Issues relating to integration and inclusion. Integration: Integration is the placement of a child with special educational needs into a mainstream setting and expecting the child to adapt to the new surroundings. The expectation is that the child will “fit it” to what already exists in the school. It fails to encourage or facilitate the change in attitude at these levels to enable the child to participate as fully as possible. The onus is completely on the child to change in this new environment. (Class Notes). In relation to children with Autism integrating them to a mainstream school can bring a lot of challenges. It has been proven that a child with autism find it extremely difficult to adjust and adapt to new surroundings, new people …show more content…
It has been proven that a child with Autism can have a lot of difficulties with social skills and sensory issues. In an inclusive environment there can be adjustments made to accommodate the child. There will be a SNA available to the child, a resource teacher along with the class teacher. The school needs to be ready and prepared for the child with autism to start school the very same as the other children. There can also be visual aids with a schedule of the days timetable. There can be a quiet space made available for the child to take a break if there is a sensory overload. There can also be social stories used if there are any changes to the schedule. The teacher and any staff members who will be assisting the child can get training on how to assist a child with autism. To promote friendships in the classroom the teacher can arrange play time/play groups for all the children to play together. The teacher can speak to the class about how important inclusive practices are in the school. When we implement all the ideas mentioned above we are making the classroom a more inclusive environment for the child who has autism and it can make school a lot less daunting for this child. …show more content…
An inclusive environment can help to promote friendships for the child with autism however been in an integrated environment means that the child gets placed straight into a class which can lead to the child getting stressed and having outbursts as the surroundings have not been adapted to suits the child’s needs. This can isolate the child from other children as they might not want to play with the child. In an integrated environment there would not be assisted technology available to the child with special needs and in relation to autism there would not be facilities for the child’s sensory needs- sensory toys-chewie’s, sensory room etc) however as we promote an inclusive environment we understand that all children are different and that children with autism will have issues regarding social skills and sensory needs. By making changes and promoting an inclusive environment a child with autism should be able to attend mainstream school and achieve their full potential. It is proven that the positives of an integrated environment out way the negatives of an integrated
“Your child has autism spectrum disorder” are words no parent wants to hear. They are words that will instill fear, worry, and sadness. When parents hear this for the first time, they will have many questions. “Is there anything I can do to help my child? If so, what can be done?” Early intervention services; such as applied behavior analysis therapy, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, and speech therapy before the age of three; can help improve the development of children with autism spectrum disorder. As an educator, early intervention is a subject teachers should be well educated in. It would be beneficial to the educator and the student, for a teacher to know and understand early intervention strategies.
"Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing” (Rollo May). It is very crucial for everyone when communicating with others to comprehend. Many lack that social barrier where they have a hard time clearly stating what they mean. However, this problem evolves when children with Autism, ADHD, and bipolar disorders have difficulty with people understanding them especially in the school setting. Inclusive education means that all students attend and are welcomed by their neighborhood schools in age-appropriate, regular classes and are supported to learn, contribute and participate in all aspects of the life of the school (Inclusion BC, 2014). Students that are in the inclusion program are most time not unde...
Having worked in an Autism program first hand I can tell you these people are doing everything they can to help these kids into functioning members of society. Though some will need to be assisted their entire lives some can lead semi-normal lives. In these classrooms these programs not only focus on learning the fundamentals like all children in school (english, math, science, etc..) they also teach social skills and activities, they teach the kids things like proper etiquette in public places, safety on the phone, all the things that that isn 't 'common sense ' to them because of their disability. They work hard to help the students who are more high functioning to integrate into normal classrooms and the children who are more so low functioning to be able to do the basics and beyond for themselves. These programs are continually developing and reshaping to best fit the needs of their
Whenever the benefits of inclusion are brought up the first component that comes to mind is: social interaction. The benefits of social interaction is the most important component for including children with autism in an inclusion, general education setting (Lynch & Irvine, 2009). The reason this benefit is so high within a general education setting is that interactions occur at a greater frequency. Typical peers that meet cor...
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.
One of the most difficult things teachers will face when dealing with Autistic children is their lack of communication skills and inappropriate or nonexistent social skills. In addition to academic instruction children with Autism require instruction in communication techniques and social skills. Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174).
“Inclusion isn’t a strategy to help people fit into the systems and structures which exist in our societies; it is about transforming those systems and structures to make it better for everyone” (Richler, 2016). This is a quote by Diane Richler explaining what inclusion is. Inclusion is a strategy that allows children with disabilities to go about their day in a normal classroom setting. Inclusion can positively affect both the disabled and non-disabled children in the classroom if it is done in the correct way. Although, some people do believe inclusion can have a negative impact on the children involved, the benefits outweigh the deficits.
In fact, the general public has inadequacy of education and understanding in the value of sensory friendly resources, as well as training and time to develop modifications. There is also a need of support in the young adulthood areas of autism, including treatment plan and accommodations, currently, most research emphasis on younger children. Most schools face lack of support from adults and suitable accommodating environments in the classroom, such as sensory break or movement break. In addition, class size is often too large, which makes it challenge to provide one-on-one support. School also needs specific programs implemented for kids with autism, to achieve better outcome (reduce distractions), rather than combining them with rest of the special needs students.
Over the course of the semester, I have been learning of how to incorporate students with special needs in the classroom. One of my main questions I had after completing my advanced practicum was how to incorporate children with disabilities within the classroom. My definition of inclusion is including all students within the classroom community without judgment and learning to embrace each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Inclusion brings a sense of belonging into the classroom. One of the worst feelings in the world is being left out or judged by peers. I know that judgments and bullying is never going to disappear completely but, it is easier to build a safe and supportive classroom where everyone feels apart of something. Inclusion is be able to have a variety of learners who can work cohesively and towards independent goals.
"A recent feature of elementary schools is the more frequent inclusion of children with disabilities. Regular classrooms now include children whose physical and mental disabilities would at one time have relegated them to special classrooms" (Cooper & Ryan 1998, pp. 98). There are numerous issues that arise when it comes to educating exceptional students. Since, science is an important school subject we need to have special adaptations to meet all of the student’s needs. "Students with exceptional educational needs are best served in regular classrooms in their neighborhood schools" (Koch 1999, p. 16). While we interviewed Mark Bertram, a kindergarten teacher at Homer Elementary school, Janie Hughes, Special Education Teacher’s Aide in Mark Bertram’s classroom, we asked them the question: "What does inclusion mean to you and how does it affect your classroom?" They stated that having inclusion in the classroom from the beginning of schooling allows children to come into contact with students unlike themselves and become comfortable with their differences. We also asked teachers, "How do the students respond to having a child with special needs in the classroom?" They stated that the children respond in a positive manner by being very caring and helpful to the students. In one of the classrooms there is a child with Cerebal Palsy. She enjoys reading books and the children are always excited to help her by holding the books, reading slowly and loudly with her. In the other classroom there is a student with Autism. When she has an episode during a lesson instead of a teacher taking out the time to calm her down, a student will rock with her until she relaxes while they are still following along with the lesson.
While the terms mainstreaming and inclusion have been used interchangeably to describe the educational approach to teaching students with special needs, the philosophy of the two methodologies are vastly different. Educating students whose disabilities are well-suited to a traditional classroom setting is generally thought to help those students emerge from school better prepared for life, both educationally and socially. Inclusion supporters also note that not meeting the curricular needs of students will make it difficult for the student to learn and most likely, lead to behavior problems as well. In addition, familiarizing conventional students with students with disabilities in neutral, standard classrooms has helped bridge the misunderstanding gap.
Jordan, R., & Powell, S. (1995). Understanding and Teaching Children with Autism. New York: Wiley.
When a child is diagnosed with autism, they will develop learning disorders, causing them to need extra help. Normal schools may be too much for some cases of autism. This may cause families to learn a different lifestyle to take special needed care and help their child with One of the most commonly known mental disorders today that
Or encourage them to make friends.All of these clearly show there are easy ways to fix some classroom problems that you have with autistic or disabled
With strong administrative support, a plan for implementation, and enhanced knowledge and skills for teachers; there would be absolutely no reason at all for inclusion to not work. Merging special education with regular education classes is essential. In my eyes, a student with autism and a student without autism are equal. Therefore, if a child does have autism he/she should be able to attend school and regular classrooms so that they could receive the support they need in order for them to be successful as well. Although it may be difficult for some schools to provide the specialized education needed for children with autism, I still firmly believe that regular/general education teachers are capable of taking on the job, even if it is difficult.