Although this is not a general philosophy of education, it has bit more focus and is near and dear to me....
I BELIEVE that autistic children who attend public school should be paired with instructional aides (if it is deemed necessary for them to have such services) who are either licensed Special Education teachers, or are people who receive intense training in the autism spectrum, or are professionals who have some kind of substantial experience in the field.
From my experience, autistic students spend 95% of the school day with an aide. It is the aide who is at recess, the aide who helps them organize their desks and lockers, and the aide who takes them out of the classroom to calm down after an emotional “meltdown.”
The instructional aides take them for the physical therapy sessions required by the IEPs and to have a lesson with the speech and language pathologists. The aides run out of the building chasing the autistic students who respond frantically to the sound of the fire drill alarm.
The aides are forced to respond to the other students who say,
“there are already too many people playing this game, sorry,” and
“uh…no thanks, I’ll work by myself today,” and
“why does he keep touching me?” and
“why won’t he look at my eyes?” and
“I can’t concentrate with him making those noises!” and
“What are all those weird drawings in his notebook? They look like video games,” and
“What is that thing he does with his neck?” and
“STOP IT!!!”
Not to mention the fact that the aides also go to class with these students, with the intention to provide support with all activities and assignments provided by the teacher. Last year there was an incredible boy in my fifth grade class who was classified on the autism spectrum. Being on the spectrum means that there is a wide variety of traits and behaviors that students may or may not exhibit. There are no such things as “cookie cutter” Autistic kids, and there certainly is not a handbook on working the same way with every student on the spectrum.
My student, “S” was provided with an instructional aide who was very kind and enthusiastic. She graduated the previous May with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Although she and I were provided with much support from the CST and the Behavioral Consultant, it was up to us to make decisions to help this student throughout the day.
The structure of my school has students switching classes for math, reading, and social studies. In addition, S went to the Resource Room for Language Arts. Obviously, I didn’t go with him to all of these classes, so it was up to the aide to make S’s day consistent and smooth. She was faced with thoughts such as these every day:
Should I stand in the back of the room or sit behind him?
Is he disrupting his classmates? Should I take him out?
He won’t listen to me. Do I have to call the principal to take him out?
He keeps talking asking me why he’s like this. He says that the “stupid stupid autism” is making him do these things.
He won’t stop running.
Should I keep on him or let it rest?
I’m so frustrated.
I just want to go talk to the other kids. I need a break from him.
Among many others.
I attended a one-day workshop on Autism Spectrum Disorders. This aide, had zero training on Autism, or more specifically on S’s past. I think that my school district was a disservice to him by providing him an aide who was not prepared for him. She was also unprepared for how to interact with the other students. Without having prior experience or a teaching degree, it seemed that she lacked some Educator 101 things to know. Without having a teaching degree or prior experience, she made many decisions out of frustration and convenience. She didn’t feel qualified to tell him NO or to make a drastic and necessary decision. My school district was a disservice to my student by providing him a HUMAN to escort him between classes instead of a professional who is qualified, capable, and interested in making the public school the best learning environment for this student.
I BELIEVE that my student missed out and it’s not FAIR.
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1 comment:
i totally agree with you. as a pe teacher the last couple of years i had autistic students mainstreamed into my classes because they, by state law, have to have physical education like any other student. However, when they do come to class their aid did absolutely nothing. they just sat around feeling like it was a free period and fussed when i made them do something. as far as professional, they were not qualified in anything. they were just regular people who were hired for a job. how are the students supposed to benefit from a person who has had no training or experience.
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