Use Of A Peer Support Intervention For Promoting Academic Engagement Of Students With Autism

Inclusion is a program that has been in effect for many years, yet has not become standard procedure in all public schools. The program ?inclusion as the name implies, means all students with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability and need for special services, receive their total education within the regular education classroom? (Haller 167). Inclusion is an involved program that has taken time to establish in the most beneficial manner, however the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has helped in the formation of the program (Haller 54). ?The Education of all Handicapped children Act mandated that all school-age children with disabilities receive a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment? (Haller 54). This means that the education program would cease to pull children out of the classroom for resource instruction. The idea of the

Most parents wonder what is the next chapter after their child with autism spectrum disorder graduate from high school, for some individuals, it is to move onto higher education. As stated by Cai and Richdale (2015), the USA has one of the lowest rates of college enrollment for individuals with ASD, with over 50% of these individuals being in neither education nor employment following their secondary school, with similar finding in the UK (p. 31). For the individuals with ASD who move forward in gaining a higher education will have to learn to adapt and determine how to transition into higher education. Mentioned by Cai and Richdale (2015), a USA national survey illustrated poor outcomes from transitioning from secondary school into adult-hood. “The findings showed that after young adults with ASD left the public school system, 80% continues to live at home, only 32% attended postsecondary education, just 6% had competitive jobs, while 21% had no employment or education experience at all. Further 40% reported having no friends. (p. 32)”

I chose this article because it specifically targets the inclusion of autistic students in general education classrooms. The evidence shows that having a child read social stories and practice social interaction through role play causes an increase in a child’s social behavior thus helping him or her socialize better with classmates and teachers. This builds a better foundation for a child to express his or her wants and

Davis, DeRosier, Matthews, McMillen and Swick (2011) conducted a study to test the efficacy of a social skills intervention, Social Skills Group Intervention-High Functioning Autism (S. S. GRIN-HFA) for individuals with high functioning Autism. Authors hypothesized that students who received S.S.GRIN-HFA would demonstrate greater gains in terms of social behaviors and have greater parent involvement when compared to the control group of Social Skills Group Intervention (S.S.GRIN). Participants included 55 children all diagnosed with high functioning Autism and ranging in age from 8-12 years, and predominantly male and white. Specific selected criteria included: 8-12 years of age and a prior diagnosis of autism, Asperger’s Disorder, or

Autism is categorized by deficits in maintaining social relationships and difficulty communicating. The number of children being diagnosed with autism is steadily increasing. Therefore the need incorporate effective interventions that focus on the development of the individual child has become an imperative component for their success. The key for children with Autism to achieve academic and social success depends upon the collaborative effort that is shared among all parties involved: family, teachers, peers; mental health professionals and the community.

The number of pupils with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) being educated in mainstream settings is increasing (Humphrey 2008). Inclusion in main stream education can be extremely beneficial for pupils on the autism spectrum (Great Britain. Department for Children, Schools and families, 2009), however there is growing concern about the educational experiences of pupils with ASC. Only 12% of parents with children in an unsupported mainstream primary school are very satisfied (Barnard et al 2000).

The common traits of ASD, which include anti-social and often disruptive patterns of behavior, can make children with autism challenging for typical learning children to approach. Though the issue of including children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms is a complex one, peer-mediated interventions can promote the growth of social skills at every level of education. By educating the general population of typical peers and empowering them to be a part of the process a dent can be made in the social exclusion often experienced by the ASD children in mainstream settings. Implementing these interventions enriches the lives of all of the children involved, “possibly developing sustainable social relationships” expanding the effects of the program beyond the academic setting (Hughes et al., 2013). Also, these methods provide teachers an unobtrusive method of teaching that has benefits for the entire class. These methods could be helpful to other student populations that have intellectual

There is a wide range and much controversy surrounding the study and overall effectiveness of different interventions for children and adolescents possessing a diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, regardless of the method of intervention, every intervention shares the common goal which focuses on improving functioning in one or a combination of the following areas: social, communication, behavior, and academic. Social functioning includes interaction with peers and others, engagement and appropriate participation in activities, while communication refers to goals of “effectively signaling information to a social partner” i.e. utilizing and recognizing aspects of communication such as requesting, labeling, expressive language, speech, pragmatics, etc. (Missouri Autism Guidelines Initiative, 2012). With respect to the behavioral domain of treatment, effective intervention seeks to result in an increase of individuals engaging in the positive, adaptive skills to respond to a situation, person, or environment. Finally academic refers to skills that are required for success with school activities (Missouri Autism Guidelines Initiative, 2012). Focus in these areas of functioning assists in guiding treatment goals and provides a guideline of what to measure in order to gauge the effectiveness of treatment.

To encourage the development of social skills students are encouraged to interact with one another throughout the day in a variety of methods, including partner work, small group activities, and large group activities. These teaching techniques enable autistic children to relate to their peers. As autistic children relate to their peers more they are more accepted and in turn continue to learn and acquire new and improved social skills.

Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of many developmental disabilities that affect students learning. In fact, in the United States, Autism is the fastest-growing severe developmental disorder (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Also, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is 1 in 68 children and the prevalence in boys is 1 in 42 children (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Furthermore, Autism Spectrum Disorders also affects the way a child learns and over the years, several teaching strategies have been developed to help teachers to effectively educate students with Autism. Research has also been conducted to develop and test new teaching strategies for Autism and continues in playing an important role in the education of students with Autism.

Inclusion began when The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), was passed in 1974. IDEA marked a turning point for the placement of children with special needs. This legislation stated that all school systems are required to receive federal funding to provide a free and appropriate education for all students regardless of how handicapped they are. The term inclusion does not actually appear in the text of IDEA. Instead, the law requires that children with special needs be educated to the maximum extent appropriate in the least restrictive environment. The IDEA says that the least restrictive environment is the regular education classroom. (Special Education, 2001) The IDEA requires the Individual Education Program (IEP) team to consider placement in the regular classroom in the beginning to determine if it is an appropriate placement for the child. The law specified different environments where special services could take place. The main goal was to place special education students in regular education classrooms for gains in academics and behavior for the children. (Singleton, n.d)

The great thing about interaction of children with autism in the classroom is that children without disabilities also benefit from their experiences with students with ASD, developing a compassion for, and understanding and having an acceptance of children with special needs. Interacting of

One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S

The articles which will be compared and contrasted are firstly: Locke, J., Ishijima, E., kasari, C. and London, N. (2010) Loneliness, Friendship quality and the social networks of adolescents with high- functioning autism in an inclusive school setting. The researchers have used quantitative research methods to (measure the social-emotional relationship of adolescents with Autism). (Lock et al., 2010) suggest despite the progressive curriculum at this high school, it appears that mere classroom inclusion may be insufficient to integrate fully adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.