Over the past twenty years, an increasing number of schools have been integrating individuals with autism into general education classes. Although the benefits of this practice have been questioned, there has been little formal research on this subject. This qualitative study attempted to examine the short-term effects of the integration of one child with autism, Karl, into his neighborhood elementary school. Data were collected through direct observation in the classroom and interviews with the classroom teacher, support staff, the parents of the child who has autism, the parents of two classmates, the child with autism, and two classmates. The observations and interview questions focused on the behavior and perceptions of (a) the child with autism, (b) two classmates and (c) the adults participating in the integration. The participants identified locations (where the student is) and social opportunities (who the student is with) as important characteristics of an integration program, rather than strictly adhering to formal definitions of mainstreaming, integration, and inclusion. Although many of the participants were aware of the characteristics of autism, their definition of Karl was focused on who he was and what he did, rather than his label. Class membership included (a) the activities in which Karl participated, (b) the peers with whom he associated, (c) the changes that occurred in the classroom, (d) his ability to blend in, and (e) his perception of himself as a member of the class. The success of this integration program was attributed to the addition of a one-to-one integration assistant and the communication, consistency, support, and flexibility of the integration team. This study provides a rare view of an integration program that worked for a student with autism. Regardless of the characteristics unique to Karl, the participants, and this situation, this study demonstrates that it is possible to integrate a student with autism, provided the appropriate resources are made available.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-9092 |
| Date | 01 January 1995 |
| Creators | Fredericks, Paula Joyce |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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