begins the game of flicking the ribbon again, this is her way of communicating the desired activity to carry on.
Regrettably due to her inappropriate social behaviour, towards her peers, she cannot be left unsupervised during play times, which sadly leaves her being under constant supervision and having only adult company, but every opportunity is being used to improve her social communication skills with peers to increase her engagement i
