Inclusive education for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Focus on inclusive education has increased significantly in recent Australian educational

policy due to the increasing diversity of the Australian classroom with students from different

backgrounds, including cultural, social and socioeconomic, and different abilities, sharing a single

classroom. Lipsky & Gartner (cited in Grima-Farrell, Bain & McDonagh, 2011) define inclusive

education as representing “a whole-school concern and works to align special education with

general education in a manner that most effectively and efficiently imparts quality education to all

students” (p. 118). This essentially calls on the necessity for differentiated teaching and learning

pedagogies which allow all students to succeed regardless of background and/or ability. This essay

will discuss the inclusion of students with disabilities, especially Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as

well as the changing views about inclusion regarding special needs in the Australian classroom.

These will be discussed in relation to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992, and the Disability

Standards for Education 2005 (Department of Education and Training, 2005).

The push for recognition of people with a disability has been present for several decades,

dating back to the Civil Rights Movement. Hodgson (2012) mentions that the first acknowledgement

of the human right to education was by the United Nations in 1966 in the International Covenant on

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 13 of the covenant recites that ‘[t]he States Parties to

the present Covenant recognize [sic] the right of everyone to education’. While the use of the term

‘everyone’ implied reference to students with and without disabilities, the United Nations was

dissatisfied with the broad statements and added to the Declaration on the Rights of Mentally

Retarded Persons 1971 that ‘[t]he mentally retarded person has the right to such education, training,

rehabilitation and guidance as will enable him to develop his ability and maximum potential’.

However, the challenge lied in achieving assimilation for students with a disability, into a

mainstream educational setting, hindering their success in achieving learning outcomes (Loreman,

Deppeler & Harvey, 2011). This saw the introduction of schools exclusively offering special education
that accommodate individualised programs for students with disabilities. This however, was not

heavily accepted by many as the segregation of students with disabilities from the mainstream

classroom, caused a view of inequality and exclusion (Poed & Elkins, 2012). Many individuals and

organisations therefore advocated for Inclusive education due to its benefits to both individuals with

and without disabilities and to society as a whole (Wilkinson and Pickett, cited in Anderson & Boyle,

2015). A study undertaken by Allan (cited in Anderson & Boyle, 2015) identifies students’ preference

for inclusive education as they saw “‘themselves as needing exposure to the diversity they are

expected to live with as adults’” (p. 6), as well as assisting with increased tolerance, understanding

and value of difference in children and teachers alike (Boyle et al, cited in Anderson & Boyle, 2015).

Several policies and legislations are in place which protect the rights of people with special

needs in the Australian education setting. These include and are standardised by the Disability

Discrimination Act 1992. The Act states that “The Australian Government supports the right of

children with disability to have the same educational opportunities as other children” (p. 2). The

Disability Standards for Education 2005 were designed to assist the implementation of Inclusive

education, paying close attention to enrolment, participation and curriculum development and

delivery. The Standards ‘set out a process to be followed, to ensure that students with a disability

are provided with opportunities to realise their potential through participating in education and

training on the same basis as other students’ (p. iii). The Department of Education and Training

(2015) outlines that students with disabilities require “reasonable adjustment” which assists them to

integrate into a mainstream classroom. An adjustment is classified as “reasonable” when it allows

people with a disability to achieve outcomes without disadvantaging or majorly affecting finances

and/or other staff at the school.

Statistics show that in 2013, one in ten boys and one in sixteen girls attending school in

Australia, had a disability (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). The Australian Institute of Health

and Welfare (2017) classified some of these disabilities as Autism, Dyslexia and Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). ASD combines a group of developmental disorders, with autism

being the most common of the disorders. “Autism is characterized [sic] by impaired social

interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or

severely limited activities and interests” (Anon, 2009). ‘Spectrum’ implies that the disorder presents

differing severity amongst those affected by it. Those affected by the lowest of the three severities,

require little support, and those with the highest severity require the highest-level of support

(Parents Connect, 2013). This contributes to the challenge of assimilating students with disabilities

into mainstream schooling environments, placing teachers and management in a position of

responsibility regarding each student’s education. Differentiation of teaching and learning

pedagogies is made necessary in order to ensure fair opportunity for all students in a classroom

regardless of presence of disability, while ensuring that no student is excluded.

The inclusion of students with a disability in mainstream education must be met with

respect and value of their social, emotional and intellectual needs (van Kraayenoord, 2007).

Loreman and Deppeler (cited in Loreman, 2007) explain ‘Inclusive education’ as providing students

with a disability with essentially an identical learning experience as those without a disability with

necessary modifications made to allow them to participate to their highest potential. In order for

this to be made possible, Individual Education Plans are designed to assist teachers assist students

with meeting goals and objectives. The aim of Individual Education Plans is to outline support plans

and services which are to be made available to and to set goals for students with disabilities to (a)

‘enable the child to be involved in progress in the general curriculum’ and (b) ‘meet the child’s other

educational needs that result from his or her disability’ (Kurth and Mastergeorge, 2010).

Notwithstanding the presence of Individual Education Plans, teachers continue to struggle with

pedagogies to provide access for students with disabilities like autism, to the general education

curriculum (Clayton, Burdge, Denham, Klienert and Keiarns, cited in Kurth and Mastergeorge, 2010).
 Differentiation Considerations for Students with ASD released by the Department of

Education, Training and Employment provide examples of adjustment and strategies to help

promote inclusivity in the classroom. The document provides strategies for the factors of content

(what the students will learn and how they will access the learning), process (how the teaching and

learning is sequenced), product (assessment and monitoring) and the learning environment. Relative

to the Business and Commerce curriculum area, many of the strategies can be easily utilised. Some

of these include “Provide supports for learning and play such as props, hands on materials,

adjustments to the rules or games, repetitive phrases or sequences to use, and modelled responses

(scripts)” and “Students use mime, demonstration or role-play to show understanding” (Department

of Education, Training and Employment, 2016). These will be considered reasonable adjustments for

ASD learners as hands-on activities and demonstrations have the potential to provide real-life insight

into the content and/or the skills being taught, also satisfying the Quality Teaching Model element of

‘Connectedness’ (Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate, 2003). The utilisation of such

strategies allow ASD learners to integrate into the mainstream classroom without requiring major

curriculum change.

Research by Carrington (cited in van Kraayenoord, 2007) demonstrated the impact of

teachers’ and staff’s attitudes and commitment to change in the creation of a more inclusive school

culture. Gavalda and Qinyi (2012) outline ‘attitudes, training and support’ as important factors

relative to teachers, in improving the teaching process of children with ASD. Gavalda and Qinyi

(2012) go on to promote the necessity for professional learning by all staff in the school

environment, not only teachers (ie. administrators, receptionists, food service workers, etc).

Osborne and Reed (cited in Gavalda & Qinyi, 2012) state that “good staff training promoted the

pupils’ social behaviors [sic] and their sense of school belonging” (p. 4074). Gavalda and Qinyi (2012)

believe that teachers’ attitudes have significant influence on the expectations of their student and

this will affect the self-image and academic performance of students. There is also a general belief

that in an environment where teachers exude enthusiasm, students perform better (Natof &
Romanczyk, cited in Gavalda & Qinyi, 2012). Boutot (cited in Gavalda & Qinyi, 2012) state that where

classroom teachers and parents engage in regular communication and are on the same page,

students with ASD will feel more a part of the mainstream education classroom. Gavalda and Qinyi

(2012) continue to express the benefits of collaboration between stakeholders on the success of

inclusive education and the achievement of students with ASD. Stakeholders include children,

families, teachers, and health professionals.

Loreman (2007) introduces the Seven pillars of support for inclusive education which work

together to support effective inclusive education. Each of the pillars represents main themes

common in present literature – these are ‘positive attitudes’, ‘policy and leadership’, ‘school and

classroom processes’, ‘curriculum and pedagogy’, ‘the curriculum’, ‘meaningful reflection’, and

‘training and resources’. These pillars heavily reflect the role of schools and educational governance

on the implementation and improvement of Inclusive education by promoting professional learning

for educators and encouraging involvement from third and external parties. As mentioned prior,

involvement from other stakeholders including parents and community organisations and focusing

specifically on conditions like autism present significant support and resources to schools and

families and better enable the practice of inclusion (Loreman, 2007). The pillars also contribute to

satisfaction of several standards from the Australian professional Standards for Teachers (Australian

Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2011) including Standard 1. ‘Know students and how

they learn’, Standard 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments’ and

Standard 7. ‘Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community’.

Considering the ever expanding variety of abilities in the present day Australian classroom, it

is necessary for teachers to possess the appropriate training and knowledge to best provide inclusive

education. Inclusive education requires teachers to maintain organisation, creativity, flexibility and

willingness to continue the development of their own professional skills, all the while ensuring that

learning outcomes are met for all students, able or not.

 As the number of students with disabilities entering mainstream classrooms continues to

rise, the necessity for inclusive education does also. With the right to education for all people

recognised decades ago, the discourse has increasingly pushed for the removal of barriers for people

with disabilities and recognising them as equals in the mainstream classroom. Legislation such as the

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Standards for Education 2005 protect the rights of

people with disabilities in the education setting by eradicating discrimination against their disability,

and providing them the same opportunities as everyone else. In order for inclusive education to

continue to improve and prove successful, teachers and educators of the mainstream classroom

deserve to be armed with the appropriate knowledge and skills to assist students with disabilities to

achieve educational and other outcomes. A positive attitude form all stakeholders involved in the

concept of inclusive education, contributes significantly to successful inclusive education.

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