Wow. It’s been quite a while since I last wrote a blog post. Sorry about that! Well, summer term has ended, and I finally had my holiday that had been postponed due to the pandemic. One week back, and I have decided to get back into a routine. I hope to blog more often, but will certainly be tinkering on behind the scenes most days.
In the last post, I listed the themes that arose from my research: ‘Inclusion: an autistic child’s right’; ‘Challenges to inclusive practice for autistic children’; and ‘Inclusion in practice for autistic children in mainstream primary settings’. Today I’m sharing the second section.
I won’t include a list of references, as last time. This can be found in my literature review post.
Challenges to inclusive practice for autistic children
Accountability culture is “unhelpful and doesn’t allow educators to dare to think in new ways” (Dan). A knowledge-based curriculum, coupled with competition and student worth can result in autistic children receiving alternatives to class-based provision. This is:
…being done to ‘get them out of the way’ so the teacher doesn’t have to differentiate for them…the current system judges schools on narrow performance-based criteria and not on broader considerations like SEND (Dan).
Participants spoke passionately about funding/budget constraints as a barrier to inclusive practice, suggesting this is a priority. Funding equates to resources:
…schools are struggling to meet…needs due to…funding being reduced significantly (Donna).
If there is not the money to pay for staff…or there are no specialist teachers to help staff…, inclusion will not work and…[autistic] children will suffer constant anxiety (Gabrielle).
A prevalent accountability and standards culture weighs upon participants (Adams, 2019). This causes autistic children disservice, as their existence and importance as acceptable cultural assets is questioned (Ball, 2013).
Skill limitations or environmental/resource provision were also deemed as barriers to inclusion (Gillan, 2017). Some thought there could be limits to what mainstream settings can provide:
…where children are schooled in…specialist schools. It is I suppose the point where autism makes it impossible for them to be supported in a mainstream school (Alan).
Mainstream educational entitlement and individual needs were sometimes at odds; when autistic children have interventions, they are withdrawn from class-based learning, in essence excluded:
Some autistic children attend nurture … These groups often take place in an afternoon meaning they are missing out on foundation subjects such as Art or PE (Beth).
One participant suggested a compromise using an autism classroom within a mainstream primary:
I could provide…support…my pupils needed…to be able to participate in school life without…meltdowns or distress…my classroom could be a haven for other pupils in…mainstream school who were not able to cope…I think every school should have an ASD class with an experienced teacher…pupils can…access mainstream lessons, depending on their ability and interests (Gabrielle).
This is disputed by one participant:
…sometimes autistic children need to withdraw themselves…this should be facilitated, but the whole concept…of exclusion cannot ever be inclusive (Faye).
Autistic children as ‘other’ presented in responses (Biklen & Attfield, 2005; Parsloe, 2015). One participant, asked if he ever felt he didn’t belong at school, simply stated: “I do” (Andy). Another participant described her child’s experience:
…he has had a few who are like ‘oh, you’re weird’…So there is a lot of people know [him] now and just take him for who he is. There’s a few people who still don’t quite understand how he works…(Barbara).
Mindset was deemed a barrier to inclusive practice. Alan stated barriers were:
…in the minds of adults…who would see autistic children as being a drain on resources or a distraction…Teachers who looked at autistic children in the same way as being somehow unworthy of their attention…(Alan).
This sentiment was echoed by Alice: “ignorance”; Brigitte: “teacher perception – not knowing the child and understanding [them]”; and Beth: “teacher expectations can sometimes be a barrier”. Sometimes ideologies are entrenched:
Staff with pre-set ideas about what inclusion and autism…means,…stereotypes, schools and staff that…don’t want to make any adjustments…if a school is unwilling to take…advice or change…to be more inclusive,…nothing will change (Esther).
The debate on whether mainstream or special schools are most appropriate for autistic children is ongoing (Shaw, 2017). Motivations for proposing autistic children be elsewhere other than mainstream are varied. Autistic child exclusions are disproportionally high (Hazell, 2018; Timpson Report, 2019), and often unlawful (Tirraoro, 2019). Positively, participants saw autistic children’s move to alternative provision as unnecessary in all but the most extreme cases of challenging behaviour (Shaw, 2017).
Physical/sensory environments present barriers for some autistic children. Referenced were small classrooms meaning proximity, leading to feeling overwhelmed; and noise generated in busy areas:
…small size of…classrooms has been a barrier, especially when individual areas are needed with minimal sensory stimulation and large noisy [classes], it is difficult to keep thirty-plus…children quiet for the sake of one (Emma).
Schools may not have areas…accessible for the child…should they need…time out or sensory play (Brigitte).
School layouts and systems are sometimes to autistic children’s detriment:
…they are a difficult environment for autistic children…Noise, sights, smells, textures, the demands of other pupils and adults can be very challenging (Chloe).
Learned helplessness appeared through discussions with child participants. One stated: “I always need to be helped” (Ben), while another exclaimed:
I can’t remember the last time [TA] helped [another child] honestly because she helps me that much (Andy).
When children are supported to independence, this is positive. However, if focus is on task completion, then opportunities to develop learning and independence are lost.
Time is taken away from class-based learning to undertake interventions. Sometimes interventions do not happen because of lack of time or last-minute plan changes:
Specific interventions…important to teach specific skills, need a time in the day to take place. This can take away from lesson times, assemblies…(Beth).
…they might not happen because different circumstances…arise and they’re asked to put to…one side…for a second. Might not be fifteen minutes, might…be five minutes (Gina).
One participant discussed time needed to develop relationships, and how this is impeded:
…where it would be difficult would be where you weren’t given [time] by senior management…(Alan).
Why senior management would not provide time is open to interpretation, but pressures on schools, e.g. accountability, standards and funding/budgets, are undoubtedly factors.
Challenging behaviour
Challenging behaviour as a barrier was raised, including preconceptions of autistic children as challenging:
If your child is having a meltdown, they look at the child as if to say that child’s being naughty…(Anne).
…autistic children are viewed as being troublesome or difficult, unpredictable and unwelcome (Faye).
Lack of awareness and compassion leads to prejudice:
I’ve often found myself explaining a child’s behaviour to others, especially midday supervisors, TAs or..parents…who judge us to be ‘ignoring’ behaviour (Emma).
This inhibits inclusive practice as reasonable adjustments are not made to factor in autistic children’s specific needs. Reframing behaviour (Gillan, 2017) is necessary so everyone can:
… understand why an autistic child acts the way does, behaves the way it does and they don’t see it as that child being naughty or challenging (Anne).
Cathy asks of behaviour policies: “are they appropriate for all children?” In asking, the implication is: not always. Participants are committed to ensuring autistic children are included in mainstream settings. Discussion occurred of situations, real or hypothetical, when provision could conceivably be beyond the capability of mainstream. However, with appropriately qualified staff and peer support, mainstream schools are positioned to offer quality provision for autistic children (Cirrincione, 2016).
Autism awareness was suggested as a way to overcome barriers (Gillan, 2017). Benefits of such training were shared:
…teaching…others about autism and getting to know the child as an individual will help reduce…times the autistic child may get emotional or struggle in class and not isolate them from their peers (Brigitte).
…peers become accepting of different behaviours…it becomes the norm, I’ve found children to be more understanding and patient, they understand…everyone’s needs are not the same (Emma).
Participants referred to preconceived ideas of what autism is (Parsloe, 2015; O’Brien, 2019), particularly when describing others’ reactions. Perceptions of autistic children are influenced through predetermining by label (Runswick-Cole & Hodge, 2009) and the preconceptions this entails, often without autism experience or training (Hellawell, 2017). Perhaps this, understandably, is why parent confidence in mainstream provision for autistic children is not as high as it should be (Gillan, 2017).
Training could overcome barriers by changing attitudes:
Staff…need to be willing…to develop their knowledge and understanding of approaches … and consider new research, techniques or resources (Dan).
Sharing good practice…and being open to learning may…enable staff to…be more inclusive as they…gain a better understanding and skill-set to help them support autistic children…(Brigitte).
As would investing in staff development:
Teachers/TA knowledge in this area can be limited and time needs to be invested in training and improving…knowledge and confidence (Donna).
Barriers exist within mindsets. This was recognised by many participants. Encouragingly, consensus was on importance of adapting to needs of learners, through an enabling ethos, even in the wake of funding cuts and others’ misconceptions of autistic children (Dweck, 2008; Deardon, Emerson, Lewis & Papp, 2016). This is in contrast with disabling mindsets, intentional or not, towards autistic children (Parsloe, 2015; Biklen & Attfield, 2005).
That SEND Teacher 