Including Children with ASD in a Mainstream Setting from the Perspective of Teachers and SNAS.

Abstract

Over the last few decades there has been more of an emphasis placed upon the importance of including children with special educational needs within the mainstream school setting. Due to the prominence of promoting inclusive educational environments in current policy and legislation, there has been an increase in the number of children with special educational needs, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) attending mainstream primary school settings. In the past, children with ASD would have been placed in a special school setting but, increasingly, inclusive mainstream settings are seen as the most appropriate environments for these children. In light of this, the aim of this study was to explore the area of including children with ASD in the mainstream setting through the experiences and perspectives of primary school teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs). A key objective of this research was to discover whether the reality of including children with ASD in mainstream settings correlated to the literature, policies and legislation associated with inclusion. A qualitative research design was adopted for the purpose of this study, as the researcher wanted to gain personal insight into the lived experiences of the participants. Individual interviews were carried out with a sample of primary school teachers and SNAs from a mainstream primary school setting. The participants’ perspectives and experiences provided realistic insights into both the benefits and the challenges of including children with autism in the mainstream setting. Findings showed that including children with ASD in the mainstream setting was mostly positive for all involved. However, participants, for the most part believed that the government could do more to support both professionals and children with autism in the mainstream setting. Furthermore, the teachers and SNAs interviewed felt that access to in-service education in relation to autism was not readily available and in order to ensure that inclusion was practiced meaningfully it needs to be more accessible.