I don't think I've ever written a rant topic out of the blue, on a subject that will doubtless seem entirely random to the majority of this post's readers. It's new for me, but I'm also hoping it will be cathartic. For never in my life have I experienced such frustration as I now do; and I'm really not someone who retains frustration like this for as long as I have. So, here goes.
Imagine you are taking a class, listening to the teacher, and jotting down notes, when all of a sudden... the guy next to you starts screaming uncontrollably. A support person arrives, doing his best to ease the person's frustration, but to no avail. In between fits of screaming and crying, there is whining, unintelligible vocalizations, slamming of body parts against the desk or chair in which the person sits, and laying down on the floor while the support person tries to get him to sit back in his chair. And while all that was happening, the teacher kept talking, so, sorry, you just missed several minutes of notes.
Now imagine you're 8 years old, possess a matching intellect and attention span, have sharper hearing, and have just been asked by the teacher to please read a book quietly at your desk for the next fifteen minutes. And right next to you sits a nonverbal child with severe autism. And he's about to have a fit...
Now, usually, what we tend to see in the media are clips and articles and soundbytes about "inspirational" young people who, despite their disabilities, overcome some arbitrary task set before them. Or, if we're studying at the university level, perhaps we are learning about autistic individuals with severe emotional problems, who might act out violently or demonstrate self-injurious behavior. Every now and then we might see an individual who seems entirely catatonic. All are issues encountered by those working with the ASD (Autistism spectrum disorders) population, and all are truthful. However, rarely do they tell the whole story. Because how often have you seen or read media about ASD in the regular classroom?
Ever heard of an 'inclusion model'? An inclusion model in public education is the idea that all children, regardless of their specific handicap, have the right to be in a classroom setting in the school they attend, and that adequate support must be provided. Seems noble, right? After all, why shouldn't a disabled child have a right to the same education as their nondisabled peers?
Unfortunately, no one thought it prudent to really look at inclusion before hailing it as God's gift to special education. I can think of dozens of kids who can and do benefit from inclusion, and for them and their families it's a wonderful model that unquestionably helps otherwise unsocialized children to build that base and develop interpersonal skills that will brighten their futures a thousandfold. But for every dozen of them, there's at least one case where not only does the child not benefit from inclusion in the classroom, but their presence therein actually penalizes their peers and damages their peers' education.
Certain individuals with ASD could be aptly described as communicably vacuous. They don't perceive emotions of their peers; or can't verbalize their frustrations; or can't communicate in a consistently decodable way. Anything sent their way as input is either not processed at all or, perhaps worse, reformatted into something negative or unpredictable as output. Almost like a broken machine. The problem is magnified at younger ages, where individuals even in kindergarten are already irrecoverably behind their peers in social and cognitive function.
Naturally, I'm not suggesting that these individuals are somehow evil. But is the classroom really the right place for them? Please see each case below, all of which briefly document real (anonymized) children in the K-5 range, and judge for yourself. They all attend different schools, and I have worked with each in the past. Remember that children like those below are the kind of kids that are in K-5 classrooms right now, and likely will be for years to come. Perhaps when your children or future children are of school age.
Case A is in first grade. A is severely autistic and nonverbal. A spends most of the day in the classroom, with scheduled sensory breaks and therapies. A attends all specials (art, gym, music, computers) with A's class. A does not seem to have any academic inclination; A only occasionally will correctly identify colors during trials, and this accomplishment is not consistent. A is not unable to recognize even a few letters from the beginning of the alphabet after repeated learning sessions. A cannot write A's name, nor can A trace writing that is generated for A. A can only scribble when given the opportunity to freely draw. When A becomes overstimulated, A enters a phase of loudly singing. This singing could last for a few seconds, or could last longer than an hour. The singing is clearly audible throughout the classroom. If agitated, A may cry loudly. A also has a habit of banging things on the desk, usually A's knuckles (to the point where they are callused and/or bleeding) or sometimes hard objects that will produce a loud noise. When transitioning to specials, A will frequently "go limp" and will have to be physically helped to stand. This may need to be repeated several times before A will walk. A needs constant supervision, as A will run suddenly, will put anything into A's mouth, will try to take food from others, and will behave in unsafe ways. A has no concept of danger and will dash heedlessly onto play structures, streets, etc. A will obsessively "click" A's jaw for an extended period of time. A may also scratch skin uncontrollably. A must always have an adult escort wherever A goes. This adult will not have the ability to assist other children during academics, snack/lunch times, specials, or at recess since A requires constant monitoring.
Case B is in first grade. When on medication, B is surprisingly functional. When B is not on medication, B becomes an entirely different person. This person seems completely dissociated. B will lay on the floor/ground and roll around despite verbal requests to stop. B will vocalize inappropriately including making threats to peers or saying things like "We're all going to die". Because B's medication is administered at home, it is unpredictable whether B will have a good day or a bad day. On bad days, B will require an adult escort to go somewhere safe (such as a sensory room or, if that is unavailable, the main office) where B will await pick-up by a parent.
Case C is in first grade. Though C possesses adequate language skills given C's disability, C is extremely challenging to engage in regular classroom activities. C prefers always to be secluded and read alone. C has difficulty with transitions, even with extensive foreshadowing. C is at greatest risk during recess or field trips, where C will go off on C's own in the blink of an eye. C must always have an adult escort wherever C goes. This adult will not have the ability to assist other children during academics, snack/lunch times, specials, or at recess since C requires constant monitoring.
Case D is in second grade. D is severely autistic and mostly nonverbal. Like Case A, D spends most of D's time with the class with scheduled sensory breaks and therapies. D communicates with a set of short, general-use words. D will occasionally use broken sign language in an attempt to communicate. D, when not allowed to do what D wants, will scream at the top of D's lungs at any given moment. Because D may not take interest in something for very long, D requires constant activities in which to occupy D. D's academic ability is pre-kindergarten at best. D is capable of tracing pre-generated text, but without guides cannot produce legible characters. D's fits of screaming may be accompanied by sinking to the floor, pinching or hitting those around him, or throwing objects in close proximity. D will also hit D's own chest and head. D will generally not take "no" for an answer and will continue to scream until D gets what D wants. At recess, D will throw rocks heedless of nearby peers. D must always have an adult escort wherever D goes. This adult will not have the ability to assist other children during academics, snack/lunch times, specials, or at recess since D requires constant monitoring.
Case E is in second grade. E generally demonstrates flat affect. E enjoys talking about E's own interests, but is rarely interested in others' affairs. E wants to have friends, but E is extremely pursuant of said friends--usually to the point of obsession. E will take "ownership" of a friend to the point where, if that friend wants to play with a different peer, E will act out violently in retaliation against the friend. Additionally, E may turn this aggression toward the friend of E's friend, as E may perceive them as a threat to E's friendship. E will have fits of rage including yelling, hitting, kicking, and biting. E is relatively high functioning in terms of academics, and possesses strong writing skills. E's only personal hobby seems to be video/computer games. All of E's self-narratives and writing content tend to be on this subject. During recesses, if E has not secured a friend for the day, E will walk around by E's self and fantasize verbally and physically. Often E will focus on a specific friend, and follow that friend around even if the friend is not interested in playing with E. Because E gets so violent, it is not encouraged to tell E to leave the friend alone (thought this would be the natural instinct of any sane person). Instead, E is to be followed closely so as to prevent any altercations from beginning in the first place. E must always have an adult escort wherever E goes. This adult will not have the ability to assist other children during academics, snack/lunch times, specials, or at recess since E requires constant monitoring.
Case F is in third grade. F has a generally abrasive personality, and will respond to prompts in abrupt phrases often indicating supposed helplessness ("I don't know how", "I can't do it") or frustration ("Don't keep saying that", "I can't take this anymore"). F's manner of speech is, as aforementioned, abrupt and devoid of "normal" inflection. F will vocalize objections loudly during class, and will resist any form of task set before F. F would prefer to draw than to work. F has trouble with all transitions, despite extensive foreshadowing. F will forcefully push and sometimes hit adults and peers. F will swear loudly ("What the hell are you doing?!" "I hate this @#$%ing place!") during class. This is usually directed at peers. F will also call peers names during group activities, usually because F does not understand the point of the activity, and refuses to listen to an explanation of the activity or the rules of the game. F operates at a low level of academics, but is capable of producing correct answers to simple questions if F can be convinced to perform the task. F is obsessed with Star Wars, and will fantasize verbally about Star Wars during class. F will not respond to verbal warnings to be quiet, obviously to the detriment of his peers. F also has a younger sibling who F will be aggressive toward (both verbally and physically). F supposedly responds to consequences administered by F's parent, but the reprimand generally will not remedy undesired behavior the next day at school.
The amount of resources going into these individual cases means severely less support (or none at all) for other children with special needs--including those students who require only moderate support to succeed. These kids will fail. They will fail because they are not special "enough", and must fend for themselves. The spectrum of special needs is extremely variable--some of these kids merely need their attention redirected, a little help getting started, or just an adult to enthusiastically ask them to read to them, and the adult can ask questions along the way. Most of these situations may require only a few minutes--often less--of the adult's time.
Even the "average" students will fail. They will fail because it's literally impossible for them to concentrate on schoolwork. Because they are expected to read quietly while the student next to them screams, cries, and bangs on their desk. Because they are expected to know that they aren't allowed to criticize the wrongful actions of certain individuals, because they have certain needs. Because they are expected to ignore the ever-increasing behaviors of certain individuals, and if they fall behind, it must be their own fault for not concentrating hard enough, not listening to directions, and not acting their age.
And, even those students who are far ahead--they may very well fail too. They will fail because they don't feel safe at school. Because they, of all people, should know better. You can't be critical of certain students, because if you are, they might hurt you. And if they hurt you, it's your fault.
Is anyone here a parent of a K-5 student? Ask your child if they feel safe in their classroom, or if they feel like they can concentrate. Even better, volunteer for a few hours to see for yourself. Know or have relatives who have children in the K-5 age group? Urge them to volunteer sometime to check things out. It's a terrible thing to say, but complaints from parents are the only way to fix this problem. CC Teachers are bound by inclusion to force these children into the classroom; the regular teachers are forced to tolerate it; the principal is bound by their district to not ever expel children with disabilities; and the districts are bound by uninformed lawmakers who haven't set foot in a classroom since they graduated, who believe special education covers a very specific kind of student and that more money is the solution to the problem of adequate support.
Is there a solution? Yes. Inclusion must be treated on a case-by-case basis. Many ASD children will benefit immeasurably from it. Some children will not, and these same children may diminish the quality of education received by their peers. It is these children who, if their goal is to become competent, functioning adults, must receive constant, one on one, intense therapy. They belong in an environment where they can succeed; an environment where their frustrations won't be exacerbated. That may mean at home; that may mean a facility specifically devoted to and equipped for supporting the needs of ASD individuals. It may mean a separate sensory/therapy facility on a school campus.
But never--ever--is the classroom the right place. Because we must not sacrifice the needs of our children, who have tremendous potential, in order to accommodate the needs of a single individual. And every time these certain individuals are placed in the regular classroom, sacrificing their peers is precisely what we're doing.
