Research suggests that the integration and inclusion of students with special educational needs can be beneficial to not only the student, but also to the parents, teachers and peers of the student (Stainback, Stainback & Jackson, 1992). It is also suggested that integration and inclusion is also beneficial to students in areas of learning other than academic, including that of emotional and social development. Wagner is in support of inclusive education, but believes that “Placement in regular education alone does not ensure success.” (Wagner, 1996). It is important to understand the individual needs of children included in mainstream education, as well as their strengths and weaknesses (Harrison, 1998). Wagner also advises the use of teacher aids, saying that “At least partial support of an aide or teacher is usually necessary for optimal academic and social progress.” (Wagner, 1999). Wagner designed an ‘Inclusion Model’, as seen in the following diagram: Powell says that it is important to understand how children with ASD learn, before their inclusion into the mainstream. He states, “Autistic learning is of a disconnected kind and therefore pupils with autism need to be shown what connections are as well as what the specific connections are within the particular learning experience with which they are engaged.” (Powell, 2000) He explains that using visual cues will help students with autism make these specific connections. Clearly, in order to put Powell’s suggestions in use in a mainstream school, the provision of resources and sufficient training would be necessary. Powell also states that “There is a need to address the fundamental issue of how the thinking of these children can be made more effective, also a... ... middle of paper ... ....C., Pakir, A., Tong, C. K., eds. Imagining Singapore. Singapore: Times Academic Press Platt, J. & Weber, H. (1980). English in Singapore and Malaysia: Status, Features, Functions. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press Speak Good English Movement website [online] (URL http://www.goodenglish.org.sg/ ) (Accessed 25 July 2013) The Coxford Singlish Dictionary [online] (URL http://www.talkingcock.com/html/lexec.php) (Accessed 25 July 2013) Toh, P. C. S. (2011). Eh, Goondu! Singapore: Marshal Cavendish Turnbull, C. M. M. (1989). A History of Singapore, 1819-1988. Singapore: Oxford University Press Wee, L. (2005). Intra-Language Discrimination and Linguistic Human Rights: The Case of Singlish, Applied Linguistics (26)1, pp 48-69 Wee, L. (2010). ‘Burdens’ and ‘handicaps’ in Singapore’s language policy: on the limits of language management, Language Policy (9), 97-114
John Robison the author of “Call Me Different, Not Difficult,” has autism and lived most of his life with his condition undiagnosed. In the article Robison shares his personal experiences as well as his sons to convey the struggles students with autism face. Robinson enlightens the reader that not all teachers are capable of teaching students with autism. One must be understanding in order to have patience to accept the difference students with autism have.
Special education is evolving, evolving in form and substance. Education of the special needs population in the United States lacks uniformity of purpose and deed. In many school districts within the United States, special education creates a financial burden that subjugates the traditional programs (Higbee, Katz, & Shultz, 2010). The lack of consistency to approach and positive results has created academic chaos for methods and strategies in working with the special needs population. The difficulty in educating special needs children to develop their academic and social skills has created many strategies for supposed benefit, and in fairness, some work for some children. Too many instances exist where not all children benefit (p. 8). The problem is developing a strategy and curriculum that provides for the needs of all children whether they are involved in an inclusive, mainstreaming, or self-contained classroom. This is particularly significant with a particular segment of the special needs population, Asperger’s autism. Asperger’s autism is a controversial diagnosis, a diagnosis that creates a schism of psychiatric thought. Some psychiatrists classify this as a pervasive developmental disorder, while other psychiatrists see this as a form of personality disorder that has many traits associated with schizophrenia (Odom, Buysee, & Soukakou, 2011). The Asperger’s child lacks emotional development normally associated with their age group. An example that illustrates the emotional development issue concerns age appropriate demonstrations of concern or awareness in their environment. Many of the Asperger’s children are not able to tell whether someone is making fun of them and will join in making fun of themselves as unsuspecting ...
Children with autism have multiple characteristic impairments in their social interaction skills. This results from the lack of “Theory of Mind” in autistic individuals. Autistic children have difficulty interpreting what another person may be thinking or feeling. Social impairments may cause the child to act inappropriately in social interactions and prevent the children from truly taking part in interactions. The children have difficulty recognizing social cues and responding to cues. Autistic children have a hard time forming relationships as a result of these impairments. Social stories, Applied Behavior Analysis, and Pivotal Response Training are three therapy techniques that help children with autism learn appropriate social behavior. Social stories allow the children to practice the situation in a lower stress environment. Applied Behavior Analysis utilizes positive reinforce to teach desired skills. Pivotal Response Training allows the child to learn social skills while in a natural play environment. Learning social skills through these techniques enable the children to have more meaningful relationships and engage more in their community.
Crawford, James. “A nation divided by one language.” Guardian.co.uk. 8 Mar 2001. Web. 11 October 2014
Snell, M. E. (2003). Autism, Education of Individuals with. In J. W. Guthrie (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Education (2nd ed., Vol. 1, pp. 161-162). New York: Macmillan Reference USA.
In other classes, I have learned about people learning by different senses, such as visual learners, auditory learners and the “hands-on” learners but the way Temple Grandin describes the way those with autism learn is almost unimagi...
...l awareness to the ability to process language and sensory experiences and integrate with ones own environment. Until research on autism and other developmental disabilities yields more information about how autism affects neurological function, children and adults who are affected will not be served to the fullest extent of our capabilities as providers of equal education and health care to all. It is only with more information about the neurological differences in the autistic brain that we will fully understand the best way to teach persons with autism so that they might participate to their fullest potential within their community. It is my personal belief that great progress will be made during my own lifetime and that a new level of outcome will be the normal expectation for parents when their child receives this shattering diagnosis during the next generation.
...the fast growing body of research should encourage clinicians and educators to consider PECS for similar children (e.g. children with ASD with some speech but limited use of this” (Travis & Geiger, 2010).
Inclusion of all students in classrooms has been an ongoing issue for the past twenty-five years (Noll, 2013). The controversy is should special education students be placed in an inclusion setting or should they be placed in a special education classroom? If the answer is yes to all special education students being placed in inclusion, then how should the inclusion model look? Every students is to receive a free an appropriate education. According to the Individual Education Act (IDEA), all students should be placed in the Least Restrictive Learning Environment (Noll, 2013).
The idea of inclusion within a classroom tends to breed controversy from many people. Currently there is no clear consensus on a definition of inclusion (Heward, 2006). There are many different views on how students with disabilities should be handled. Those views ranged from students being fully included, partially included, or not included at all in mainstream schooling. Different descriptions of inclusion tend to reflect the person's own opinions towards it. People who feel students should not be included in the classroom focus on the negative characteristics of inclusion, such as the challenges of developing plans for students as well as the hard work it requires to incorporate those plans. However, studies show that full inclusion has many benefits to the students, for both students with disabilities as well as students without them. Inclusion has shown to improve the student's social skills, encourage communication, inspire laws and regulations, and improve the overall schooling experience (Gargiulo, 2012). Although it will take longer then some would like or have the patience for, full inclusion can be done in the classroom, with its benefits outweighing the hard work that it requires.
Dempsey, I. & Foreman, P. ( 2001). A Review of Educational Approaches for Individuals with Autism. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 48 (1), 105-116.
Inclusion has become increasingly important in education in recent years, with the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act being passed in 2004 to ensure equality in our system. In summary, inclusion is the idea of there being no child...
1. In 1810, Sir Stamford Raffles founded the island of Singapore and later claimed it in an attempt to create a trading post for the British. This trading post was located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, which was important for trade from East Asia and India. In the early 19th century, Malays, Chinese, and Indians came to Singapore to begin trade. The language spoken by these ethnicities affected one another and resulted in a choppy, sing-song version of the Queen’s English with heavy accents from the Hokkien, Malay, Cantonese, Tamil, and more.
To be truly inclusive teachers, we need to first know the student and identify the real reasons for any individual to be classified as having a learning disability.
Before developing an opinion on the matter of inclusion, one must first fully comprehend what a learning disorder is. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities (2009), a Learning Disorders (LD) is a “specific neurological disorders that affect the brain's ability to store, process or communicate information”. To understand this, Kemp, Segal & Cutter (2010) used the example of a landline telephone. If the phone has faulty wiring, one has trouble communicating with someone they are trying to reach. If there is faulty wiring in the brain, the normal lines of communication are disrupted therefore making it difficult to process information. LDs vary in severity in each individual situation and effect everyone differently. Although LDs are often connected with other disabilities, it’s important to not get LDs confused with other disorders, like autism and down syndrome. Just because a child has a learning disability, one can not assume...