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Autism In Elementary Schools

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Since the emergence of autism in our nation in the early 1900s, schools have began to isolate autistic children in elementary schools. Isolation differs in many schools, ranging from being placed in separate classrooms to being offered no assistance for slow educational growth. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 88 students were diagnosed with autism, a disease associated with social and physical disabilities (CDC). Autistic children in elementary schools have differing perceptions compared to “neurotypical students”, so schools decide to isolate them in “mainstream classrooms”. Richard Axel, molecular biologist at Columbia University, suggests in a lecture that different individuals with different mental capacities …show more content…

In a study conducted by Brunel University of Social Science, researchers confirmed that autistic patients had a harder time identifying certain objects and individuals, concluding they also have more social deficits (O’Brien). Clearly, autistic children struggle more in schools than neurotypical students so schools are more susceptible to placing autistic children in separate classrooms, despite the opinions of parents. Another aspect of autism, according to John Herrington, surgeon at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, suggests that autistic children have disrupted integration in medial prefrontal cortex, which are problems with memory and visual processing (South). Clearly, autistic children have disabilities in their mental and physical capabilities, so schools are more likely to place them in separate classrooms, disrupting their learning …show more content…

According to medical professionals, specifically pediatricians, molecular biologists, and general surgeons, autistic children need to be successfully integrated in mainstream classrooms. According to A Report of the Surgeon General about integrating autistic children into mainstream classrooms “Thirty years of research demonstrated the efficacy of applied behavioral methods in reducing inappropriate behavior and in increasing communication, learning, and appropriate social behavior” (Malamed). Clearly, applied behavior methods have effectively reduced behavioral issues through mainstream classes, also improving the social skills of autistic children. According to Richard Axel, molecular biologist at Columbia University, in a lecture about perception, he revealed that different individuals with different mental capacities have different perceptions and social abilities (Axel). When you combine with this from the report from the general surgeon, it is evident that an autistic child’s previous social disability as a result from their differing mental capacity will be improved when they are given the opportunity to improve in a mainstream classroom, rather than brutally suffering in a separate learning environment. Like surgeons and molecular biologists, pediatricians also observe that integrating autistic children and neurotypical will produce

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