Inclusion of Autistic Children

          Inclusion of autistic children is the hardess and must unpredictible concepts for people to grasp. Socializing is stressful for children with autism. Laurie Lecomer wrote the book called The Socially Included Child which presents here a process she calls I.D.E.A.L that is meant to help manage tranisitions for these children. The I stands for introduce the activity; D for determine the tasks involved; E for evaluate expectations; A for accomodate for success; and L for list the activity components visually. Children with autism have a hard time adusting to changes in their schedule, communicating with others, and sensory issues. LeComer says she wrote this book to help the parents deal with the struggles of autism. The book as well as the program may help parents prepare their child for social enviornments so that they can participate in activities, recreation, and celebration. Although, written for the parents of children with autism, this book could be useful for teachers as well. It shows readers how to pre-plan, and how to really look at a situation so both child and adults can be prepared, and accommodations can be made to make the situations easier and more enjoyable for all. A poisitve approach about I.D.E.A.L. is that it may be modifified for any individual regardless of the cases severity. However, the hardest part of implementing the I.D.E.A.L. program is evaluating one's expectations. A childrens strengths and weaknesses must always be taken into account.

            As a future teacher, I am glad to know that educators and specialist are working on programs to help both parents and teachers work with children of special needs. Children with special needs are being incorporated into the classroom more and more each year without much training for the general education teacher. I know as a future teacher that I have had very little experience dealing with children with disablilities. Even within my service learning classroom the children with special needs are not incorporated very often. It is unfair for these children to be through into a classroom where the teacher does not know how to communicate with them. Although most schools provide the teacher with the students history and provide a few services to help make the transitions easier, it is a difficult process for the student, the teacher, and the rest of the class. Myself as well as all other teachers should be willing to further understand the incorporation of children with special needs. All children deserve the right to a proper education and it is our job to make sure they recieve it.





Resources:

Delisio, Ellen R. An I.D.E.A.L. Way To Include Autistic Kids. Educational World, c2010.     
            http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat255.shtml