ji Special Education Inclysive ior Students Withji Special Education Inclysive ior Students With Belinda W. Crisman ^tism varies from one child to anoti this inclusion program works

j i Special Education

Inclysiveior Students With

Belinda W. Crisman

^ t i s m varies from one child to anotithis inclusion program works for all.

our disuict's diiecioi oí special education asked if our school wouid{become the district center fot students with autism, little did I know howmuch 1 had to leani about this disability. Now, 10 years and 85 students later,

Ini stilLleaming. According to tlie Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in150 American children has some fomi of atuism. Given this number, il is now critical for

."'"il

all .school administrators to educate themselves about it. The complex thing about autismis that if you know one student with this disability, you only know one because saidenLswith autism are all so difterent. Despite the many distinctions of this disorder, we havelearned that there are several key factors to creating a successftil inclusion program.

AH K. MUHRAY/STAR LËDGER/C0RB1S

• * •

Appropriate Placement. Tlie expeiLssuyjport placitig .students v\itb aiuismiti a legitlar education .setting, allow-ing tliem to leani from tlieir peers anflLidapt accordingly (Wagner, 1998). AtBoyntoti Elemt-ntaiy School, we ofleril rangt' of settings, tlic most restrictiveIx'ing a sclfk-ontained c!a.ssr<K)m forintensive ititervention. The goa! for tbeself<()ntaintfd classroom is to move stit-ilcnts into tlie regular éducation class-loom as soon as it is appropriate. Wealso oiîcr a resotu ce special edttcationclassroom where sttideriLs may go ibraaidemic, social, or bt'ha\ior supportnp to five times a day to take a breakfrom the régulai" classroom.

Otber options arc the inclusionclassroom, wbere tlic sf)ci"ial educa-tion teacber works with the regulareducation teacher, oi" sitppf)i*t by para-professionaLs iti tJie regular edttcationclassroom. Tbe goal is always to movetbese students to the regtilar editcation

"A program for students

with autism cannot

be successful without

continuous professional

learning."

classrootn. "¡f we isolate tbem, it's likeclosing tbe door on tbeir education,"sa\'s Lisa Badacotti; a tbird-grade class-rootn teacbei;

Teacher and Paraprofessional Selection.Teacher and paraprofcssiotial selectionis critical for the sitccess of stitdcnls uitbantism, especially the selection of thespecial editcation teacher. Tbis miLst besomeone who has a passion for work-ing with tbese smdents because tbepb\'sical, emotiotial, and professicmaldetnands can sometimes be ovcnvhclm-ing. Special education teacbers arerequired to be ad\ocates for stitdetits

with autism at all times. They tnitst bavetbe backing of their administrators orelse they will feel like they are out on alimt) by tliemselves.

In selecting regitlar editcation teach-ers, we ask for volunteers of recntitt egiilat education tcacbcns who havethe necessary skills, are flexible, and arewilling to learn. Strict rlisciplitiarians willnot work well. For paraprofessiotials, it'sa good idea to hire people who have apassion forworkingwtb studetits witbantism and aie willitig Lo teceive tlieappropriate training.

Parental Immhement. The best tbing forstudents witli aittistn is tor parents andscbools to work as a team. It is impor-tant to listeti t(t the parents and activelyseek tlieir itipnt. Matty titnes they knowtnore abont antistn, particttlarly Uieir( hild's autism, than school employees.Disparaging t cmarks abont paietiLs andLheirpiu-entitig skills bave no place inIhe school. Because paiettts often care\"er\' deeply about tlie education of theirchildren, üiey tiiay cross the litie wben it(omcs to involvement. If tliis happens, itis tlie principal's responsibility to set thebotindiiHes. Treating everyone—parents,stitdents, and teacliei"s—^with respectshould be the title.

Vision and Belief. Tbe scbool leadershipteam, with input frotii all stakeholders,shotild establish avisioti atid belief thatall stttdetits can learn and that all stit-dents have tbe right to learn. It is np tothe principal to communicate this visionto eveiyotie involved.

Professional Learning. A progi'am forstitdents with aiuisni cannot be siiccess-ful withoitt continnons pt"ofessionallearning. ,\I1 stañ members (i.e., specialeducation teacbers, regular educadonteachers, paraprofessiotials, admitnstra-tors, receptionists, custodians, atid ft>odser\ice workers) mttst be tmined. Ifeveiyone in your bttiltling ntidetstandsthe needs of your students with antism,things will go mncb smootber. We havefound the Univei"sit\ of North (!larolina"sTEACCH (TreaUTient andEducation of Atttistic atid RelatedCÀjmiiitinication-lumdicappcd Children )training and Emory University's AutismCenter training to be vety belpfttl.

30 Principal • November/December 2008 MICHAEL 1MACOR/SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/CORBtS

Peer Support. ..-Viiothci" imporiani fac-tor is training snidents about autismin a formiil or inlormal seltiiig. As youplace stiideiiLs wiih yudsni in classeseach year, make sui e that yoit assignpeer hiuidic's, general classroomsiudenLs who can proude them withnurttire and support. We have foundthat general edticaLion stiidenLs learnd great deal abottt accepting peoplewith differences when they work besidestudents with atitism. We have alsofound that regular education studentsbecame veiT protective. "Watcliing thfgrowth of the atitistic and regular edu-cation children as they become fiiendsis tinbelievahle," says Debbie Rogers,a regular educatioti kindergartenteacher at Boyiitoii. "I have watchedthe regular education sttidents takecare of the sttideiits with atilism all theway thi-ough high school."

Team Approach, h Iniiy takes a villageto edttcate these studetits. Administra-tors, teachers, speech therapists, occit-pational therapists, parents, paraproies-sionaLs, peers, and other school stafïmcmbei-s all have an important roic loplay. .-Vs mentioned earlier, educationis the key to success. We have foundthat a well-trained secretary or cafeteriaworker may be just the pei son yoti needto diHuse a pai titular situation.

Behavior fíans. Efrecti\e behaviorplans for suidents with autism play ahuge role in their success. Finding tlieappropriate motivators is like (uidinggolf!, but titue tlie motiv-atur Is l()und,much progress can be made. Aggres-sion, often tclatcd to tliLs di.sability. mttstbe tiugctt'd tluotigli positive intei"ven-don. Redirecting, treating aggressivestttdent-s with i espt'ct and digtiity, andpto\iding space and time for calmingare important. It is necessary to beflexible with out-t>t-school suspensionbecause many times Ulis is what llie slu-dents acutally want. Cx>nsider tíiis quotefrom one om- parents: "Punishing stu-dents tor Ix'iug autistic is like punishingchildreti iti wheelchairs becatLse theycan't walk."

Seme of Humor. Working with atttisticsttidents can be extremely intense andlatighter can he the antidote for btini-

"Some of my best days as

an administrator have been

enjoying the interesting

ways that students with

autism interact and

communicate."

out. Students with autism can makeyottr day when you ask if they are readyto roll, and they respond by rolling onthe floor, or if yoti tell them to get ontheir w'ork and theyjttmp on top oftheir textbooks. Some of my best daysas an administrator have been enjoyingthe interesting w'ays that students withatitism interact and communicate.

Promising ResultsI'm surf youie asking if these sttg-

gestions really work. They do for myscfiool. Ninety-one percent of oursttidents with atitism scored at or abovegrade level on otir state assessment inreading, and 79 percent in math. Dothey di.straci from otir regtilar cdtica-lion sttidents' edtication? Last year inotir inclusive classrooms, 98 percentof our students were at or above gradelevel on our state a.ssessment in read-ing and 99 percent in math.

I would like to close by sharing withyou the tlionghts oí hvo teachers whoare experienced with woi king \áxhautistic students. "Students uitli autismare smart, funny, and veiy capable indi-viduals. They need to feel welcomedand reassured thai they are doing every-thing the light way," says Annie Hanna,a special education teacher who h;tsworked with sttidents with atitism for11 years. "Once they feel comfortitblein the school environment, there is nolimit lo their potential."

"Kids wiili autism aiejust like otherkids, and tlicy want tlie same things asother kids, too—love, respect, friends,security, and tindeiïtanding," addsBritüiey Gann, a fourth-gi^de teacher."Wiicn the regular education teacherinvites a student with atitism into thecommutiity of her classroom with openanns and excitement, the typical peers

in tJie classroom will innately followher example and treat the studetit withautism jtist as tlie teacher does—as aunique indi\idtial who is full of poten-tial, has a lot to offer, and wlio deservesdie same respect as everyone else." Q

Belinda W. Crisman is principal of

Boynton Elementary School in Ringgold,

Georgia. Her e-mail address is bcrisman®catoosa.k12.ga.us.

ReferencesLong, C. (2O08, February). Atitism going

mainslream. \FA Toda\\ 37-39.Wagner, S. (1998). Inclusive programming for

elementary students with autism. Atlanta,G.\: Emon Autism ResouiTC Clentei:

WEB RESOURCES

Oppnrliiiiities forlcuriiiiifT íind tools for success vAÚ\studentíi vviili autism can be found atthe Emory University Autism Center's\\'th s'nv. www.psychiatry.emory.edu/PROGRAMS/autism/Monarch

The Web site oí the Univci sity (»fFlorida's Center for Autism and RelatedDisabilities oilers visuals and iniemctivcactivities th;tl arc ust-fiil f<H- sliidents vvith

;uiMsiii,

www.card.uf l.edu/visual.htm#imgmap

The Websites of thefor Autism Research (WWW.researchautism.org). Auiism Socit-ivol Aiiieiita (www.autism-society.org), Ceniei s for Disease tioiilioland Prevention Information Center{www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.htm). .mri NiUional Institute ol'Mtiual hkalUi (www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/autism/complete-publication.shtml] ate just a W\\ nl thesiles that provide valuable informationabout autism spec tnmi disorders.

32 Principal • November/December 2008 www.naesp.org