question from parent's board

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Hi Folks,

There was a post on a parent's board that I belong to requesting input from autistic individuals. This parent's child has an ASD (not AS), and is concerned about placement for his child. I believe the child is 5 1/2, is verbal with language delays, and has some social defecits. He has been offered a self-contained, TEACCH based classroom through the school district and is wondering if this would be a good option for his child. I volunteered to pose the question on this board and another for some further input from the ASD community. Anyway, here's his question:

I strongly recommend mainstreaming.

I agree -- your child will have to learn to live and work among NT (neurotypical -- those without Asperger's Syndrome or other AS-related disorders). I was mainstreamed from a very early age, and while it was in no way easy, I learned to tolerate and get along with other people, which has helped me in my professional life.

Is there an option to do reverse integration? My son is in as AS class to start with but the goal is to mainstream. So instead of being in a mainstream class with pull out support. He's in an AS class and then goes to a mainstream class for certain subjects. The end result being more mainstream, less AS class. It's been the best solution for us.

I would like to offer my opinion on the question posed as to whether to place a child in a self-contained, homeschool or mainstream educational environment. My qualifications for answering this stem from my own personal experience of raising (my now 17 yr.old daughter) who was completely mainstreamed through-out her educational experience.
I FEEL MAINSTREAMING IS THE BEST WAY TO GO.

Back in 1994 when my daughter entered kindergarten I discovered the school district knew very little if not anything about Autism or ASD (funny- as it is not a "disorder" to me) because it was not even on the radar screen of developmental delays they had ever encountered. Even special educators in the system were lagging behind in knowledge in this field (not their fault as it wasn't available) and the children I witnessed receiving services for any type of "developmental delay" were much more profoundly in need of intensive one on one help that the concept of a classroom learning environment wasn't even going to work.

Of course, as we have all witnessed-this has all changed now. Today we have what I would call "hyperdiagnosing" (most anyone that is!)--and this includes quickly labelling a young child "autistic" ASAP to provide as many services needed asap. This is all okay for EARLY INTERVENTIONAL needs as I found PT,OT and speech therapy definitely helped my daughter-(she walked 24/7 on her toes (great now b/c she is a ballerina), she flapped her arms,hit/bite me,had constant crying/screaming tantrum meltdowns-sensory overload,babbled incoherently- first spoke in a full sentence at 3-1/2, zero play interaction, aversions to sounds,foods,textures,changes in environments,fears,anxiety, other idiosyncrasies-lining everything up-(great now b/c she is ultra organized/efficient).
SO where am I going with this story??
I feel it is best to at least start out in a mainstream environment. It is never a "failure" to have to change environments either way but better to shoot higher than lower. My daughter learned so much from watching/emulating/interacting with her young classmates that she probably would never have encountered in a self-contained classroom (remember this is back in 1994).
Always trust your gut. Never lower the bar for your child ever--Autism is a gift--a form of genius whether high/low on the spectrum.(hubbie is Aspie I am NT our son NT) My daughter's sensory issues lessened as she aged, she learned to control her emotions better (zero meds) and learned to compensate (maybe "act" NT around NT's) so well that she is now a straight A Honors/AP junior in a public high school of 1800 students, runs cross country, Honors French society, there is more...but I sound like I am truly bragging and I should!
So, did she appear much more affected by autism early on? Yes! Was it challenge? (Exhausting!) It all gets better and better over time as we ALL change as we grow older.
Is my daughter able to express her autistic gift/beauty and be her own unique self? Yes! because we never allowed the system to pigeonhole her! You are the best advocate for your child at all times b/c only you know your child. You have been given a beautiful and most unique gift from God...love and cherish this gift!

For me, having been this long before they even knew what is was in the U.S., let alone what to do with it, I grew up mainstream. I think if you can do it, do it. That's how I learned to get along with all the NTs around me, not that I even really cared to. That's how I learned to compensate and ask for others to compensate for my lack of ability to read others. When I was in sixth grade, I was so advanced I was bored (this was all long before honors classes and the like). I was in a small, small school (150 kids in my class from three different towns). The teachers and guidance counselors pulled me out in sixth grade and I went to the library to do my work. There were two reasons for this. One is that while I wrote non-stop, I could still keep track of everything going on in the class and I would spontaneously and unconciously say the answers. This was hard on the other kids because they needed to learn at their own pace. The other reason was because I was bored and there was no system yet to handle that. So, they gave me my regular class work, told me to come up with lists of classes I wished I could take and built me a separate curriculum. They literally built extra classes for me, including Creative Writing classes that didn't exist at all in our school. Some classes I liked and I was not a disruption to, so I went to those, but mostly I learned at my own pace and helped the librarian and wrote. They made sure I had plenty of interaction with the NTs in things I liked (Forensics, Debate, Drama, Music, etc.) They took a big interest in my life and me. Basically, they are all responsible for me going on to college and giving me the feeling that I was gifted and not just strange. They kept in touch with me throughout college. Those people made the difference in my life and nothing makes that more apparent to me than reading the experiences of many people on here.

So, if you can get a mainstream school to take your child and work with him or her, do it. Push them. The mother who had her girl in dancing and running, good for you! I remember working with our gym teacher for hours on gymnastics. She never thought I would be great, she just thought it would help with my coordination and clumsiness. She was right! It took longer, but it helped. I defintely vote mainstream.

I say go mainstream. I did and it worked out. However, this parent needs to be ready to stand up for his kid when kid needs accommodations and school is not willing to do it. But I think mainstream is the best way to go.

homeschool.

This is interesting and enlightening. Thank you for your opinions! I'm not the parent in question, but I, too, will be faced with the same decision next year - whether or not to let my girls (twins, ASD) attend a mainstream, public kindergarten with pull-out sessions and/or an aid or whether to elect a more restrictive option.

I'd opt for mainstream, and the teacher's are working towards this goal in their special needs pre-school, but one of the most common complaints I read about is bullying and teasing. So, it's interesting to me that many (most) of you folks are recommending mainstream.

Have you found bullying/teasing to be less of a problem in an included setting? I reckon that inclusion fosters familiarity, and with familiarity there'd be less of a tendency to "fear" a child who is different. I reckon that the teachers get used to inclusion, too, and learn how to manage the class and make sure that the kids aren't bullied - enlist peer supports of whatever. At least I hope so.

I find that the attitude of the students comes from the attitude of the staff. At my son's school, they push inclusiveness. The AS teacher (who also has a degree in psychology) talks to every classroom about differences and that EVERYONE has something different about them, or does something in a different way compared to their peers because they're fulfilling a need. And just because it's different doesn't mean it's bad. Because he (and the rest of the staff) have taken such a proactive stance, I find that the kids do to. At my son's old school, several teachers felt that Aspies were just attention seeking and being manipulative and that attitude filtered down to the kids.

mainstreaming worked well for a HFA kid in one of my sons' primary school. the HFA kid had an integration aid and all the kids supported him. He was invited to other kids birthday parties. I remember once seeing him very determined to get to the top of a rock climbing wall (easy for the other kids) and all kids encouraging him and cheering him on. It was really good to see. This school has small class sizes approx 20. I am guessing smaller class sizes help.

both of my sons started in exceptional ed, with the intent to mainstream them.

this past year, I withdrew them from public school and now homeschool them...and it works out wonderfully.


I really think the choice depends upon the children involved..their personalities, their learning styles. what works fantastically for one, may not work for another.

the parent asking the knows more than anyone else what will be the most appropriate for his children.

I would say mainstream unless he is very stressed or having difficulties...then I would say consider homeschooling.

I think it really depends on the child and how they adapt...

I would have him mainstreamed as well. It's not a "special" world out there. He's going to have to learn to be with NTs and vice versa.