I've heard it said by advocates and consultants for school inclusion that every child can and should be included in the general education classroom. Certainly, it should be possible to include most children in the general classroom - though it isn't clear to me that it's always of real benefit to children with autism or their more typically developing peers.
Stories like the one below, however, are disturbing:
I had my first experience with autism this year as a public high school teacher working on an emergency license in a special education environment. My severely autistic student threw violent tantrums. Most often the violence was directed toward himself. He beat his own face and chest, leaving wounds and bruises. Toward the middle of the school year his aggression began to be directed toward myself and aids in the room. Toward the end of the year the violence of his tantrums had become so escalated that his parents had to remove him from school. He could not talk, had obsessive compulsive disorder, stimmed almost continuously and masturbated frequently. What do those of you with more experience think about severely disabled young people being put into public schools?I'm sure that highly talented teachers and aides could have found ways to make the situation more positive - but could a young man like the one described ever thrive in a typical classroom? Could the class ever get to know him in any meaningful way? What's your opinion?
Unfortunately, we don’t know whether the child in that story could have functioned in the classroom with appropriate supports.
I know my son couldn’t. We’re moving him to an entirely learning disabled school. While I do have a concern in the back of my mind regarding his academics, he wasn’t really getting anywhere before in that area. He was originally in an ASD classroom that was intended for eventual mainstreaming. The kids were expected to spend at least an hour a day in a typical classroom and played on the playground with typical kids. However, my son can’t really make it 15 minutes in a typical classroom.
I should not the school for LD has far more supports available than a typical school, which is why it’s appropriate for my son.
I have a 19-year-old son with severe autism who may very well be a lot like the young man in this classroom. I would rather pull him out of school than have him in a traditional public school with regular ed kids. I can’t imagine how debasing it must be to his self-esteem.
I am founder of The Autism Academy of Learning in Toledo, Ohio and we have 56 kids of various levels in nine classrooms. Because the school is set up around the needs of students with autism, we can fine tune various things in the environment to meet the needs of each student.
I believe students who are much higher functioning might not be appropriate for such a school, but then again, some kids who are high functioning get picked on so badly at regular schools that you have to wonder if those academic opportunities afforded them are more valuable to them than not being emotionally harrassed, etc.
I believe parents need CHOICES. I think a lot of parents of younger kids are more inclined to want “inclusion” because they aren’t yet at a place where they can feel like they are giving up on their child if they don’t try the more typical environments. My son has always been severe so maybe it was more clear to me that it just wouldn’t work.
Teachers who don’t specialize in intervention for more severe students are far less likely to be prepared to handle their challenges. You can tell by referrals to them as “my severely autistic student” and using terms like “violence of his tantrums.” These are not person first and they may be indicators that the individual saying them probably is not that comfortable with the individual with autism who has behavioral challenges.
My son has self-abusive behaviors. He’s not going to change so we must change. We must protect himself from the things he cannot control. If a teacher wanted to teach a student with severe autism, the teacher would have gone into that area, not regular ed. and maybe not even the more mild special ed.
Please don’t take offense. After all the years I’ve been around and the things I’ve had to endure, I am entitled to tell it like it is. The world simply is not ready to embrace chidren like mine and I am working one person at a time to try and build understanding and tolerance.
Good luck to all the parents out there who feel forgotten and alone–I walk in your shoes!!
Hello, I have a situation where my very young child (age 7, Grade 1) is being forced into a class with typically developing students where he just does not function. I want him to be in an environment more sensitive to his needs so he can function and learn. Isn’t that what school is about? However, the teachers and staff at every meeting feel that classroom is the fit for him. He doesn’t complete any work, does not have the level of communication to express himself or bring any of his schoolday home. He cannot follow more than single step direction, and needs to be instructed individually and with constant re-direction or he will wander off in his own world. He has severe sensory issues and its a struggle just to keep clothes on him. He enjoys being in a room with some children, but with a class size of 23-25 its too much. He cannot stand being within 3 feet of a child and has meltdowns daily, if not more frequently. The school’s main argument is that they do not have any other environment for him, and he is “just fine” where he is. Any advice on communicating with the school to help get a better fit for him? Thanks!
The main question is, what was YOUR reaction to the missbehaviour. If you know how to control that, e.g. with applied behaviour analysis (ABA) there is no problem to integrate autists
Really? I’ve talked to a lot of inclusion specialists and consultants, and I’ve never heard anyone say that ALL kids can be included in the general education classroom all the time, or even any of the time. I think the idea (and the law) is that inclusion should be CONSIDERED for every child, and children shouldn’t be excluded unless there’s a good reason, but I haven’t heard anything about inclusion for everyone.
I agree that the first question to ask is how the school is dealing with the behavior and if people with expertise and skill are working with the student. I’d try that before a substantially separate setting, since high quality ABA services are going to be cheaper in an inclusion setting than in, for example, a residential program.
I dont think a child that severly Autistic would benifit from being in the mainstream .My son is exstreamly high functioning but has massive meltdowns in which he beats himself and they have to had to clear his class because of it .He is in special Ed suport classes half of the day and for classes like Science Social Studies Art PE he is in the reg Ed setting WITH AN INSTRUCTIONAL AID he is an A B average student I would love to see him mainstreamed but some days its just to much for him and to much for his regular Ed Peers
I think a little more info is needed. What type of class setting was it, what was the trigger for those out breaks and had an FBA been done? I think if this behavior went on for most of the school year, one has to ask was there sensory outlets for this child? Redirection? Other than the parent removing the child, wasn’t there other means to have helped him remain?
Not all class settings are appropriate for every child with autism, however every child no matter the severity has a right to public school and besides that, other than public school there isn’t many options out there for parents and educating their child. There are also many ways to keep a child’s hand out of their pants too.
“Least restrictive environment” doesn’t mean every child can and should be included in general ed classrooms for the entire day. Inclusion doesn’t mean they must. You pose a huge red herring today which seems to indicate to me your preference for segregated education.
Far too many public school systems prefer taking the easy way out and “tuitioning out” a student to some remote “autism” school rather than following the law and providing supports within a community based setting, which in my view benefits and senstitizes the entire school population to diversity. An inclusive public school should be able to meet all students needs. Period. Gifted as well as disabled. The fact that in your example they clearly threw an inexperienced teacher into a special ed situation doesn’t tell me that the concept of inclusion is wrong, only that the school doesn’t know what it’s doing. Even posing the question of of “severely disabled studentss being put in public schools” is offensive. They have the right to attend public schools. What you’re dealing with here is an unqualified teacher. Each child has an IEP and where necessary a behavior plan as part of it. That is the law. If a school (or school system) can’t accomodate disabled students they are operating illegally.
Of course, every parent has the choice to opt out or pursue appropriate settings if they’re not available, but personally I’m sick of public schools passing the buck to private, segregated providers.
Dadvocate – your experience is actually the opposite of mine.
Typically, I’ve seen schools deny kids outside placement because the cost is so very high. Instead, they tend to place kids with ASD in typical settings (again, a cost issue).
Then, the kids with ASD have a tough time with the typical settings, as with the child described in the post (but also with kids who are much less profoundly autistic but who have significant sensory or social or anxiety problems).
So they get pulled out… and placed in “autism” classes that lump together kids with a whole raft of different issues and functional levels. And they wind up having to “earn” their way back into general ed by “proving” that they can behave appropriately in a typical setting.
But we’ve obviously dealt with different districts… don’t know which experience is more common.
Lisa
Lisa – Obviously, each student has different academic and social skills and abilities. Designing a framework for appropriate interactions and settings for disabled students with their typical peers within the school day is an integral part of the IEP process. In my large, metropolitan district these needs often go unmet, wherever the individual falls on the spectrum. But that doesn’t lead me to believe that segregated settings, whether inside the typical school or as a stand alone facility, should be the base case, or even used frequently. Check out Paula Kluth’s work on this issue here:
http://www.paulakluth.com/
I don’t need to tell you that it’s all too typical that parents need to go through excruciating due process and legal gyrations to force the district to provide services in the LRE. Those families who cannot afford counsel, don’t understand their rights, or are unable to effectively advocate lose. Big time. The squeaky wheel gets usually gets oiled…eventually. In my locale, they’d rather offload the child of an assertive family and pay one “tuition out” (or a few) rather than bear the systemic cost of doing the right thing for all.
Instead of system wide improvement, the choices the district elects are things like gimmicky charter schools (”Only 20% of the kids in the school will have ASD!” Egad.) As a parent advocate and a taxpayer, I see no valid reason why the public sector can’t provide the services that non-profits like Easter Seals or a charter school provides. I have the option of going the private route but feel compelled to (and do) battle for my child within the public system (and augment his education with external services as much as I can). Segregated schools and classrooms may in fact be the best solution for some. I don’t fault anyone for going that route. But, again, I don’t think they are an appropriate base case solution.
Dadvocate – in theory I agree with you completely.
In fact, however, waiting months and years to go through due process may make it impossible for a child to progress at a reasonable level. Meanwhile that child may become increasingly anxious or develop new negative behaviors. At least, I’ve seen these things happen, with my child and others.
Paula Kluth is a marvelous person. But I find it really depressing to read her work because I’ve never seen the situations she describes in any setting I’ve seen or heard of personally.
It seems to me that, unless your district is already so gung ho for inclusion that they’re ready to spend money on hiring Paula Kluth, they’re very unlikely to do the things she suggests unless they’re forced to under threat of multiple law suits.
Hmmm. Maybe I’m a bit negative on what passes for school inclusion???
Lisa
You describe very accurately the way things are today in many places, including my district…but they can improve if the conditions are put in place (the responsibility for which usually falls on our shoulders).
Perhaps it’s the Don Quixote in me but unless the educators and administrators are themselves educated and held accountable (and some don’t like to be), it just won’t happen. I don’t think people like Paula Kluth and other consultants are often initially welcomed with open arms but individual parents and groups have introduced outside consultants into public classrooms (we have) and things do improve.
A common complaint I hear from teachers is the lack of initial and follow on training (especially using “current” techniques). Training like bringing in experts like Kluth is an area I think public/private partnerships can be really useful.
Dadvocate, I think I’d do a great job of advocating for change in a district if I weren’t also in the process of trying to get my child a solid education. That is – if I were a Paula Kluth-like consultant, or working with a district that didn’t have my son as a student! As it is, I find I get too frustrated, emotional and worried to do a really good job of advocating. Maybe something to think about for my next career LOL!
Lisa
Hear ya. My wife and I just finished up a 3 day long (was supposed to be 3 hour long) IEP at my son’s new high school. Interestingly, the unconcealed displeasure of some in the room (at their inablity to steamroll us) was matched by some others who, quite off the record, welcomed our (mainly my wife’s) strong advocacy.
At my sons’ current school (in OK), they do not have “substantially separate” classrooms. Every kid is made to attend class in the regular classrooms with pull-outs for support services, such as reading. Which is great for my Thom, not so good for my Brandon. Both boys are allowed to wander the classroom aimlessly when they feel the need to get up and wander. Quite different than the protocol of their last school in MA.
Legislation has mandated inclusion, federally through NCLB, as well as on the state level, through legislation that requires a student be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment, and sanctions districts who exceed a predetermined amount of self-contained classrooms. Unfortunately, the tide may turn only when parents and teachers start to sue school districts, and perhaps the state, in an effort to receive compensation for the injuries inflicted upon them by innapropriately placed children. Many of these severly autistic students require a therapeutic setting, not an academic one. A teacher is just that, and certainly not a therapist,analyst,or physician, which is seemingly what many of these students need in order to progress.
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