Inclusion of ASD

Inclusion involves the process of differentiation to respond effectively to the needs of

individuals and requires one to perceive personal divergences positively in order to achieve

harmony in the educational setting. Existence of practices involving segregation and

separation promote inequality and seclusion (Corner, Ryann Unprichard & Mccabe, 2010) in

the educational setting. Students who are not treated the same as their peers or experience a

form of unfairness suffer from various significant issues (Loreman, Deppler & Harvey,2011).

Loreman et al. (2010) conceptualise inclusive education as teaching which encapsulates all

students’ needs with strategies and content of the curriculum modified and renovated to

ensure responsive classrooms. Competent teachers’ learning and teaching activities in regular

classroom settings are expected to be rational and articulate approaches to their students who

have discrete learning requirements and a variety of abilities. According to Loreman et al.

(2011) a competent teacher is required to have the skills that achieve specific and varied

outcomes effectively for all learners. In this paper, the inclusion of students with additional

needs alongside students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will be analysed with

reference to the terms of changing legislation and perspectives and teaching techniques and

approaches to design appropriate educational outcomes for these students will be discussed in

relation to the Disability Act 1992 and the Disability Standards for Education 2005.

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 promotes the inclusive educational framework which

includes giving the same rights to students with physical and intellectual disability as any

student in regular schools. The development of the Disability Standards for Education (2005)

broadened the definition of disability and reinforced the rights of disabled students with the

addition of the need of disabled students to assistance by educators. It was designed to

establish firmly that students with disability should have the same opportunities and chances

that are provided to other students in the classroom. Additionally, legal responsibilities and

obligations towards students with disabilities are illuminated clearly under disability

discrimination legislations. According to this legal framework, teachers are expected to put

into place relevant accommodations, adjustments and attitudes to fight unconcealed and

subtle bigotries in the classroom setting. Halunan, Hallinan, and Boulter (1999) state that the

standards set by the legislation cover various aspects of education including enrolment,

contribution, improvement of curriculum, qualification and transmission along with student

support services. They suggest that educational providers must reduce harassment and

persecution in any of these aspects during the student’s schooling. This is specifically

important for teachers as they can adapt the curriculum and provide positive learning

environments for all students.

An effective and applicable tool of inclusion which can be practiced in classrooms is called

individualized programming. This tool can support students’ diverse learning spectrum,

however, its inclusiveness would be possible only if every single student was to have

individualised programs. Otherwise, when students are not offered the same teaching method

and are labelled as ‘low achievers’ or academically disabled in terms of their capabilities and

skills, they can easily pick on this and become aware of the comparison to the students who

are labelled as ‘normal’ (Lilley, 2014). This would cause students with disabilities and

learning difficulties to have a negative perception of themselves, lower their self-esteem and

make them demotivated. As a result, they may become unwilling to put effort and may not

persist on achieving while students who perceive themselves as ‘normal’ might become

aware of their friends’ condition and might bully or harass them. It is substantial for teachers

to have knowledge of adolescent psychology which helps explain teenagers’ obsession with
peer appreciation and desire to be seen as the same level as their peers (Halunan, Hallinan &

Boulter,1999). According to teacher proficiency standards, teachers are expected not to label

their students with their disabilities and differences but to create a differentiated welcoming

educational environment. Teachers have to focus their attentions on individuals’ progress,

attainment of positive outcomes and skills and contemplate on their capabilities and abilities

rather than highlighting their difficulties or disabilities (Mehta-Parekh & Reid, 2005).

Tolerating each individual student’s personal potential and learning style can change the

perspective of teachers and make them appreciative of all learner types. Such positive

approaches and outlooks will construct inclusive education and lead to significant

achievements while a negative outlook will result in failure on all levels (Loreman, 2011).

Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2008) and Australian Advisory Board on Autism

Spectrum Disorders (2007) reports that the rate of students with ASD is increasing

internationally. Accordingly, Power and Costley (2014) claim that there is a necessity for pre-

service teachers to attain a deep understanding of the learning difficulties of students with

ASD. ASD adolescents are a challenging group of learners as they experience social

difficulties which if the most significant feature of ASD. Unlike their peers, understanding

sociality and developing social abilities is cognitive rather than intuitional for them and this

causes impairments in social skills, conception and interpretation of emotions (Power &

Costley, 2014). Students who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or ASD require

specified methods, equipment and content modifications to complete the work successfully in

order to remain in regular classes. There are various institutions which deal effectively with

these issues such as certain colleges in the US which offer guidance on personal skills such as

recognising expressions of body language and comprehending social norms. Similarly,

Western Sydney University’s The Social Club provides a platform for school age adolescents
to engage with pre-service teachers to help them get prepared for future work in the

professional sector. There are many activities suitable for ASD students to help develop their

social skills and allow them to construct new friendships. These activities are significant in

building these students’ self-confidence as it will enable them to adjust to regular settings and

overcome their feelings of isolation and embarrassment caused by learning difficulties. They

can also allow these students to be more comfortable in asking questions to teachers and

reduce their experiences of anxiety and stress arising from peer attention.

As mentioned previously teachers’ perception, expectations and observations of students has

significant impacts on students with learning disabilities along with ASD. Teachers are

supposed to encourage students to develop and put to use their different skills, abilities and

capabilities and boost their confidence. According to a study by Power and Costley (2014),

which examined the skill and capabilities base of ASD students, they possess skills in

different and unique areas which actually gives them a sense of belonging in the schools’

society and keeps them out of trouble. Moreover, if their explicit needs such as repetition,

structure and instruction are not responded to or if they feel teachers’ underestimation of their

abilities, they can show various reactions based on a spectrum which can involve pulling

themselves back and increased hostility towards the school. Teachers and pre-service

teachers should attain a deep level of knowledge and understanding regarding this issue as

required in Quality Teaching Elements Framework. Teachers should do research and find

institutions and clubs that specifically work with ASD students to develop their social

mismatches and help them gain resilience, and improve their abilities in the areas that they

need more confidence. Power and Costly (2014) draw attention to the importance of

developing good student- teacher relationships for students with ASD including intellectually
disabled students and as such highlight the necessity of educators to establish stronger

relationships with such students.

It has been determined in various studies that students with ASD are often diagnosed with

visual strengths (Flynn, 2013). In consideration of this teachers can design their instructional

schemes in various ways that incorporate visual elements. Firstly, demonstration and

modulation of expected skills should be established. For instance, if the teacher wants

students to open a book, teacher’s exact demonstration is essential at this point. Another

useful accommodation is providing students with visual schedules of basic instructions that

might support them within their KLA. Additionally, teachers are recommended to maintain

eye-contact with the student to attract students’ attention. However, this might be challenging

depending on students’ spectrum since some may be sensitive to this kind of approach.

Regarding this point Flynn (2013) advises gentle verbal warnings to maintain eye contact. It

is significant to underline that even if a student breaks the eye contact they might keep

listening. Maintaining the attention of the students on the lesson, the teacher can check the

level of understanding of the students with easy questions. Additionally, various

technological tools create ease for teachers to design visualized lesson content including with

the help of digital technologies and applications. For example, for the subject of

Mathematics, the application called GeoGebra is substantially useful as it allows users to

create any diagrams and graphics based on the related topic. Therefore, teachers’

consideration and estimation of students’ levels or abilities have to be erased of all biases and

negative thoughts to achieve outcomes via these activities.

An important adjustment which can be greatly helpful for ASD students is collaboration

which is acknowledged as a key concept for inclusion in the regular classroom setting.

According to Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of proximal development, peer assistance learning

can produce successful outcomes for the skills and strategies in mainstream classroom. There

are several possible ways to organize collaborative teaching environments for students who

are intellectually impaired. The first one is involvement of a support teacher. Halunan,

Hallinan and Boulter (1999), believe that to enhance students learning outcome involvement

of support teacher vital in every process in terms of sharing responsibilities, assistance in

program writing, lesson, activity and assessment planning and general classroom assistance.

Moreover, they underline that the observations and contributions of a support teacher would

assure students’ positive results. However, funding is a serious issue regarding this point as in

a contemporary article by Gleeson (2017), it is stated that state schools have failed to respond

to students in need by falling short in support services. Due to high populations in the

classrooms, insufficient resources and especially lack of financial support, teachers were not

able to identify and address the needs of those students. Moreover, there was a lack of

support teachers because of inadequate funds. In situations like this collaboration can be

achieved by pairing students with their peers including with gifted and talented students.

Borich (2007) claims social and academic success can be achieved with collaborative peer

intercourse in the active learning environment.

Finally, collaboration with students’ parents is another fundamental element for inclusion.

Communication with families would help teachers to identify their students’ needs,

challenges and problems to aid them with less effort in a shorter amount of time. This could

also help boost the parents’ perception of the educational system and build trust between the

parties. This collaboration could also act as vital feedback for appropriateness of teachers’
strategies, adaptations and modifications to curriculum and pedagogy used. Halunan,

Hallinan and Boulter (1999) and Salend (2011) agrees that involvement and contribution of

family members are a vital ingredient to success as history of students’ impairment could

help develop the support services required and the suitable adjustments in curriculum and

classroom activities. Hence, a collaborative learning approach is seen as significant and

fruitful for all students and in particular for students with ASD to achieve inclusive

educational setting.

In conclusion, teachers are expected to cater for students’ needs without any exception and in

a holistic way. In this regard understanding of legislation helps teachers learn their

responsibilities and establish more inclusive education environments. Celebrating diversity is

compulsory for teachers in their educational practises. While they create this atmosphere in

the class setting they must include every individual student’s needs along with a

consideration of their disabilities, disorders and impairments. Adjustments, accommodations

and modifications to curriculum should be done in line with the research studies and theories

discussed above to achieve progress and success for all students in the regular classroom

setting.
References

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Gleeson, A. (2017. The Real Class Struggle Chaos in schools as teachers are overwhelmed by
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