Stephanie Todd, S00143925

EDAC225 Assignment 3: Case Study/ Discussion Paper

3c. Partnerships between families, teachers and the wider community
Developing partnerships among families, teachers and the wider community is very important aspect in
providing children with a disability with the best support possible. Brownell and Walther (2001) explain
parents need to remember their input is very important as they are the true expects of their child. As
children develop they will require different type of support to benefit positively from all situations. As
parents are the primary carer they need to ensure they are providing there child with the best support at
home. Dogg (2005) suggest to best support a child with ASD at home parents need to modify the
environment in order to facilitate communication and social development parents play a major role in
childrens functional skills(p.258). Gilbert played a big role in developing Arnies functional skills, he
also helped in developing his gross motor skills by also playing outside with him. By the family eating
dinner at the table together every night allowed communication and social development for Arnie. When
beginning kindergarten most children with ASD will need speech pathology, Speech Pathology Australia
(2014) is qualified to provide a variety of services to people with communication difficulties. It is
important at this stage develop children speech to allow communication with peers.
There a number of support programs that are available for parents with children with ASD, these
programs can support families when their child enters childcare settings, kindergarten, primary school and
other settings. One support is the SCRET model, Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin and Laurent (2007) explain
SCRET is a modle that works with children with ASD, it provides guidelines to best support these
children and is designed to help families, educators and therapists work cooperatively as a team. Another
program that can support this individual is the TEACCH Autism program, TEACCH (2014) this program
is a community-based service that provides training and research, to improve the quality of life for
individuals with ASD and their families across the lifespan. Both these models should be used to support
individuals with ASD in creating positive partnership within the community. Arnie should have been
exposed to these services to provide him with extra support. Teachers can support children with ASD in
many way these include providing verbal cues, modelling appropriate behaviors and using visual
supports to assist communication and social interaction (Dodd, 2005, p.248). It is very important when
teaching children with ASD for the teacher to use a structured approach. According Neisworth and Wolfe
(2005) children with ASD respond to structured approaches positively, as this approach builds on
strengths and interests allowing the individual to function more independently. When children with ASD
enter primary school the teacher need to be sure to include that child in the classroom and build
partnerships with the parent, as the parent will be able to assist the teacher inclusion for children with
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autism is important because education and socialization for children with autism is important (Harrower
& Dunlap, 2001,p.779). It is extremely valuable for partnership between teachers, the family and other
relevant personnel to be developed to ensure they best support and education will be provided to support
the individual and their disability, to allow the individual to live a falling life, there are a number of
different support groups that will help form these partnerships.
Reference
Brownell, M., & Walther-Thomas, C. (2001). Steven Shore: Understanding the autism spectrum- what
teachers need to know. Intervention in School and Clinic, 36(5), 293-305.
doi: 10.1177/105345120103600506
Dodd, S. (2005). Understanding Autism. (1st ed.). NSW, Australia: Elsevier.
Harrower, J., & Dunlap, G. (2001). Including children with autism in general education classrooms: A
review of effective strategies. Behavior Modification, 25(5), 762-784.
doi:10.1177/0145445501255006
Neisworth, J., & Wolfe, P. (2005). The autism encyclopedia (1st ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H.
Brookes Pub. Co.
Prizant, B., Wetherby, A., Rubin, E., & Laurent, A. (2007). The SCERTS Model. Retrieved from
http://www.scerts.com/
Speech Pathology Australia. (2014). Speech Pathology Australia - About SPA Overview. Retrieved
from http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/about-spa/about-spaoverview
TEACCH. (2014). About University of North Carolina TEACCH Autism Program TEACCH. Retrieved
from http://teacch.com/about-us

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