QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF PEER MENTORSHIP AND AUTISM INCLUSION IN HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION
A Dissertation
Presented to The Faculty of the Education Department Carson-Newman University
In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education By Carla L.Jackson
January 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
Chapter 1– Introduction Background of the Study 4 Research Problem 6 Significance and Purpose of the Study 10 Research Questions 11 Rationale for the Study 12 The Researcher 17
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This is the challenge facing educational professionals. As autism information and statistics continue to rise, so does the need for school programs with specially trained educators that can include and accommodate students with autism diagnoses and allow them to be successful while still providing the same amount of attention to students without an autism diagnosis. Inclusion programs and mainstream curriculums are not new subjects in the professional fields of educational leadership and curriculum development. Despite extensive research on this topic documented over several decades, the number of students with diagnosed cognitive disabilities and additional broad range spectrum disorders participating in special education programs has increased. In the past decade, there has been over a 200% increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism who participate in special needs and developmental service systems within the United States public schools (Autism Speaks, 2015). In 1999, Cognitive Disorder (CD) publications verified that autism is the third most common developmental disorder diagnosed in children yet autism programming and research receives less than 5% of federal health funding compared with other diseases and disorders such as childhood cancer, Down’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis …show more content…
Some working theories report that autism may be caused by neonatal and intrauterine trauma, while other studies suggest that the characteristics and behaviors of autism are the result of an impaired immune system at a very young age that is brought on by certain genetic predispositions and/or the use of vaccinations (Exhorn, 2006). Studies have been conducted since the early 1980s on the correlation of autism diagnoses and umps, measles and rubella (MMR) immunizations. Children receiving vaccinations at an early age and later being diagnosed with autism prompted researchers to collect sample data on the prevalence of children with autism and MMR vaccinations. (Taylor, Miller, Farrington, Petropoulos, Favot-Mayaud, Li, & Waight, 1999). One study conducted by researchers at the University of California analyzed data from the early 1980s and found that despite the increases in autism diagnosis there was no direct correlation between the number of infants getting vaccinated and the higher rate of autism (Gerber & Offitt, 2009). Another 2001 study came to a similar conclusion that no epidemiological evidence to support the claim that immunizations were linked to autism or other pervasive developmental disorder in infancy, early childhood and even later childhood years (Dales, Hammer & Smith,
In 1999 a study was done in the United Kingdom to see if there was a link between the two. In this study, researchers compared children had had and had not gotten the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination. The study identified four hundred and ninety-eight cases of autism including core autism, atypical autism and Asperger syndrome in children born in the United Kingdom since 1979. There was an increase in cases by year of birth with no change after the introduction of the vaccination. There was also no age difference at diagnosis between the cases vaccinated before or after eighteen months of age and children that were never vaccinated. These results showed no temporal association between the onset of autism within one or two years after being vaccinated with MMR and developmental regression was not clustered in the months after vaccination. The data from these results does not support the connection between MMR and autism and if an association was to occur it was so rare it could not be identified. Many studies have been done over this topic but the results prove that it in fact does not cause autism. It is likely that this myth is strongly accepted because the symptoms of autism begin to occur around the same time as the child is to be vaccinated with the MMR
For the purpose of these literature review a search was done using PubMed which is available through the Medical Library of the National Guard Health Services. This research focus is Autism and its management. Using these four key words "Autism" "definition" , "symptoms", and "treatment". As result, nine papers were found and this literature review summarizes them.
Despite all the testing and approval process of vaccines, many people still mistakenly believe that vaccines cause autism, even in light of research that has disproven the notion. This evidences the difficulty of dispelling false statements once someone has accepted a falsehood, especially if it has scientific research backing the results. It also highlights the gullibility of the public at large to believe anything that medical research reports without questioning the findings. Unfortunately, the media attention such examples of junk science receive aids in convincing many of its truthfulness. The hype surrounding the belief that vaccines cause autism began in 1998 when Andrew Wakefield in the UK published an article in the Lancet linking the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR...
Autism is a condition which is characterized by impaired social interaction, impaired social communication and restricted repertoire of interest (DSM 5).
One of the most notorious reasons parents are choosing not to vaccinate their children is the supposed link between vaccines and autism. Glamorous cel...
Informing teachers of the areas that students with autism spectrum disorder struggle in will better help them understand...
I want to write about the need for First responders to have the basic knowledge on how to meet the needs of a child on the autism spectrum. Hopefully using my research questions, I can develop a potential thesis statement.
The number of children that display autistic traits keeps rising and the need for services is at an all-time high. Out of 10,000 children born, 60 to 100 children and families will be affected by autistic spectrum disorder (Gulberg, 2010). Autism is characterized by a lack of connection to other people, even parents, and an avoidance of interpersonal situations (Feldman, 2011). Children with autism also show limited, repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior, interest, and activities. Not one child with autism is the same as the next; each child has their own severity and indicators of autism. A child with intellectual disabilities and a gifted child can both be given the diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum, because of the wide range of severities. Many of these children will not attend special schools, but instead be included in the general education population by inclusion. Inclusion has been found to have a number of benefits for children with autism. In addition, negative perspectives have also come into play when discussing autism and inclusion. Furthermore, parents have the right to make decisions for their child on an individual basis.
In recent years, the correlation between vaccines and autism has become the subject of much debate. On one side, there are the anti-vaccinators, or anti-vaccers. On the other, there’s pretty much everyone else. Despite the fact that the anti-vaccination movement has little base in scientific fact, their campaign to end early infanthood vaccinations rages on. While doctors and scientists try desperately to make parents look at the research studies, vaccination rates continue to fall. But, even in these dark times, there is still hope that scientific fact will prevail and defeat the anti-vaccination fear mongers who have caused many children to fall ill and even die because their parents did not properly vaccinate them. This is one of the most saddening scientific failures of the twenty-first century. A failure to educate the public properly has resulted in child, even infant, fatalities. The anti-vaccination movement was started based on falsified data and continues only because of a lack of knowledge and proper education of the general public.
What is Autism? People are quick to label people as Autistic but very rarely understand what it means though they may nod their head and say "ohh makes sense". Autism - also know as ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder- is a complex developmental disorder affecting primarily ones communication and social interaction skills. Meaning they have difficulties communicating effectively or even at all. They struggle in social setting and don 't typically excel in social games or activities.
positive and negative. Some of these treatments include Early Start Therapy and the Early Start
Autism is an intricate developmental disorder that is characteristically noticed by parents and or diagnosed by parents between the ages of eight-teen months and three years of age. In recent studies, Werner (2001) isolated themes from in-depth interviews conducted with different parents of children with autism. These themes included the following findings: the family’s life revolves around dealing with the child’s autism and unusual behaviors; parents feel losses because they and their children cannot lead a so called normal life; and the family experiences only fleeting moments of actually feeling like a typical family. Autism does not effect a particular type of person it occurs in all social, racial, and ethnic groups.
Vaccines against diphtheria, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps and rubella, and more recent additions of hepatitis B and chicken pox, have given humans powerful immune guards to ward off unwelcome sickness. And thanks to state laws that require vaccinations for kids enrolling in kindergarten, the U.S. presently enjoys the highest immunization rate ever at 77%. Yet bubbling beneath these national numbers is the question about vaccine safety. Driven by claims that vaccinations can be associated with autism, increasing number of parents are raising questions about whether vaccines are in fact harmful to children, instead of helpful (Park, 2008).
One of the most difficult things teachers will face when dealing with Autistic children is their lack of communication skills and inappropriate or nonexistent social skills. In addition to academic instruction children with Autism require instruction in communication techniques and social skills. Kamps et.al. says “A key to accommodating students with autism in public school settings is the provision of social and behavioral programming to develop meaningful participation with nondisabled persons” (p.174).
Most people take the simple things in life for granted. But for others those simple things are great struggles. Things like social skills and staying focused are struggles for people with autism. When you look up the definition of autism the most common thing that pops up is “Difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors” (What is Autism?). But the difficulties for people with autism vary with each type they have. In the five different disorders in ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders), there are many variations of symptoms and who it affects. The people living with autism face hard struggles every day.