To include or not to include...

Today, I subbed for a SEA (Special Education Assistant) in an elemetary school. My job was to get two severly autistic boys (nonverbal) to class, and then to work with another severly autistic boy for the day. All three of these boys were in regular ed classes with a few breaks to let them have a few minutes to have a "break" from the classroom environment? So the question is...is inclusion the best thing for these boys or not?

So first of all what is autism... Autism can range from very mild ( can perform almost at normal standards in all areas) to very severe (does not talk, does not appear to notice you or care.) I guess the best way I see autism is that the individual is almost in their own world. They do not necessarily notice you, or what is going on around them. They may have obsessive behaviors. The boy I dealt with today was obsessed with having his shoes off. I think I must have tied them close to 25 times. Another boy I had was obsessed with picking at things. It could be his face or his notebook. Below are listed some characteristics an autistic child may have. Mildly autistic children may only exhibit a few while sever may exhibit many.

does not respond to his/her name.
cannot explain what he/she wants.
language skills are slow to develop or speech is delayed.
doesn't follow directions.
at times, the child seems to be deaf.
seems to hear sometimes, but not other times.
doesn't point or wave "bye-bye."
doesn't understand the concept of pointing; will look at the hand pointing rather than the object being pointed at.
used to say a few words or babble, but now he/she doesn't.
throws intense or violent tantrums.
has odd movement patterns.
likes to spin around in a circle.
is overly active, uncooperative, or resistant.
doesn't know how to play with toys.
doesn't smile when smiled at.
has poor eye contact.
gets "stuck" doing the same things over and over and can't move on to other things.
seems to prefer to play alone.
gets things for him/herself only.
is very independent for his/her age.
does things "early" compared to other children.
seems to be in his/her "own world."
seems to tune people out.
is not interested in other children.
dislikes playing pretend.
walks on his/her toes.
shows unusual attachments to toys, objects, or schedules (i.e., always holding a string or having to put socks on before pants).
spends a lot of time stacking objects, lining things up or putting things in a certain order.
unconcerned about - or completely oblivious to - dangers around him/her (i.e., standing in the middle of the street without worrying about getting hit by a car).

Onto my thoughts of inclusion. So I spent the day with Gene (this is not his real name.) Gene spent most of the day with his class of regular ed first graders. Gene does not speak and most of the time I do not think he hears what is said. At times he may begin yelling. Other times he may get out of his seat and go where ever and do what ever. He may try to run out of the classroom or the school. He may decide to lay on the floor. There is little that at teacher can control.

While his classmates are studying stars and pasting names to the constellations, I am struggling to prevent Gene from eating the glue and picking his nose and leaving his seat and trying to keep him quiet (the teacher is reading a book out loud.) And yes, Gene is also taking off his shoes. Now my question is why is he in this classroom.

Did I also mention that I have to take Gene for breaks in a room that has a giant swing. This is his chance to get away from the structure of the classroom.

My feelings are that Gene would do better in a one-on-one environment where the teacher, me, could work with him individually so he can learn things like tying his shoe (so I don't have to.) I also discovered in my one day with Gene that he was food motivated. I bet Gene might be a bit more motivated to keep his shoes on if I gave him a reward for not taking them off. My other thoughts include the fact that the rest of the class is being disturbed by Gene's behavior. Their learning suffers with him the classroom. It is easier for them to get offtrack when you have a student dashing for the door or sprawling on the floor.

In a utopic world inclusion for all would be idea. However, in a utopic world, Gene would not have autism. I do like inclusion. But special needs students should demonstrate the ability to be in a regularly strucutred classroom before they are put in it. They need to be able to sit in their seat. They need to be able to pay attention. They need to actually be able to get something out of the classroom.

I hope that at some point Gene will be pulled out of the regular classroom and given the special atmosphere and attention that he needs. Right now this is the environment he needs to grow.