Do Autistic Kids Fare Better In Integrated Or Specialized Schools?
June 2, 2014·5:40 PM ET
Heard on All Things Considered
The federal law that governs special education lays out the goals pretty clearly: Students are entitled to an appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.
But some parents of children with autism feel their local public schools arent meeting their kids needs. And with autism diagnoses rising, new schools are emerging specifically for autistic children.
Some parents see these specialized schools as a godsend. For others, they raise a new set of questions.
Carson Ellis son, Hank, is autistic. He spent kindergarten in a special education classroom at his local public school in Portland, Ore. But Ellis says that while school administrators said it was inclusive, she found the special education classroom was quite segregated.
'We went on a field trip, and there were name tags for all the kids, but no name tags for the special ed kids,' Ellis remembers. 'And another time we went to some kind of art studio, and they had art supply packets, but they had forgotten to get enough for the special ed kids. So it was stuff like that.”
Ellis says the teacher herself was very kind and caring, but that given the schools overall attitude and resources, Hank wasnt really a part of things. And when it came to an appropriate curriculum? Ellis says that at the age of 5, her son was reading at an eighth-grade level.
'He got his talented and gifted designation, and I was like, OK! Sign me up for the awesome advanced reading group, ' Ellis says. 'And they were like, That doesnt exist. '
More On Autism
Ellis ended up feeling like there were a lot of missed opportunities, and her son was 'really unhappy,' she says. 'There was a point where I felt like making him feel like a worthwhile kid trumped everything else.”
Creating A Safe一Yet Challenging一Space For Autistic Kids
Now, Hank attends Victory Academy, just south of Portland. In some ways, it seems like a typical private school一one with small classrooms where kids study evehing from math to music.
But at Victory, all of the students are on the autism spectrum.
Tricia Hasbrook founded Victory Academy after struggling to find a good fit for her own autistic son. She says teaching autistic students is about breaking down tasks, providing positive reinforcement and following specific instructional strategies.
'The world around them might feel very chaotic,' Hasbrook says. 'So we teach them sensory regulation skills and social cognition, so that they can have purposeful relationships throughout their life.”
Hasbrook acknowledges that a lot of these kids have nontypical behaviors or ways of interacting with the world that arent going to change. But the teachers meet the kids where they are and give them the tools to pursue what they want out of life.
'They get an environment that they feel is safe一sometimes to act out, or to be their very best selves,and shine here,”Hasbrook says,”I think that a separate school for children with autism is an amazing thing.”
Segregated Schools Lead To Segregated Societies
I would never ask families to make a political statement with their childrenlsquo;s future. I spent time in public schools where I was bullied and not challenged and under estimated.I know we have a really serious problem.
Ari Neeman, autism advocate
Ari Neeman, who heads the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, disagrees. 'Segregated schools lead to segregated societies,”says Neeman, who is also a member of the National Council on Disability. 'Inclusive schools give us the opportunity for inclusive societies.”
Neeman says that many segregated schools and classrooms一like the ones he attended一have what he calls a culture of low expectations. But even ones that dont can still create hurdles, he says.
'If we have an environment in which autistic people are over there, in that other classroom, in that other environment, it really sends a very clear message that we are not a part of your society,' he says.
But Neeman acknowledges that parents often face a tough choice between the world they want to create and the world their kids may be living in.
'I would never ask families to make a political statement with their childrens future,' Neeman says. 'I spent time in public schools where I was bullied and not challenged and underestimated. I know we have a really serious problem.”
Another Answer: Inclusive Education
Wayne Sailor, director of the SWIFT (Schoolwide Integrated Framework for Transformation) Center, funded by the Department of Education, is working on a new model of inclusive education一one where special education and general education teachers work together as a team.
In a fully integrated school, Sailor says, kids with autism may have a very complex schedule to help in meeting their specific needs. And all students get different tiers of assistance一whether its a bit of personal attention, or engaging with the whole class or helping the student next to them.
'The important point is kids move fluidly back and forth through the tiers as needed,' Sailor says. That sort of fluid inclusion model undeniably takes coordination一but not necessarily more resources, Swift says. And so far, the outcomes look pretty positive for all students.
But for parents like Carson Ellis, who cant find a truly inclusive approach nearby, autism一only schools can feel more accepting. Ellis says Hank likes having classmates who are a lot like him. But thats not why the school works, she says.
'Theres a really kind of special degree of empathy and patience and love一I will even say it, love一and innovation,”she says.
For a school like Victory Academy, innovation, empathy and love are part of the job. And advocates of inclusive education hop
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自闭症儿童学校是否对孤独症儿童更有价值？
2014年6月2日下午5：40
听闻录记
联邦特殊教育法明确规定：学生有权在最少的限制条件下选择合适的公共教育。
但是一些自闭症儿童的家长认为，当地的公立学校不能满足孩子的需求。随着孤独症患者的确诊数增加，出现了专门为自闭症儿童开设的新学校。
一些家长将这些专门的学校看作一大福音，也有人提出了一系列新问题。
卡森埃利斯的儿子汉克，是自闭症。他的特殊课堂教育在俄勒冈州波特兰当地的公立幼儿园度过，但埃利斯表示，虽然学校行政人员说这样的教育方式具有包容性，但是她发现特殊教育教室与正常教室相隔甚远。
“我们进行了一次实地考察，所有的孩子都有名称标签，但特别的孩子没有姓名标签，”埃利斯回忆道。 “而另一次，我们去一些艺术教室，他们制作了一些包装好的艺术用品，但他们并没有准备足够的用品给特别的孩子。所以这是类似的情况。”
埃利斯说，老师本人对学生亲切关怀，但是，鉴于学校的整体态度和资源，汉克是不是真的作为学校教育的一部分。当他在一个合适的课程中？埃利斯说，在5岁的时候，她的儿子在八年级的水平跟着学习。
“他得到了lsquo;才华和天赋rsquo;称号，我当时想，lsquo;好吧！我要注册为先进优秀阅读小组rsquo;，“埃利斯说。 “这也一样，lsquo;不存在rsquo;。 ”
更多关于自闭症
埃利斯始终感觉自己错失了很多机会，而她的儿子是“真的不开心，”她说。 “我觉得让他觉得自己是一个有价值的孩子胜过一切。”
为自闭症儿童创造一个安全但具有挑战性的空间
现在，汉克加入了南部波特兰的胜利学院。在某些方面，这似乎是一个典型的私立学校——孩子们在小教室里学习从数学到音乐的一切课程。
但是在胜利学院，所有的学生都是自闭症患者。
特里西亚.汉斯波克为了寻找一个适合自己自闭症儿子的合适环境而创办了胜利学院。她说，教育自闭症学生的下一个任务就是积极的改进和下述策略。
“他们可能会对周围的世界感到混乱，”汉斯波克说。“因此我们教给他们自控能力和社会认知能力，使他们能够在整个生活环境中生活”
汉斯波克承认，很多这样的孩子都有非典型行为，或者对外界变化没有反应。但是教师明白怎么教导他们，给孩子们工具，让他们去追求自己想要的生活。
“在这里的环境中，他们得到了自认为的安全感，会去付诸行动表现自我，”汉斯波克说，“我认为，为自闭症儿童单独创立学校是一个了不起的事情。”
“隔离的学校导致集体远离社会”
我从来不在家庭作业中询问家长的政治态度与孩子们的未来。我在公立学校被人欺负，被低估，也没有花时间去挑战他们。我知道我们有个严重的问题。
阿里拉尼曼，孤独症宣传者
自闭症宣传网络的阿里拉尼曼不同意独立的自闭症学校。“隔离的学校导致集体远离社会，”另一位全国残疾人理事会的成员拉曼尼说，“包容性的学校个哦我们机会去创造包容性的社会。”
拉曼尼说，很多学校和教室是隔离的——就像他待过的学校一样，这些学校对学生的文化水平期望很低，即使如此也不应该创造障碍。
“如果我们有一些自闭症患者在那种环境中学习，在其他的课堂上，环境中，会发出一个非常明确的信息，我们是不是你的社会的一部分，”他说。
但是拉尼曼承认，父母经常面对他们想创造的世界和他们的孩子可能生活的世界之间的一个艰难的选择。
另一个答案：“融合教育”
维恩萨勒尔，SWIFT中心主任（全校综合框架转型），在教育部的资助的融合教育新模式下工作：特殊教育与普通教育教师作为一个团队一起工作。
在一个完全融合的学校，萨勒尔说，孩子患有自闭症可能要为满足他们的特定需求提供帮助，这是一个复杂的时间安排。和所有的学生一样获得，个人的重视，全班参与或帮助旁边的学生向他们提供援助，这样的不同发展层次。
“最重要的一点是孩子们在需要的层次中流畅地不断进步，” 萨勒尔说。那种变化模型认十分协调，但不一定需要更多的资源，斯威夫特说。到目前为止，结果看起来对所有学生相当良好。
但父母喜欢卡森埃利斯的方式，谁也不能就近找到一个真正包容性的方式，孤独症孩子只有学校能感受到更容易接受。埃利斯说，有很多学生喜欢汉克，但这不是学校的刻意为之。
“爱，耐心与同情有种特殊程度上的统一，我甚至可以说，新的爱，”她说。
对于像胜利学院一所学校，创新，同情和爱是工作的一部分。而融合教育主张，在一个教室里有各种的孩子一起学习，对于自闭症和非自闭症的所有人，创新，同情和爱都是日常生活的一部分。
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