THE PROS AND CONS OF INCLUSION FOR CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS
Introduction/Background
Curriculum
criteria were formed in a way to ensure all students get the same level of
education as students in other classes or other schools. With this educators
are able to make sure every student is getting the same essentials for each
subject regardless of his or her teacher or campus. The problem with some curriculum is
that it does not assist teachers with required modifications for inclusion
students. With this a number of student’s
needs are not being met since each student has a different learning style. Some students may be visual while others may
be auditory learners. However some
students may be slower and need more direction than others. No matter what the child’s learning style is,
the teacher needs to modify his or her teaching methods to ensure each
student’s needs are being met. This is where differentiated education comes
into play. Due to the passing of numerous federal laws, such as the Americans
with Disabilities Act (1990), the individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(1990), and the No Child Left Behind Act (2001), full inclusion and its needed
workings remain to be of extreme importance to both the learning and emotional
environment. Inclusion education is the
mainstreaming of Special Education students into a regular classroom. With
inclusion the goal is for all children, disabled or not, to be able to attend a
general classroom. This model is often viewed as the educational approach of
choice for individuals with disabilities.
However there are significant challenges that ASD students face in
general education classes. Severing students with disabilities outside of
general education classes is no longer an option (Mastropieri & Scruggs,
2010).
Is the Inclusion program more academically beneficial for
ASD students? This project will provide information for general and special
education teachers.
General educational teachers are
unenthusiastic about ASD students in their classrooms, there is seemingly a
bias against the inclusion program. My vision is for teachers to be more
comfortable with IEP’s and be willing to work with the inclusion program.
Inclusion programs offer special
education students the required services and supports to be successful within a
general education classroom. According to Santoli, Sachs, Romey, McClurg
(2008), pulling students with exceptionalities out of general education
classrooms was not successful; in addition Freidlander (2009) asserted that
inclusion is the placement of choice for children with autism spectrum
disorders.
Key
terms:
Full inclusion, autism spectrum disorders
(ASD), special education, least restrictive environment (LRE)
Literature
Review
The importance of my action research project
is to work with administers, and teachers to make the inclusion program for ASD
students more academically beneficial.
In 1943 Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, studied mental illnesses. He
coined the word “autism” which comes from the Greek word “autos” meaning “self”
and refers to an extreme social withdrawal signifying an isolated self. Dr. Leo Kanner at Baltimore’s John Hopkins University
began using “autism” in its modern sense in 1943 to describe and classify the
apparent withdrawn and indifferent behavior of several children studied.
“Extreme aloofness” and “total indifference” are two phrases Kanner used to
describe autism (Church, 2009, p.524).
In 1990, the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) mandated that children with disabilities would be educated
with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate (Hardman
et al., 2008). While developing interventions for students with autism, Mazurik-Charles
& Stefanou, (2010) noted that aspects involving impairments in social
interaction required the most attention.
Children
with disabilities benefit greatly from full inclusion the time in general
education classroom has proven to increase social skills and behavioral. Current
research has revealed that inclusion is good for intervention implementation
because children with disabilities were given the opportunity to practice
functional skills, such as following daily routines and appropriately
interacting with peers, numerous times a day in authentic settings (DeVore
& Russell, 2007).
According to the article entitled "Using
Technology to Improve the Literacy Skills of Students with Disabilities,"
reading is often considered the most multifaceted component of literacy, and
10-15% of general education students in K-12 have difficulty in this arena
(Thompson, 2004).
The literature states in order for children
with autism to be successful in general education settings, a number of
carefully planned interventions must be established. In many instances, the LRE
for children with autism is a fully inclusive general education classroom.
Because ASD occurs on a continuum and encompasses a wide range of
exceptionalities (Vander Wiele, 2011).
Action Research Design
Subjects
As a part of the
study, the collaborating teachers selected a group of 6 third grade students
who were either full-inclusion or partial-inclusion students. The sample size is small due to limited
number of ASD students in third grade. Two of the students were consider high
functioning and4 students are consider low functioning within the ASD spectrum.
Procedures
Curriculum
standards were intended to guarantee every student receives the same education
as his or her peers. However, the curriculum did not account for the different
types of learners in every classroom. Some students are visual or auditory
learners. With that being said, a test
group of 6 ASD third grade students were selected to test a theory that
inclusion was academically beneficial to all ASD students. My goal was to work with students within the
general education classroom and a self-contained classroom. I want to learn
more about The Pros and Cons of Inclusion for Children with Autism Spectrum
Disorders. This study was to determine
if the Inclusion program is academically beneficial for all ASD or did
self-contained classrooms increase student achievement?
Data Collection
With the use of SurveyMonkey, I created a pre-survey for
participating teachers and staff members to establish the feelings and attitudes
towards the Inclusion Program. In the course of this eighteen week study Student
improvement was measured with various criteria.
The primary method of determining the student’s success was with, observations,
and district benchmark exams. Each week, with the help of classroom teachers
students were tested on general education assignments to determine student's
overall achievement on weekly reading activities and assessments. The second
method of assessment was the student's overall achievement on 6 week activities
and assessments. The final assessment area was to gauge each student's
willingness to contribute in class, hence showing increased self-confidence in
his or her social skills. All data was
collected and tracked with Google Docs.
ACTION
PLANNING TEMPLATE
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GOAL:
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I want to learn more about The Pros and Cons of Inclusion for Children
with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Is the
Inclusion program more academically beneficial for ASD students?
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Action
Step (s)
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Person(s)
Responsible
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Timeline:
Start/End
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Needed
Resources
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Evaluation
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1. 1. Obtain permission
to conduct research on the campus.
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Tonya Avery
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August 27, 2012 – August 31,
2012
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Written permission from
district/campus personnel for research to take place.
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N/A
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2. 2. Compile a list of
ASD Students to monitor for the project
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Tonya Avery
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August 27, 2012 – August 31,
2012
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Access
to students’ scores, and teacher input on criteria
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N/A
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3. 3. Draft questions for teacher surveys.
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Tonya Avery
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August 13, 2012 – August 17,
2012
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Microsoft Word
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N/A
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4. 4. Meet with supervisor to review survey questions.
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Tonya Avery
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August 20, 2012 – August 27,
2012
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Drafted Survey Questions
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Site Supervisor
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5. 5. Survey participating teachers about feelings/attitudes
towards Inclusion Program.
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Tonya Avery
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August 20, 2012 – August 31,
2012
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Google Docs – Survey or
Survey Monkey
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N/A
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6. 6. Survey students weekly/bi-weekly progress
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Tonya Avery
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August 28, 2012 –
October 27, 2012
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Weekly Assessments ,Student Benchmarks
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Analyze information in
either Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access
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8. 7. Gather
research articles and books regarding Inclusion Classrooms.
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Tonya Avery
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August 20, 2012 – May 31,
2013
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Articles, Books,
Professional Literature, Blogs
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N/A
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9. 8. Analyze
Survey Data.
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Tonya Avery
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September 28, 2012 – October
27, 2012
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Excel or Access Data from
Surveys
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Analyze Information from
Survey Data
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9. 9.Discuss possible interventions for ASD
students in Inclusion Program
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Tonya Avery
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August 27, 2012 – May 31,
2013
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Students’ Scores and
Benchmarks
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N/A
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10. Identify ways to improve student performance at
various stages of instruction
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Tonya Avery
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August 27, 2012 – May 31,
2013
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Students in a Classroom
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Classroom Observations
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1 11. .
Mark end of year progress of students and end of year teacher survey
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Tonya Avery
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May 27, 2012 – May 31, 2013
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Google Doc – Survey or
Survey Monkey
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Analyze information in
either Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access
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12 Compare data from beginning, middle,
and end of year to determine any patterns and/or make observations based on
findings
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Tonya Avery
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May 28, 2013 – July 1,
2013
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Excel or Access Data from
Surveys
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Analyze Information from
Survey Data. End of year progress in
identified areas of need using district benchmark tests, progress reports,
report cards, other district/campus quantitative data, teacher
observation/interviews
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13. Write a Self-Reflection on the
Inclusion Program with Cumulative Data and Observation Surveys
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Tonya Avery
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July 2, 2013- September
2, 2013
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Microsoft Word
Data
References
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Self-Evaluation – Reflection
of Recommended Plans of Action to Take Place
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14. Share information found on action
research with administration, and teachers.
Make recommendation based on data collected from action research.
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Tonya Avery
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August 15, 2013 – September
14, 2013
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PowerPoint presentation at
the beginning of the 2013-2014 school years.
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Presentation feedback
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Findings
From a general
scale, some of the students showed growth in their reading and math skills. A significant factor that was noticed by all
teachers was that the ASD student's growth was based on his or her willingness
to participate, function level and social skills in a general education
classroom. Students with behavioral issues or poor social skills seem not to
progress as much as other ASD students. However, when this group was educated
in a self-contained classroom there was sufficient growth, this was due to the
individual instruction and minimal distractions.
Mrs. Hester' Students
Mrs. Hester’s study
group consisted of four students. Students
H2-A, H3-B, H4-C, and H5-D. This group of ASD students remained in full
inclusion. The group was given the same
Instruction
and assignments with little or no support.
Even though students' H2-A and H3-B growth was minimal on weekly assessments.
There were significant improvements made in their 6 week assessments and
self-confidence level. Students H4-C,
and H5-D showed very little growth and seemed to regress on previous learned
material. H4-C, and H5-D continues to
struggle with self-confidence and a willingness to try to complete the
assignments. Within the general education classroom there
seems to be a lack of support of the ASD students. Teachers were overwhelmed,
students were not engaged and allowed to sit and fend for themselves. Granting all of the students have not shown
substantial growth as per the data, their overall abilities have improved.
Mr. Williams’s
Students
Mrs. Williams’s study group consisted of two students.
Students W2-A and W3-B, This group of ASD students participated
in partial inclusion during social time. For the duration of instruction time
students were taught the same curriculum as general education students but in a
self-contained environment. Students W3-A
and[TA1]
W3-B suffers from attention deficit disorder (ADD) and has difficulty focusing.
Student W2-A has had a problem focusing
on what he is working on since the beginning of the year. He struggled to pay attention and focus during
instruction time. Although this
students' growth is minimal, this student will need additional testing done
because it is apparent based on his grades that he cannot retain information. With student W3-B I saw no motivation or
desire to learn. Daily interventions are being implemented to connect and
encourage student W3-B to participate in daily curriculum.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
After conducting this action research project my study and
findings produced significant differences between Inclusion and Self-contained
instruction for ASD/Special Education students. I recommend that all general
education teachers’ be educated in special education and be equipped with
student IEP’s as soon as possible. Extra
support is needed in class for ASD students to ensure they are engaged and on
target. Additional staff development is
needed for all teachers on educating ASD students. States and districts, have
created standard-based curriculums that teachers must follow. Despite these requirements, many students
are being left behind due to academic and social discrepancies. ASD are being
placed in inclusion programs without the needed support to be successful.
Inclusion is a great ideal in theory, but not for every student. Teachers need to be aware of the various
learning styles and abilities within the classroom. This ensures each student is given a chance
for success. with teachers modifying his
or her teaching methods to fit the student’s behavior, learning style, or
ability. The goal of this research is to
identify ASD students who are falling short in a full inclusion classroom.
Furthermore provide a teachers with a variety of strategies, concepts,
motivation and discipline that will increase the student achievement.
References
Church, E. (2009). Using medical
imaging to decipher autism. Radiologic Technology,
80(6), 523-542.
DeVore, S., & Russell, K.
(2007). Early childhood education and care for children with
disabilities: Facilitating
inclusive practice. Early Childhood
Education Journal,
35(2), 189-198. doi:10.1007/s10643-006-0145-4
Dukes, Charles.,& Dukes, Pamela. (2009). Inclusion by design: Engineering inclusive practices in secondary schools. Exceptional Children, 41(3), 16-23.
Dukes, Charles.,& Dukes, Pamela. (2009). Inclusion by design: Engineering inclusive practices in secondary schools. Exceptional Children, 41(3), 16-23.
Hardman, M., Drew, C., Egan, M. (2008). Human exceptionality: School, community,
and
family (10thed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Karten, Toby. (2005). Inclusion strategies
that work! Research-based methods for the
classroom. (p. 2) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
classroom. (p. 2) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Mastropieri, M.,
& Scruggs, T. (2010). The inclusive
classroom:
Strategies for effective
differentiated instruction. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson
Santoli, S., Sachs, J., Romey, E.,
& McClurg, S. (2008). A successful formula for middle
school inclusion: Collaboration, time, and
administrative support. Research in
Middle
Level Education Online,
32(2), 1-13.
Thompson, J.R., et. all. (2004), Using
technology to improve the literacy skills of students with disabilities. North Central Regional Education Laboratory.
Retrieved October, 24, 2012,
from http://www.learningpt.org/pdfs/literacy/disability.pdf
Vander Wiele, L. (2011).The
pros and cons of inclusion for children with
autism spectrum disorders:
What constitutes the least restrictive environment?
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