Countering the Failures of the School System for Autistic Students

There is often a sense that children with complex needs are unable to make progress, but Michael Bogg shows how by addressing students’ individual situations and developing their well-being and self-esteem, real progress is not only possible, but inevitable.

Excellent progress is the goal of all teachers. The way to achieve it is the million-dollar question. I work in a Resource Centre, which is attached to a mainstream school, for children with a diagnosis of Autism. There are currently 23 children and three classes, broadly in the following groups: EYFS/KS1, lower KS1/KS2 and upper KS2. Some children take part in sessions in the mainstream school, but most of our children spend the majority of time with us in the Centre.

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      string(5897) "feeling overwhelmed.Some autistic children may lack organisation and planning skills, which can affect their ability to manage the school day. They may also need longer to process information and can find it difficult to understand the tasks they are given. The educator Jules Daulby advises teachers to be aware of this, and to be very direct and specific when asking a student to do something, avoid open-ended choices and look for signs that a student is becoming overwhelmed (9).Schools must recognise that autistic children often have communication difficulties, struggle with social interaction and can find it hard to make friends. This unfortunately makes them particularly vulnerable to bullying. 34% of autistic children say that the worst thing about being at school is being picked on (10). For children on the autism spectrum, school can be a very socially isolating environment. Bullying can lead to an increase in anxiety, and to school refusal – the very reverse of inclusion.Trying to cope with all of these challenges can lead to anxiety, distressed and challenging behaviour, and meltdowns. Alternatively, autistic students may unconsciously mask the stress and anxiety they are feeling at school and only let this out when they’re at home. Their parents can be the only ones who see just how tough things are for them.What schools can and should doAn inquiry into autism and the education system carried out in 2017 by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) found that school is often a very difficult and isolating experience for children and young people on the autism spectrum (11). Members of the APPGA heard directly from young people about some of the things they would like schools to do differently. These include:· Tackling bullying more effectivelyProviding safe and quiet spaces that are always available when neededMaking sure that teaching assistants are available to help in the classroomUnderstanding that ‘meltdowns’ are caused by particular situationsHelping students manage relationships with their classmates.Creating a better sensory environmentWhile every child is different, sensory overload can be a particular challenge for autistic children in the classroom. People on the autism spectrum are often highly over or under sensitive to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours and can struggle to concentrate in traditional school environments (12). It could be the classroom’s bright lights, echoing and busy corridors, the sudden noises of a printer or old radiator. For some, it can be distracting; for others it can be completely overwhelming and even physically painful. On top of this, there are often too few quiet places where they can retreat when they are overloaded.Children may struggle to focus on their work while their environment is distracting. Inclusive schools have taken steps to simplify the classroom environment, reduce sound, and offer quiet spaces or initiatives such as noise-reduction headphones.Providing training for school staffAt the National Autistic Society we strongly believe that every teacher, every school leader and every member of school support staff should receive autism training. This will help them understand the challenges autistic children may face, why they may behave in particular ways and why they may struggle with their surroundings or to pay attention to the task they have been given. It will also help school staff know how to support their students. Making sure that schools as a whole have practices that are autism-friendly is vital in ensuring that children on the autism spectrum can access an education.The key to becoming genuinely inclusive is wanting to do it. Attending school does not have to be a daily struggle for children: it is not an inevitable fact of being autistic. Schools that are welcoming to children on the autism spectrum, with staff who understand them, an environment that is adapted to their needs and a culture of acceptance and kindness, can transform children’s experience and outcomes. With the right support, school can become a positive environment and a place where every child is able to succeed.For more information about autism, including support and strategies to help in school, visit: autism.org.uk.Catriona Moore is Policy Officer at the National Autistic Society. The National Autistic Society runs a School Exclusions Service that offers specialist advice and information to parents of children who have been excluded from school or are at risk of exclusion and advice for schools on strategies to promote inclusion.References1 Villegas T (4 December 2019), ‘An inclusionist’s manifesto’, Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism.2 Department for Education (25 July 2019), ‘Permanent and fixed period exclusions in England 2017 to 2018’.3 Cutting A (12 July 2019), ‘Timpson review of school exclusions’, Network Autism.4 Department for Education (May 2019), ‘Timpson review of school exclusion’.5 Department for Education (4 July 2019), ‘Special educational needs in England: January 2019’.6 https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/position-statements/education-and-inclusion.aspx7 Department for Education/Department of Health (January 2015), ‘Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0-25 years’, p20. 8 https://www.autism.org.uk/get-involved/media-centre/position-statements/education-and-inclusion.aspx9 Daulby, J. (28 January 2020), ‘SEND with Daulby: unseen teaching tweaks that make all the difference’, Special Needs Jungle.10 National Autistic Society (2011),"
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Autism

Preventing Exclusions For Children On The Autism Spectrum

10 Aug 2020

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      string(5807) "‘Schools must be places that are welcoming and respectful, where every child has the chance to succeed… They should understand how their policies impact differently on pupils depending on their protected characteristics, such as disability or race, and should give particular consideration to the fair treatment of pupils from groups who are vulnerable to exclusion.’Those are the words of a detailed review of school exclusion this year commissioned by the Government.1 The reality is that children and young people on the autism spectrum are three times more likely to be excluded from school than pupils who have no special educational needs. Last year, nearly 5,000 autistic children in England were given at least one fixed-period exclusion.2 And the situation is even worse than it first appears. These figures relate to ‘official’ exclusions, where procedures are followed and paperwork is completed. They do not reflect the unacceptable situation of so-called ‘informal’ – that is, unlawful – exclusions, for example when children are sent home early or asked to stay away on a particular day, without any formal notification that they are being excluded. We frequently hear from parents that these have happened and the practice results in children losing out on their education, and parents losing the right to make representations to school governors. Statutory guidance is clear that this type of exclusion is unlawful, even if parents or carers agree to it.While official data on ‘informal’ exclusions is not collected, a survey of more than 2,500 parents carried out in 2017 by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism alongside our charity, found that one in four parents said their child had been ‘informally’ excluded at least once in the previous year.3 Another survey by the charity Ambitious about Autism suggested that this figure could be as high as four in ten children and young people on the autism spectrum.4Being excluded from school has long-term consequences not only for children’s educational outcomes but also for their mental health and self-esteem. Often, we hear that a child or young person is left feeling like a ‘misfit’ at school, believing that they are not welcome and there is no place for them.5 We hear heart-breaking stories every day of children who spend months, even years, out of education and who lose all faith in the system and themselves.It can also be devastating for families when their child is excluded from school. Parents tell us they feel isolated and may blame themselves, when in fact their child’s behaviour may be a consequence of a lack of understanding and support at school.If the root causes of an autistic pupil’s behaviour are not identified and addressed, a damaging cycle of challenging behaviour followed by exclusion may begin – repeating itself either until the child’s needs are met, they are moved to another school or they are permanently excluded.Why are so many autistic children being systematically excluded from school? Government figures show that head teachers most commonly exclude children due to ‘persistent disruptive behaviour’ (22% of fixed term exclusions), ‘physical assault against an adult’ (21%) and ‘physical assault against a pupil’ (17%).6 Disruptive behaviour is often an indication that an autistic child’s need for special provision at school is not being met. Too many children are being let down at school, and are not receiving the education they need to succeed. Too often, schools don’t have a good enough understanding of autism and how it can affect children, or of the duty that the Equality Act 2010 places on them to make reasonable adjustments for these children. Excluding a pupil for exhibiting disability-related behaviour can amount to discrimination arising from disability, unless it can be justified.7Sybil Elgar – autistic boy and teachersUnderstanding autismMore than one in 100 children are on the autism spectrum—around 120,000 school children in England. More than 70 per cent of these children attend mainstream schools. Every teacher is almost certain to have at least one autistic child in their class in their career. The framework of what should be covered by initial teacher training states clearly that all new teachers should learn about autism before they attain qualified teacher status.8 It is vital that all teachers to understand, right from the outset, how autism can affect children and how school life can affect the behaviour of these children and young people.While autism affects individuals in different ways, most autistic children and young people are likely to have difficulties with communication, understanding how other people behave and feel, and sensory processing. They may also process information differently, leading to difficulties with understanding concepts, absorbing new information, managing transitions, dealing with unexpected changes and predicting next steps. All of these things are highly relevant in the school environment.A child’s behaviour is often a direct consequence of their autism, and this is the context in which it should be understood and managed. Autism specialists advise that the type of behaviour that often leads to exclusion is typically associated with anxiety, which is a very prominent feature of autism for many children and young people. Things like transitions between lessons, unstructured times of day such as break-times, lack of personal space, and unexpected changes to the timetable can all increase a child’s"
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Special Needs

Preventing Exclusions for Students on the Autism Spectrum

20 Nov 2019

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      string(5576) "would enable police,prosecutors and councils to have a better understanding of the prevalence of anti-Muslim hate crime and allocate resources accordingly.And in January, Education Secretary Nick Morgan launched an ‘Education againsthate’ website as part of a renewed drive against all forms of extremism.News stories frequently trigger anti-Muslim incidents. Now it’s to the pointwhere we ask: what’s it going to be today? It’s a constant cycle, and such anti-Muslimsentiments can’t help but trickle down into our school system – with a profound impacton Muslim students nationwide.What can schools do?We know the media – and parents’ discussion of it at home – impacts even youngchildren. In 2014, a sharp increase in racist bullying in schools coincided with heatedpublic debate on immigration. Young Muslims in particular report that they are called‘terrorists’ and ‘bombers’ by classmates.http://www.educateagainsthate.com/teachers/http://www.educateagainsthate.com/teachers/http://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/racist-bullying-immigration11Vol 7.3School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comTrendsReligionKnowledge trails1. Could better RE in schools combat radicalisation? – A worrying number of young men andwomen have left the country to fight with extremists abroad. Does the problem find its roots inschools? And if so, could a great focus on religious education help?library.teachingtimes.com/articles/could-better-re-in-schools-combat-radicalisation2. What is Britishness? – It’s been more than a year since the government instructed schools topromote ‘fundamental British values’. But what, precisely, are they?library.teachingtimes.com/articles/what-is-britishness3. Is there an Islamic conspiracy in Birmingham schools? – Is ‘creeping Sharia’ taking overBirmingham schools in an underhand conspiracy, or are legitimate concerns by parents that theirvalues are better reflected in Muslim-majority schools being misrepresented by racists?www.teachingtimes.com/articles/is-there-an-islamic-conspiracy-in-birmingham-schoolsFor many such students, teachers are their best defence, and education is the bestway to prevent bias and discrimination. Most schools are doing their best to set a no-tolerance policy, with clear and consistent guidelines around religious discrimination.Teachers at Parkfield Primary School in Birmingham, for example, promote theethos of ‘No outsiders’ as part of their duty to teach British values. Birmingham CityCouncil have praised the school for their approach, a significant part of which includesthe careful choice and use of children’s literature.‘I use books because I want to embed the work into the school curriculum, andthese lessons can be used to support literacy, guided reading and PSHE,’ teacherAndrew Moffat told the TES. ‘Talking about characters makes a tricky subject accessible– we talk about the character and the situation first and then relate it to real life and ourown experience.’British values, Moffat says, are not just about countering radicalisation, as someschools have interpreted it. British values are about ensuring no person facesdiscrimination because of their perceived difference, whether that be race, religion,gender, disability or sexual orientation. At Parkfield, all teachers promote diversity withthe aim that pupils will recognise the benefits that come from living in harmony withthose different from themselves.‘I chose the books very carefully to talk about characters that were different sothat children were taught to not be scared of difference,’ he explains. ‘In Reception, thebook Red Rockets and Rainbow Jelly shows that we can like different things but still befriends. In Year 1, the book Max the Champion shows a child with a disability who is madabout sport. King and King is used in Year 4 to talk about gay marriage and in Year 6, TheIsland has the purpose to challenge the causes of racism, as the book gives childrenan opportunity to talk about refugees and to understand how racism occurs and whatactions they can take to stop it.’Alongside careful consideration of the books, Moffat also ensures his pupils havethe opportunities to mix with other children different to them, and that they are awareof global events. He says: ‘I have talked about the Paris terror attacks with students andtold them that the terrorists don’t believe in our ethos of “No outsiders”. The childrennow want to spread our message across Birmingham.’For teachers, there are compelling reasons to enforce fairness, as there is a strongcorrelation between a child’s sense of inclusion and academic success. Children whoexperience bias are not going to do well academically, because if a child is excluded byhis or her peers, they don’t really want to be at school.But developing that mindset is made much harder by constant exposure toinflammatory news stories. Such stories receive far more air-time than they warrant;they are endlessly circulated and re-hashed so that they become impossible to escapefrom and quite frequently, the only news out there.http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/could-better-re-in-schools-combat-radicalisationhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/what-is-britishnesshttp://www.teachingtimes.com/articles/is-there-an-islamic-conspiracy-in-birmingham-schoolshttps://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-views/why-literature-a-vital-tool-teaching-students-about-equality"
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Leadership

The only news is bad news

29 Mar 2016

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      string(5661) "45SPRING 2009SENComputers are an autistic child’s dream friend – they have no ambiguities, theyremember every detail and they only focus on one thing at a time! Amanda O’Neilland Marianne Beamish share how IT helps their students.(STEPS) course, offering flexible learning toyoung people with a range of abilities andneeds, working from pre-entry to Level one.This article is based on a seminar which theauthors delivered at the BETT IT fair 2009and on strategies they have both applied intheir teaching.There are a range of terms related to ASDs– autism, high functioning autism, Aspergersyndrome and pervasive developmentaldisorders. The spectrum covers the completeIQ range – autism is a lifelong condition andthe diagnosis is medical.Fight ASDswith ICT!Psychiatrist Lorna Wing has identified threemain areas of impairment. There needs to bedifficulty in all of these areas for a diagnosis ofautism.  Learners will have: Difficulties in communication – verbaland body language may be misunderstood.Levels of comprehension will be lower thantheir use of language. Problems with social communication suchas understanding how, when and why wecommunicate – as well as difficulty withdecoding and applying social rules.●●Young people with ASDs face many difficulties. This is counteracted in the classroom with a focus on clear structuresand routines, the use of visual supports and withan attention to effective communication andmeaningful choice. This article provides ideason how ICT can be used as a tool to meet thelearning and communication challenges facedby ASD students. The School of FoundationStudies at the West Suffolk college, Bury StEdmunds, is a rural further education collegewith 19,000 students. It mainly teaches theSteps to excellence for Personal SuccessStudents at West Suffolk CollegeELT_ICT for ASD .indd   45 20/5/09   16:32:5646 SPRING 2009SEN Difficulties with creative and imaginativethinking – autistics lack flexibility, havea need for routines and have a lack ofunderstanding of the needs and feelingsof others.Autistic author Claire Sainsbury suggeststhat people with ASDs learn best, ‘’whenteaching works with, rather than against ouridiosyncratic learning styles and interests…’’She describes computers as “a natural place’’for learning, noting that many of the qualitiesof a computer work well with autistic learningstyles.Students with ASDs have a ‘monotropic’learning system – which means they can focuswell on details, but find it difficult to put thesedetails into a meaningful context. They do notsee the whole picture. Working at a computerprovides a contained environment with clearboundaries allowing the learner to filter outexternal stimuli.  The computer is predictableand its rules never change.Many people with ASDs are visual learnersand computers offer a wealth of visualrepresentations: Words and icons can be used to helpautistics navigate their way throughprogrammes Images, videos and animations are readilyavailable Data can be interpreted in spreadsheetsoftware Every time the learner presses a key orclicks a mouse, there is an effectThe computer offers great potential for findinga visual representation that has meaning forthe individual.Most learners with ASDs find it difficultto organise their ideas and thoughts on paperwhen completing assignments. The editingfacilities on a computer create is a safe placeto make mistakes as they can be easily rectified.Programmes like Microsoft Word and Publisherallow the user to achieve professional resultswith minimal technical skills.●●●●●Students with ASDs have difficulties inremembering events and experiences and howthey relate to themselves. Computers can beused to store memories of learning experiencesin a concrete way that can be easily reviewed bythe student.  Windows Movie Maker, MicrosoftPowerpoint, digital cameras and digital voicerecorders can be used by students to createtheir own learning materials. The same workcould be completed on a Smartboard, creatingvaluable group activity.The West Suffolk College has a StudentNetfacility which students can choose to access atcollege or home. The STEPS teaching teamupload materials to facilitate recall and to keepparents informed. This has been used withgreat effect to keep a record of trips, visits, ourpantomime performance and other memorableevents on the course. We hope that we will havethe technology to upload videos soon.These students can have difficulties withrelevance – what information they need,where to find it, and who to ask.  The internetoffers great opportunities for accessing awide range of information in text, sound andimages. A search engine like Google helpsstudents to focus on the relevant information,which can then be stored on the computer orbookmarked in Internet Explorer.The author Flor ian encourages usingvirtual environments and games for autisticlearning. There is the potential to control theenvironment to match learning styles and theskills being learned.  Sensory information canbe minimised – so the learner can concentrateon key images and sounds. We can onlyimagine the barrage of sensory informationautistics have to sift through before skills likesupermarket shopping and road crossing canbe learned. Eventually, the student can transferthe learning to a real setting. We use Videojug,Youtube and the BBC Learning ZoneBroadband regularly with ours learners.In terms of social communication, ICT canoffer many benefits. There has always be a debateabout whether the use of IT lessens"
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Digital Learning

Fight ASDs with ICT!

24 Jul 2009