Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder:Inclusive vs Special Education
Purpose of the Assignment
The purpose of this assignment is for you to research a specific mental health issue that can develop in school-age children and summarize your findings. You will discuss ways in which parents and teachers can support students who have the diagnosis of your topic choice.
More specifically, this assignment will help us assess how the following learning objectives of your course are met:
Identify developmental and parenting tasks across the lifespan
Explain diverse family and community characteristics as they relate to children
Compare and contrast influences on early development and learning
There are many different mental health topics you can look at, please choose one that is of interest to you.
Overview of the Assignment
Step 1: Choose one mental health issue that can develop in school-aged children. (E.g. depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc).
Step 2: Find a minimum of 5 peer-reviewed articles (those that appear in research journals) that are on your chosen topic. You may also use your textbook and other relevant research (i.e. academic websites) in addition to the 5 peer-reviewed articles)
Step 3: Write the research paper (See description below)
Components of the Research Paper
Your paper must be in APA (7th edition) format – (i.e. Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, 1” margins)
Total length of this paper will be 5 pages (*this does not include your title or reference page). Abstract is not required.
Your paper should consist of 4 sections (please label these sections to help the reader know when each section begins and ends).
Section 1: This section of your paper should be 1/2 page in length
Introduction
Define your topic and describe the aspect of your topic that you will focus on in your paper (e.g. how education is impacted if a child has anorexia).
Section 2:This section should be 3 pages in length
Discuss your research findings
E.g. – if you are discussing a child with anorexia, you could look at prevalence rates, current trends, ways in which diagnosis is obtained, impacts anorexia has on the child (i.e. brain development, etc)
Section 3: This section should be 1 page in length
Discuss ways in which parents, teachers, and other professionals can support students who are diagnosed with the mental health topic you have chosen
Identify ways for establishing positive, collaborative relationships between professionals and parents.
Describe strategies that foster open and effective communication between those professionals and the families
Section 4:This section should be1/2 page
Conclusion
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Inclusive versus Special Education
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Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Inclusive versus Special Education
1.0. Introduction
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), commonly termed Autistic Disorder or simply Autism, refers to a developmental disability typically manifesting as poor social interaction skills and a socially misaligned set of behaviors (Luiselli, 2014). This disability is usually developed and diagnosed at an early stage and has a far-reaching impact on the children's learning abilities (Luiselli, 2014). A few years ago, the advocacy for the special education environment or self-contained education setting for autistic children was peaking. However, now the rationale in favor of a mainstream educational environment for such children is widely adopted, and exclusive arrangement is being seen as a deterrent to normal learning and growth (Carrington et al., 2021). This paper aims to analyze the effectiveness of mainstream educational arrangements for children with autism as an alternative to special education.
2.0. Discussion of Research Findings
The number of students with autism diagnosed per year is on the rise. The number of students with autism in the United States reached 0.8 million following a steady uptrend and a significant rise from its level of 0.3 million as found ten years ago. This data is visualized as under:
(Statista, 2021)
A pediatrician can diagnose the disorder as early as the age of 18 months. However, this diagnosis needs to be confirmed by the age of two years by an expert to specify the exact nature of the disorder. There is no medical test to determine if a child has ASD or not. Instead, the diagnosis is performed through a few symptoms common with children with ASD. These symptoms include (Luiselli, 2014):
* Inability or difficulty in making eye contact
* Being indifferent to caretakers and other children
* Getting easily irritated through minor changes in routine
* Lagging behind the age in communication and language learning skills
The debate surrounding special education for students with ASD and otherwise is intensively contentious. Therefore, it is important to investigate each argument's premises and rely on empirical evidence to reach transferable and generalizable inferences. Douglas et al. (2019) 's research attempts to dispel the impression that autistic children need separate self-contained learning arrangements. The authors argue that justifications for such segregation are rooted in the biomedical definition of ASD. The researchers have conducted a storytelling workshop, inviting autistic individuals to share their success stories. Based on the insights gleaned from their stories, the researchers encourage the readers to reconsider their conceptual understanding of autism to make sense beyond the traditional and biomedical bounds. The researchers argue that empirical evidence necessitates concerned stakeholders to abandon their support for an exclusive learning environment for ASD students and promote mainstream learning situations. It is concluded that ASD can be alleviated if dealt with awareness, and students are given opportunities to combat their distinct feelings. The argument also suggests that autism, despite inherent problems, has its antidotes in the external environment shaped in line with students' learning needs.
In a study, Rios et al. (2020) have also contributed to the foundation of criticism against special learning arrangements for students with ASD. They have interviewed mothers of the students with ASD receiving their early education in a separate environment. The mothers reported that they went through severe stress in each instance before, during, and after an individual educational program (IEP) meeting. It shows that the awareness of special education itself is a stressor with an all-encompassing impact on students' life. Therefore, the article indirectly creates a case for considering a mainstream educational environment for the students, as the stress faced by students and parents in an exclusive environment is likely to counteract any benefits of such an arrangement.
Low et al. (2019) have conducted a cross-national investigation into teachers' attitudes towards the emphasis on mainstream education for students with ASD. Like the arguments analyzed above, Low et al. support the global agenda inclining in favor of inclusive education based on the understanding that such an environment can foster proper growth stemming from the camaraderie and a sense of equity attached to mainstream education. However, the researchers present their concerns about implementing this idea as teachers' approach in different developing countries marks the gap between the theory and practice. Unlike in developed countries, teachers in developing countries argue that autistic children are disabled and need to be treated concerning their disability, concluding that only a self-contained and individualized approach can help them make up for their intellectual defi...