The Bottom Line
Pros
- Addresses a wide range of situations and circumstances
- Offers practical suggestions for teachers, parents, specialists
- Includes videos and quotes from experts
- Includes "case studies" of successful inclusion
- Includes printable worksheets and resources
Cons
- May not be applicable to individual situations
- Light on information about IEPs and special education
Description
- Download and video interviews on the Autism Speaks site.
- Download is 203 pages long.
- Resource list is available to supplement content.
- Plan is to continually update and improve content.
Guide Review - Review: Autism Speaks' School Community Tool Kit
If you're the parent of a school-aged child with autism, a teacher who will be teaching children with autism, or an administrator in any public school in the United States, you'll want to download this .pdf. You may also want to watch the interviews included on the site. While much of what you'll read is old hat (descriptions of the autism spectrum, for example), there's a lot of material that you'll find nowhere else.The folks at Autism Speaks collaborated on this project with school inclusion expert Paula Kluth as well as a number of school principals, parents, and autism professionals. Their influence and experience shines through the document - particularly in the very practical recommendations offered on, for example, how to run a school assembly focused on the topic of autism.
A unique element of this package are sections devoted to non-teaching staff at the school. I can easily imagine the value of printing and handing out materials on autism to specialists such as nurses, bus drivers, and school security officers, none of whom are likely to have specific training in autism.
The end of the document includes resources, including games to play, case studies to read, and forms to use.
Despite the size of this document (it's a 203-page download), there are few references to the complex relationships likely to develop when parents, teachers and administration disagree. Overall, the assumption is that the schools can and will make inclusion work - a positive, if sometimes unrealistic expectation.
