Square Pegs in Round Holes: Students with Autism and Education

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Square Pegs in Round HolesStudents with Autism
and Education

• Jacqueline Roberts Ph.D.Centre for Early
  InterventionsFaculty of EducationUniversity of
  Sydney
• jacqueliner_at_usyd.com.au

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Program

• Overview of research and theory about the
  education of children with disabilities.
  Inclusion versus continuum of services.
• Autism and education characteristics of autism,
  pros and cons of inclusion and segregation for
  children with autism.
• Focus on transition Characteristics of
  successful school placement for students with
  autism.

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There is no doubt that education remains

• the one treatment approach with the best track
  record for dealing with the difficulties
  associated with autism. It is not just a matter
  of access to education as a statutory right for
  children with autism, but about how education can
  have a central role in remediating the effects
  of autism (not curing it) and improving the
  quality of life of individuals with autism
  throughout their life span (Jordan, 1997).

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Definition of terms

• Inclusion
• Mainstreaming
• Integration
• Continuum of Services Model

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Background inclusion versus segregation

• Historically students with autism segregated
  from their peers and even from society.
• Current theoretical arguments relate human rights
  and legal issues to the civil rights movement.
• Increasingly students with autism are now
  included in regular classrooms (Harrower
  Dunlap, 2001 Simpson, de Boer-Ott, Smith-Myles,
  2003).

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What are the challenges for teachers of students
with autism?

• Otherwise skilled and competent educators often
  report that they consider themselves to be less
  than fully capable of meeting the needs of
  students with autism because of the baffling
  nature of the characteristics of the disorder
• (Spears, Tollefson Simpson, 2001).

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Cognitive, social, sensory and behavioural
deficits of autism.

• These include
• limited and disordered language skills,
• unusual sensory processing,
• difficulty combining or integrating ideas,
• difficulty interpreting the underlying meaning or
  relationship of events they experience,
• problems processing multiple sensory stimuli and
  resistance to unpredictability and change
  (Mesibov Shea, 1996).
• irregular patterns of cognitive and educational
  strengths and deficits, including splinter skills
  and isolated discontinuous abilities (Simpson et
  al., 2003).

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Mismatch between autism and the environment

• Characteristics of autism
• -sensory-cognitive-communication-empathy

• Characteristics preschool /school
  environment-communication and social demands
  adults and peers-sound, light and touch, taste
  and texture-unpredictability

Confusion, anxiety and FEAR
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What makes a successful program?Research
suggests

• Autism specific curriculum content
  communication, social, sensory
• Highly supportive teaching environment
• Predictability and routine
• Functional approach to problem behaviour (PBS)
• Generalisation strategies
• Transition support
• Family involvement

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Andmost agree

• At least 15 hours treatment per week
• Multidisciplinary teams
• Inclusion of typically developing peers
• Emphasis on child independence, initiative and
  choice making. (Dawson Osterling, 1997)
• Visual supports/Augmentative Alternative
  communication (Quill, 1997)
• PLUS
• Utilising strengths
• Building on what is motivating for the student

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Conceptualisation is critical

• Is it a question of
• Which type of educational placement is better, a
  continuum of special services or inclusion in a
  regular classroom?
• OR
• Which educational approach in terms of process
  and content will best meet the learning needs and
  develop the strengths of children with autism?

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3 key interrelated elements

• Where? -Type of placement
• What? -Curriculum content
• How? -Teaching methods

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Continuum of services from most to least
specialised/inclusive (NSW)

• WHERE? (Gov/Non-Gov)

c) Support class autism, integrated or segregated
f) Regular class
a) Special school (generic or specific)
e) Regular class itinerant support (generic
/specific)
b) Special unit in regular school
d) Generic support class
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What? Curriculum

• Autism specific curriculum content
• Social skills
• Communication skills
• Teaching organisational skills
• Teaching adaptive behaviour strategies,
  initiative and choice making
• Adaptation of KLAs (primary) and High School
  curriculum

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Autism Program Quality Indicators (University of
the State of New York, 2001)

• The curriculum emphasizes the development of
• a) attention to social stimuli,
• b) imitation skills,
• c) communication and language,
• d) social relationships,
• e) symbolic play, imagination, and creativity,
• f) self-regulation,
• g) skills to meet the learning standards,
• h) vocational skills.

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How..?Programs for children with autism vary in
terms of

• prescription versus flexibility,
• directive versus declarative
• intensity, extent and frequency of direct
  teaching,
• focus on adult versus child centered,
• naturalness of learning context and social
  context of intervention,
• generalisation to other environments,
• utilisation of child strengths,
• type of reinforcement,
• treatment of challenging behaviour PBS, FCT
• recognition and utilisation of individual
  differences in learning,
• role of typical peers. (Wetherby Prizant, 1998)

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How? .The Continuum of Discrete-trial
Traditional Behavioural to Social- Pragmatic
Developmental Approaches
DT-TB, e.g.Lovaas/CARD
SP-D, e.g. Floortime/Theraplay, Hanen ITT
Contemporary ABA, e.g PRT, PECS
Hanen MTW, SCERTS, Early Bird
TEACCH
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How.? Eclectic ApproachesE.g. TEACCH program
(2003)

• Promotes
• Treatment and education that begins with and
  emphasizes an understanding of the needs and
  strengths of autism (the culture of autism).
• Focus on communication, social and sensory
• Normalizing experiences for students with autism
  but not inclusion at all costs
• Individualisation,
• Structured teaching
• Reliance on empirically-based approaches rather
  than ideologically-based philosophies

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How?....What makes for a successful school
placement

• Shared responsibility by general and special
  educators school community ownership of the
  included student(s) with autism.
• The importance of a positive school climate
• Access to collaborative problem-solving
  relationships multidisciplinary teams.
• Availability of teachers aides to support
  teachers.
• Availability of appropriately trained support
  personnel
• Low staff student ratios.

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And.

• Home-School Collaboration.
• The development of social skills for the student
  with autism in inclusive settings.
• Availability of specialist training for all
  staff.
• Adequate teacher planning time.
• Recurrent Evaluation of Inclusion Practices.
• (adapted from the Autism Spectrum Disorder
  Inclusion Collaboration Model, Simpson et al.,
  2003)

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Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) Satellite
Class Project

• First class 1992
• Pre 1992 no autism specific classes in NSW in
  regular schools
• An autism specific class or satellite class in
  a regular school provides opportunity to develop
  individual programs incorporating social and
  communication skills management of sensory
  hypo/hyper sensitivities within framework based
  on the regular primary and high school curricula

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Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) Satellite
Class Program

• Focus of model is transition
• Most students with autism can benefit from
  inclusion in a less specialised setting during
  at least some stages of their school career
• Satellite classes have a clear transition focus
  aimed at moving students into local regular
  classes, generic local support classes.

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Process for transition of students from satellite
classes

• Student skills developed to stage of transition
  readiness
• Collaborative process including all parties
• Transition plan developed include-Time frame
  -Staffing -Resources -Curriculum modification
  -Follow up
• AANSW provides 12mo F/U support referral to SOS
  as required

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Strategies to promote transition for students
include

• Gradual reduction of supports and prompts, e.g.
  visual supports and verbal prompting
• Introduction of more unpredictability
• Expectation of more independent functioning
• Encouragement of students to seek assistance and
  develop self control and monitoring
• Teaching in tandem with mainstream pacing and
  programming
• Development of social skills for the student with
  autism

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Destination of transitioning students 1993-2003
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Factors influencing success of Aspect satellite
classes

• Climate of the receiving school, particularly the
  attitude of the Principal
• Careful and thorough preparation of the host
  school
• Skills and experience of Aspect staff
• Support and ongoing training from Aspect for
  staff (satellite and regular)
• Careful student selection
• Age and ability clustering

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Autism Rules..OK

• Whereas autistic differences, which are at the
  profound level of how we perceive the world and
  learn from it, are not and have never constituted
  a disease, disaster, or tragedy, and in fact
  encompass in all autistics strengths unavailable
  to the typical population
• Oopswrongplanet.com.au

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Last word

• For some people school is like fitting a square
  peg in a round hole. For me at the moment the
  hole (school) has changed its shape slightly to
  accommodate me and the square peg (me) has tried
  to soften its edges. So a better description
  would be a rounded square trying to fit itself
  into a circle with sticky out bits. (Paula Kluth,
  2003)

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References

• Harrower, J.K., Dunlap, G. (2001). Including
  children with autism in general education
  classrooms A review of effective strategies.
  Behavior Modification 25, (5), 762-784.
• Jordan, R, Jones, G, Murray, D. (1998).
  Educational Interventions for Children with
  Autism A literature review of recent and current
  research. School of Education, University of
  Birmingham, UK.
• Kluth, P., (2003). Youre going to love this
  kid Teaching Students with Autism in the
  Inclusive Classroom. Maryland Paul H. Brookes
• Mesibov, G.B., Shea, V. (1996). Full inclusion
  and students with autism. Journal of Autism and
  Developmental Disorders, 26 (3), 337-346.
• Quill, K.A., (1997) Instructional considerations
  for young children with autism The rationale for
  visually cued instruction. Journal of Autism and
  Developmental Disorders, Vol. 27, No 6, 697-714.
• Roberts, J. M. (2004). A review of the research
  to identify the most effective models of best
  practice in the management of children with
  autism spectrum disorders. Sydney Centre for
  Developmental Disability Studies.

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References cont..

• Simpson, R.L., de Boer-Ott, S.R., Smith-Myles, B.
  (2003). Inclusion of learners with autism
  spectrum disorders in general education settings.
  Topics in Language Disorders, 23, (2), 116-133.
• Spears, R., Tollefson, N., Simpson, R. (2001).
  Usefulness of different types of assessment data
  in diagnosing and planning for a student with
  high functioning autism. Behavioral Disorders,
  26, (3), 227-242.
• South Australian Ministerial Advisory Committee
  Students with Disabilities (2000). Secondary
  schooling for students with autism spectrum
  disorder. Adelaide Author.
• Tonge, B. J., Krupinski, J., Einfeld, S. L.,
  MacKenzie, A., McLaughlin, M., Nunn, R. J.
  (1996). The use of factor analysis for
  ascertaining patterns of psychopathology in
  children with intellectual disability. Journal of
  Intellectual Disability Research, 40(3), 198-207.