Learning Strategies For Children With Autism - 1610 Words

Mainstreaming Children with Autism is Not Effective Two four year olds are playing in the block corner of a preschool classroom. One child is lining up his blocks in a row. The second child picks up a block and places it next to the first child’s row of blocks. The first child starts screaming, hits the other child with a block, lies down over all the blocks, and kicks and screams out of control. What is the best strategy to help this child and still maintain fairness and order for all the children in the room? Although mainstreaming children with autism into the classroom has good intentions, it is not effective in producing positive outcomes for continued success. Finding teachers that can implement effective learning strategies†¦show more content†¦Teachers will have to be skilled in dealing with social issues as well behavior problems that can be associated with this disorder. The use of instructive technology will be required to address the academic and/or communication needs; however, teachers are usually given only a minimal training in this area in their education programs (Spencer and Simpson). Teachers who are not trained properly to work with a student with ASD will end up frustrated and burned out. The continuity and effectiveness of treatments and services are difficult to maintain at a high level as the child with ASD transitions through school. According to Kelly Farley, a teacher in the public school system, â€Å"The school district’s experience has revealed that, by sixth grade, the gaps are too large in both math and language arts resulting in students with autism being placed in the special education classrooms for those classes.† Parents and therapists, desperate for a dramatic breakthrough in education or treatment for this disorder, will try new approaches and speculative theories which are not backed by experience or proven to work. The treatments that are available have pros and cons to consider as well as the adult outcomes. Because no single treatment is useful for all children with ASD, compounded with the variable symptoms of each child, program strategies need to be designed for each individual child. The symptoms can change without notice. â€Å"Unfortunately,