From Possibilities to Progress: Students with Autism in Inclusive Classrooms
Location
Guzman 104, Dominican University of California
Start Date
4-20-2017 3:40 PM
End Date
4-20-2017 3:55 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Rosemarie Michaels, Ed.D.
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
Students are being more frequently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in schools. Each student deserves to maximize his or her learning opportunities. Unfortunately, the increase of students of ASD diagnosis has not led to an increase of students with ASD emersion in the classroom. The concern here is that we are teaching students that being different is wrong and is not seen as accepted in the mainstream classroom. All students deserve the opportunity to socialize and get an education alongside of peers in a general education classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the positive impacts on students with ASD, teachers, and general education students in inclusive classrooms. This study addressed the research question: How do inclusive classrooms positively impact students with ASD, teachers, and general education students? It is hoped that this will allow schools to see the benefits of inclusion classrooms and more students with ASD will be emerged in the general education classroom as a result. Results of many studies indicate specific positive academic and social benefits because of inclusion in the mainstream classroom. Inclusion of students with ASD contributes to the professional growth of general education teachers. In addition, general education students grow academically as a result of these modifications (Chandler-Olcott & Kluth, 2009).
This research was conducted by observing five different elementary school classrooms, six elementary school teachers, and four different students with ASD. The results provided concrete and efficient academic and socially positive impacts on students with ASD, general education students, and teachers from being emerged in an inclusive classroom. Some of those positive impacts include: classroom flexibility, safe and comfortable environment, classroom resources and materials, peer acceptance, expansion of literacy concepts, instructional planning that focuses on outcomes rather than activities, and teachers being positioned as inquirers (Chandler-Olcott & Kluth, 2009). Many of these positive impacts were observed in the classrooms that the researcher was observing. The researcher concluded that these factors are enough to show that inclusive classrooms are positively impacting students with special needs, general education students, and teachers and therefore, should be able to learn and grow at their full potential.
From Possibilities to Progress: Students with Autism in Inclusive Classrooms
Guzman 104, Dominican University of California
Students are being more frequently diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in schools. Each student deserves to maximize his or her learning opportunities. Unfortunately, the increase of students of ASD diagnosis has not led to an increase of students with ASD emersion in the classroom. The concern here is that we are teaching students that being different is wrong and is not seen as accepted in the mainstream classroom. All students deserve the opportunity to socialize and get an education alongside of peers in a general education classroom. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the positive impacts on students with ASD, teachers, and general education students in inclusive classrooms. This study addressed the research question: How do inclusive classrooms positively impact students with ASD, teachers, and general education students? It is hoped that this will allow schools to see the benefits of inclusion classrooms and more students with ASD will be emerged in the general education classroom as a result. Results of many studies indicate specific positive academic and social benefits because of inclusion in the mainstream classroom. Inclusion of students with ASD contributes to the professional growth of general education teachers. In addition, general education students grow academically as a result of these modifications (Chandler-Olcott & Kluth, 2009).
This research was conducted by observing five different elementary school classrooms, six elementary school teachers, and four different students with ASD. The results provided concrete and efficient academic and socially positive impacts on students with ASD, general education students, and teachers from being emerged in an inclusive classroom. Some of those positive impacts include: classroom flexibility, safe and comfortable environment, classroom resources and materials, peer acceptance, expansion of literacy concepts, instructional planning that focuses on outcomes rather than activities, and teachers being positioned as inquirers (Chandler-Olcott & Kluth, 2009). Many of these positive impacts were observed in the classrooms that the researcher was observing. The researcher concluded that these factors are enough to show that inclusive classrooms are positively impacting students with special needs, general education students, and teachers and therefore, should be able to learn and grow at their full potential.