educ 518-Literature_Review_Autism.doc-19.docx

Social Impact of Inclusion of Autistic Children in Elementary Schools

Sarah Hamilton

Liberty University

Abstract

This paper is about determining all of the aspects, both positive and negative of social inclusion

for kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the elementary school classroom. This

document is also about ways to improve including children with autism in the general education

setting to help them develop social skills. This paper documents the importance of the early

from an individual with ASD dealing with inclusion and the pressures of socialization in their

world. This paper identifies ways to fix how people with ASD can feel less anxiety within the

classroom setting.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, social inclusion, elementary education, early

interventions

Social Impact of Inclusion of Autistic Children in Elementary Schools

Introduction

Throughout the past few decades, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become more

prominent, understood, and researched. This population has also been introduced into society

further, which includes the classroom. There is much debate on how much the ASD community

With these deficits, they can facilitate programs to better accommodate children with

ASD to help them become more successful socially. This should be the highest priority when it

comes to assisting children with ASD because this is a skill they fall further behind as they

develop through life. "As children with ASD continue to mature, they fall further behind

typically developing peers in skills essential to social functioning, such as theory of mind and

understanding of intentionality (Battagila, A.A., Ford, W.B., McHugh, M.B., & Radley, K.C.,

2014)." There are lots of key themes that are seen throughout all of the articles that will be used

There are several key terms that go into this research. "Autism, or autism spectrum

disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social

skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication (Autism Speaks, 2015)." ASD

is also defined as a "neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication,

socialization, and restricted interests and behaviors (Mason, B.A., Mason, R. A., Rosenbloom,

Inclusion within the ASD program refers to the least restrictive environments. Students are

exposed to the regular education program with little interference from the special education

program. Social inclusion refers to the improving of social interactions and the ability to interact

interacting and observing their peers. These terms are all key to having successful interventions,

and they will give each child with ASD the best chance to be social in normal settings with their

typically functioning peers.

Shared Themes

Through the research of the literature on social inclusion, there are many shared themes

throughout all the articles. One of the themes seen is the need for more interventions within the

educational setting. Almost every article chosen started out by stating that social skills are the

biggest deficits seen in children with ASD. "There are a number of children with ASD who

despite their diagnosis, are socially successful with peers in school settings with little to no

intervention supports. Yet, to date, relatively little is known about this subgroup of children with

ASD (Kasari, et. al, 2017)." Also stated in the a similar article, there are not a ton of studies done

not necessarily have all the important skills socially to interact with their peers. "Autistic

children are reported as 8 to 20 times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than

pupils with no Special Educational Needs (Goodall, C., 2018)." In the same journal review, it

academically does not automatically mean that they are going to thrive in these circumstances.

These scenarios can create social anxiety for the students with ASD, and this can push them

further away from becoming flourishing socially. This can also cause behavioral issues due to

the struggle of knowing how to effectively communicate emotions. "Challenging behavior may

contribute to difficulties with academic skill acquisition, as well as interfere with development of

positive relationships with peers and teachers (Mason, et. al, 2016)." There are some students

that are

very successful in these settings, but there definitely are some apprehension for the ones who are

not ready or cannot function.

From a separate article, it is stated that from one of the studies they used to determine if

students should be included, there are children who decide to stick with the familiar of their

typically functioning peers instead of including their peers with ASD (Bottema-Beutel, K.,

these same educators; specifically, their perspectives on socialization practices to minimize

stigmatization and support the development of self for children with disabilities and their

typically-developing peers (Kayama, M., Haight, W., Ku, M. L., Cho, M., & Lee, H. Y.,

is created for those struggling. This does not necessarily say that all students with ASD will

respond this way, but it is important to take seriously the concerns that not all students will

succeed in these environments.

A positive theme seen across these articles is that teaching the typically functioning peers

how to interact with the atypically functioning children has been successful in creating positive

social connections and friendships. " Intervention programs are now being designed to address

social isolation and lack of peer relationships in children with ASD. In parallel, the role of

typically developing children is being foregrounded as a key factor in promoting the social

connectedness of young children with ASD (Bottema-Beutel, K., DeWitt, M. N., Turiel, E., &

Wolfberg, P. J., 2016)." Their peers being taught how to interact with their atypically functioning

classmates, which can assist in the social acceptance and progression for children with ASD.

how to interact with the children with ASD, specifically in the playground setting.

Multiple studies researched trained adults that modeled appropriate behavior for the

children in the general education program so they could learn and know how to participate with

consisted of information sharing, active coaching on the playground, and systematic support

fading. Paraprofessionals were trained with an hour-long group presentation on the social

challenges of children with autism at school and overview of the Remaking Recess intervention

and then provided daily active coaching on the playground for 2 weeks (Kasari, C., Kretzmann,

M., & Shih, W., 2015)." The results of this trial for the students showed at least double the

participation and interactions than before the study began. This is a great example of how early

interventions can have a huge impact on not only the atypically functioning students but also the

typically functioning children. The adults in the trial were also seen improving their relationships

with the students and having more positive relationship. (Kasari, C., Kretzmann, M., & Shih, W.,

2015) This style of inclusion is the best way to get both groups of children comfortable

interacting, which can improve relationships within the classroom. A similar trial done yielded

similar results. "Results suggest that pullout social skills training may result in effects that are

The last theme seen is some positive early interventions that seem to have success in

showing these students encouraging socialization. Multiple articles stated that when

interventions happened in the early stages and within the early education programs, children with

achievement, depression, and anxiety (Battaglia, et. al, 2014)." These negative effects can take a

toll on a person with ASD, and potential prevention with interventions is significant to further

development and assist in the depletion of behavior concerns. A specific intervention that can

assist the behaviors and help students with ASD succeed is using self-monitoring. "Self

monitoring interventions offer promise for promoting student independence in meeting academic

and behavioral goals while potentially requiring less support from a teacher or paraprofessional

(Mason et. al, 2016)." Even though self monitoring is not directly related to social

improvements, but when the behaviors transform, the children with ASD will be seen as more

acceptable socially. To really make progress socially, the earlier the intervention, the more

likely the child will develop more accepting social capabilities.

reviewed showed that progress has definitely been made to develop strategies for more thriving

social connections for students with autism spectrum disorder. There have been many

accomplishments with using interventions when the students are on the playground. The key to

social regression.

Conclusion

There is a lot of research that still needs to be done to know what the best ways are to

best serve students with ASD. There should be more interventions and trials done specifically in

the classroom setting to better integrate the children with ASD. Since the interventions seem to

be successful on the playground, similarly, interactions could be modeled similarly to

incorporate