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Running head: AUTISM

Autism and Inclusion

Jennifer Wright, Robert Field, Lisa Ward

The University of Central Florida

Abstract Autism is a growing epidemic and the IDEA states that all students should have a free and appropriate public education. The purpose of this paper is to suggest the least restrictive placement for students diagnosed with Autism in elementary schools.

Autism and Inclusion Autism is a growing epidemic and a mysterious disease to everyone, including professionals, school based personnel and parents. Research indicates that 1 in 166 children born in the United States will be affected by Autism (D. Friedlander, 2009). It is difficult to understand the causes of Autism, but researchers are beginning to understand the genetic components of Autism (Friedlander, 2009). Autism is a developmental disorder called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASDs). These disorders include Autism, Pervasive Development Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Friedlander, 2009). This disorder becomes obvious in the first 3 years of life but is sometimes not found until later. Autism spectrum disorders are complex, lifelong neurological disorders that impact how individuals understand what they see and hear and how they make sense of the world. A child affected by Autism can show symptoms on different levels. There is still no definite cause or incidence of how this disorder originated. Significant difficulties with communication, a limited range of interests and activities, reduced flexibility in behavior, and problems with reciprocal relationships and social interaction, relative to the student’s developmental level, are the defining characteristics of ASD. Autism is a social disorder; children with ASD have deficits in basic areas of functioning, social interactions, communication and behaviors (R. Simpson, 2003). Individuals with ASD have difficulty relating appropriately to others, communication disorders, encounter difficulty in successfully following unmodified school instruction, obsessive insistence on environmental sameness, have atypical behaviors such as self stimulating behaviors and repetitive behaviors (Simpson, 2003). Individuals with ASD may also demonstrate difficulties with: • processing verbal and abstract information • regulating attention • generalizing • motor planning • transitioning between activities, settings and individuals • accommodating some forms of sensory experience • organizing and self-regulating. Inclusion Separate Classroom Legislation and IDEA

Purpose It is difficult to determine the least restrictive educational setting for children with disabilities. Students with ASD present a larger problem for staffing specialists. Should students diagnosed with ASD be educated in an inclusion classroom setting? Would it be more appropriate for students with ASD to be educated in a separate self contained classroom with other students on the spectrum? If students receive the proper educational instruction from highly qualified teachers in an inclusive classroom setting they will be more successful than students in a separate self contained classroom setting receiving the same educational instruction. The success rate of students placed in the inclusion classroom will be determined by the improvement in social skills as assessed by the social skills checklist. Questions/hypothesis

Are the needs of children with autism spectrum disorder best met in the mainstream classroom or in a self-contained classroom environment. This paper will indeed prove that measurable improvements with the use of social skills will be shown with children who are placed in mainstream classes. The effective use of social skills will have a great impact on these children's success in school and later as they enter adult life. Significance The field of Autism has often been described as a new world recently discovered. With new cases on the rise, autism is a world in desperate need of exploration in order to educate and enhance the lives of individuals with this disorder. If we are to be a society that seeks to better the lives of its populace we must continue to strive towards providing all of our nation's children with the most appropriate education. Gone are the days when the children diagnosed with or exhibiting those traits commonly associated with autism are cast aside in institutions. Today thousands of children are diagnosed with autism every year and parents and educators alike continue to grapple with how and where to educate the autistic in order to best meet their needs and ensure an overall better quality of life. Literature Review

Research Design

Sample Target population to be elementary school children diagnosed with ASD in the state of Florida. The accessible population to make testing feasible will be elementary students diagnosed with ASD in Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns Counties. The study will have 200 students, 100 students that receive educational instruction in an inclusive classroom and 100 students that are receiving their educational instruction in a separate classroom for students with disabilities. We will utilize the two stage random sampling method. First we will locate schools that currently offer educational programs in both an inclusive setting for students with ASD and in separate self contained setting. After we obtained this information, we will be able to randomly select students from the accessible population to obtain our target sample. We will randomly select 20 inclusion classrooms and 20 separate self contained classrooms, and randomly select 5 students from each classroom. Instrumentation

Procedure

Data Analysis The social skills checklist has ratings of almost always, often, sometimes, and almost never. We will utilize an ordinal scale and assign each category a number for analysis. The category almost always will be assigned a 3, often will be assigned a 2, sometimes will be assigned a 1 and never will be assigned a 0. We will follow the test retest procedures and give the assessment at the beginning of the school year prior to placement in the assigned classroom. After the first half of the year is completed the assessment will be given again by the same teacher and the results can be compared for analysis. We would be able to compare the pre and post tests to determine if there is a difference in social skills. We would need to compare each objective to determine if their was an increase, decrease of stayed the same. Some of the objectives, such as aggression towards others and self we would want to see a lower number, however most of the other objectives we would want to see an increase in numbers. If each response is coded with a number, we would be able to create a formula to subtract the numerical code from each objective on the post test from the numerical code from the objective on the pre test to determine the numerical difference. We would need to decide based on the numerical responses whether students were improving more in the separate class or the inclusion class. After finding out the results for each objective, we could compare results from both groups. We would want to see which group improved more in social skills. Threats The subject of this research study will be a possible threat. Students with ASD will not have the same characteristics, problems or limitations. It will be difficult to assess social skills on a student that does not talk to their peers. The subjects will have varying age differences, and gender may affect socialization skills. It is not possible to protect against this threat because we want to see how all students diagnosed with ASD behave in different classroom settings. We can develop a pre screening tool so that we get students with the same characteristics on the spectrum that have similar backgrounds. This will take away the randomness of the sample but make protect against threats towards validity.

There is also the parental factor to consider. Students that have problems in school may suffer consequences and parents may continue that consequence at home which will in turn affect the student's behaviors in school. Parental support that does not exist in the home will adversely affect the way a student performs in the classroom. Researchers can help control parental support by offering a training and an informational session that educates parents on what the study will entail and what they can do at home to help further the student's educational and behavioral goals. We will have no control over outside treatments or parental roles. We may be able to assess parental support prior to the study and determine whether or not their child should participate.

Mortality is another issue to consider. This study will examine students that are in inclusive classes, however if they are not performing as expected there is a chance they will be removed from the class and placed into a self contained separate classroom. We need to ensure that students are receiving the proper educational in the correct setting so that no one is hurt. If students are moved into a different classroom they will need to be dropped from the study or factored into the separate class statistics. One way to protect against students switching classrooms is to provide continuous support to the students in the classroom and offer needed interventions. School personnel can discuss changes with the researchers so that the transfer is not needed and the student can remain in the study. Another consideration is students that drop out or leave the program due to parents moving or relocating out of the state.

Subjects will mature and we may see characteristics change over time, such as an improvement in communication or deterioration in communication. This change may not be due to the classroom placement but natural course of the disorder.

Awareness will not be a threat. Our students will not know that they are subjects in study. The teachers working directly with the students will be assessing and completing the instrument so that there is no issues with students answering questions incorrectly or not understanding the questions.

The data collector may be a threat. Each teacher will be completing the assessment and may interpret each question differently and not rate the students correctly. They may have biases towards students they know are in the study. A possible control of this threat is to have an outside member of the Project DATA team that developed the social skills checklist to evaluate the children. Another possible idea is to have a complete training on the assessment tool and inform teachers what each question means so there is no confusion. It will be easier for teachers to evaluate their students because they know them best and understand what affects their students in both positive and negative ways. Training is a vital part to keeping everyone on the same page and help eliminate biases.

Possible controls to threats are as follows, one we may use one individual to test the students prior to placement in the class and then have them complete the post assessment as well after observing the students and two offer training to all support staff, teachers and parents that will be involved in the study.

References

Simpson, R.L., Boer-Ott, S.R., & Smith-Myles, B. (2003). Inclusion of learners with autism spectrum disorders in general education Settings, Top Lung Disorders, 23, 116-133.

Vakil, S., Welton, E., O'connor, B., & Kline, L.S. (2009). Inclusion means everyone! The role of the early childhood educator when including young children with autism in the classroom, Early Childhood Education Journal, 36, 321-326.

Friedlander, D. (2009). Sam comes to school: including students with autism in your classroom. The Clearing House, 82, 141-144.