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Inclusive education for pupils with
ASD: challenges and opportunities
Neil Humphrey and Wendy Symes
School of Education, University of Manchester
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Welcome, thanks and housekeeping
Welcome to everyone! We hope you enjoy the seminar Thanks to:
ESRC for funding the research
Our various speakers for giving up their time to contribute today
The schools and pupils for their participation in the project Wendy and her various junior researchers for helping to collect
and analyze the project data
All of the presentations in this seminar series, the papers
we have written from the project, and various other
resources are housed at: www.asdinclusion.info
Please visit the site and bookmark it as it will be updated
regularly as we continue our dissemination
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Overview of today
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Session overview Life in school: a rationale for this project
What do we mean by inclusion? The challenge of inclusion for pupils with ASD
Project design
Key findings
Peer group
Peer interaction patterns
Bullying, social support and popularity
Staff
Teacher attitudes, experience and knowledge
Teaching assistants role, deployment and teacher relationships
Pupils with ASD
Perspectives on life in school
The classroom
To what extent are pupils with ASD included in lessons?
Key characteristics of effective inclusion for pupils with ASD
Where are we now and where are we going?
This is barely scratching the surface of our dataset in the time we have we are onlyable to give the headlines please check www.asdinclusion.info regularly for updatesas we continue to write up our findings
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Life in school
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Life in school
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What do we mean by inclusion?
Not just about where a pupil is educated inclusionis about the quality of their experiences in education
Some key indicators?
Presence
Participation Acceptance
Achievement
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The challenge of inclusion for pupils with
ASD
Excellence for All Children (DfEE, 1997) resulted in sharp rise
in numbers of pupils with ASD attending mainstream schoolsin England e.g. 16% increase from 1997-2001(Keen & Ward, 2004)
This has evened off more recently e.g. less than 1% change from 2004-2010 (DfES, 2004; DCSF,
2010) Around 70% of pupils with primary need reported as ASD
receiving provision at School Action Plus or with a Statementof SEN attend a mainstream school (DCSF, 2010) At secondary level:
Pupils with primary need reported as ASD make up 6.6% of all pupils with
special educational needs receiving provision at School Action Plus or witha Statement of SEN in secondary mainstream schools in England
18,170 pupils with primary need reported as ASD receiving provision atSchool Action Plus or with a Statement of SEN in secondary mainstreamschools in England
Of these, approximately 60% have Statements of SEN (DCSF, 2010)
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The challenge of inclusion for pupils with
ASD
Pupils with an ASD are around 8 times more likely to be permanently
excluded from school than pupils without SEN (0.27% compared to
0.04%) (DCSF, 2009; 2010)
They are most likely to be excluded due to a physical assault against
another pupil or adult (DCSF, 2010)
Teachers relationships with pupils with ASD are associated with theamount of problem behaviour they display and their social inclusion
within the classroom (Robertson, Chamberlain & Kasari, 2003)
Teachers experience tensions relating to frustration over the
enduring effects of emotional and behavioural manifestations of ASD
(Emam & Farrell, 2009) Children with an ASD provide an excellent example of... where
significant cracks exist in the system, to the detriment of those who
fall between them (HOCESC, 2006, p.18)
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The challenge of inclusion for pupils
with ASD
There is often an assumption that because of pupil with ASD is
academically able, he or she should be able to cope in
mainstream education (Moore, 2007)
Difficulties in social interaction and communication can
increase risk of and exposure to bullying and social isolation
(NAS, 2006) Preference for routine, predictability and low sensory
stimulation is at odds with the noisy, bustling and often chaotic
mainstream secondary school environment meaning it can
be a very stressful place for pupils with an ASD (Carrington &
Graham, 2001)
Typical cognitive profile and preferred learning style of pupils
with an ASD can challenge professional assumptions about
teaching and learning (Jordan, 2005)
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Project design
Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
Jan 2008 Dec 2010
Aim:
To examine the effectiveness of (and subsequently inform practice in) inclusive
education for pupils with ASD in mainstream secondary schools
Objectives:1. To generate knowledge and understanding in relation to the presence, participation,
acceptance and achievement (inclusion) of pupils with ASD, as compared to pupils
with other (dyslexia) or no special educational needs (SEN)
2. To identify the key systemic factors that facilitate or constrain successful inclusion
of pupils with ASD
3. To explore, document and share good practice in the inclusion of pupils with ASD4. To inform education theory and debate relate to the special nature of teaching
strategies and approaches for pupils with SEN (specifically, pupils with ASD)
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Project design
(1) Lead in phase recruitment, instrumentation etcetera
(2) Profiles of inclusion phase causal comparative
investigation of inclusion profiles of 40 pupils with
ASD (ASD group), 40 with dyslexia (DYS group),and 40 with no SEN (CON group) across 12 schools
Matched triad process age, gender, school (plus SEN
provision for ASD and DYS)
Data collected on key indicators of inclusion at differentlevels, including
Individual self-esteem, social support, bullying, attitudes towards
school
Peer group social inclusion, peer interaction
Institutional staff attitudes, knowledge and experience, SENCO ASDaudit, classroom observations
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Project design (3) Good practice case study phase qualitative case studies of 4 schools, chosen on
the basis of data from the previous phase Independent nominations from NH and WS cross-checking revealed 100% consistency in top
four nominations
Approximately half a term spent in each school; data collection included:
Interviews with and diaries of pupils with ASD
Interviews with staff teachers, support staff, SENCO, senior management
Observations in class and other settings
Document analysis
Interviews with parents and carers
(4) Dissemination phasesharing and discussing our findings
Conference presentations at international, national and local levels (presentations at
conferences in Chicago (NASP), Birmingham (BILD), Preston (NAS), Salford (MRC) and
Stockport (SC) so far Five regional seminars (including this one!)
Papers for academic and practitioner journals (8 written so far with more to come)
Articles for user group publications such as Communication (NAS) (1 written so far with more to
come)
Website to house study outputs and resources www.asdinclusion.info
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Key findings peer group Peer interaction patterns how do pupils with ASD in mainstream settings interact
with their peers?
Structured observations of pupils in ASD, DYS and CON groups at break and lunch
over a two day period
Peer Interaction Observation Schedule adapted from Pellegrini & Bartini (2000) 22
discrete behaviours exhibited by the focal pupil, and 7 pertaining to the behaviour of
their peers
e.g. solitary (engaged), co-operative interaction, locomotor, parallel
Frequency and duration of behaviours coded
Duration: participants with ASD spent more time engaged in solitary behaviours, less
time engaged in co-operative interaction with peers, and more time engaging in
reactive aggression towards peers than either comparison group.
Frequency: similar patterns emerged, but additionally participants with ASD engagedin fewer instances of rough/vigorous play, and were subject to more instances of
social initiation and instrumental verbal aggression by peers than either comparison
group
No significant differences emerged between DYS and CON groups
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Key findings peer group
Bullying, social support and popularity how dopupils with ASD compare to those with other (DYS)
or no SEN (CON) on these key indicators of social
inclusion?
Bullying My Life in School (Arora & Thompson, 1987) Social Support Social Support Scale for Children
(Harter, 1985)
Popularity/rejection Social Inclusion Survey
(Frederickson & Graham, 1999)
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Key findings peer group
Pupils with ASD experienced significantly greaterbullying than either comparison group (no significant
difference between DYS and CON groups)
Bullying was approximately 2-3x more frequent in
ASD group
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
ASD DYS CON
Bullying frequency
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Key findings peer group
ASD group experienced significantly loweracceptance and higher rejection in both social and
work domains than either comparison group (no
significant difference between DYS and CON groups
on any scores)
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
Social:acceptance
Social:rejection
Work:acceptance
Work: rejection
ASD
DYSCON
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Key findings peer group
Pupils with ASD reported receiving significantly lower levels of social
support than either comparison group. Key differences were foundfor classmates, friends and parents, but not teachers* (no difference
between DYS and CON on any domain)
*Parents and teachers are obviously not peers but they are
included on the SSSC
2.6
2.7
2.8
2.9
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
Parents Classmates Teachers Friends
ASD
DYSCON
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Key findings peer group
Putting it all together Reciprocal Effects PeerInteraction Model (Humphrey & Symes, in press)
Pupil with ASD Peer group
Social cognition
difficulties
Lack of awareness
and understanding of
ASD
Poor social and
communicative skills
Reduced
acceptance of
difference
Reduced quality and
frequency of peer
interaction
Limited socialnetworks, fewer friends,
less social support
Increased bullying
and social rejection
Increased
isolation and
loneliness
Reduced motivation for
social contact, moresolitary behaviour
Reduced opportunities
to learn about ASD
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Key findings - staff
Teachers attitudes, knowledge and experience Questions adapted from McGregor & Campbell,
(2001) and the Manchester Inclusion Standard
(2004)
53 staff responded
21 were SENCOs or senior management (SM
group)
32 were maths, english or science teachers (STgroup)
SM and ST both perceived their schools as
highly inclusive
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Key findings - staff
SM more likely than ST to feel they had the skills to teach
a child with ASD
SM and ST found displaying inappropriate emotions
most difficult to cope with
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Key findings - staffKey benefits for included pupils with ASD:
Social inclusion e.g. developing social skills, making friends
Avoiding stigma of attending special school
Key challenges for included pupils with ASD:
Social exclusion e.g. bullying, isolation, difficulty making
friends
Lack of understanding from peers and staff
Key benefits for mainstream peers:
Increased understanding and tolerance
Experience wider society and develop social skills
Key challenges for mainstream peers:
Difficulty accepting why some students are treated differently
Uncomfortable if confronted with aggressive or inappropriate
behaviours
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Key findings - staff
Explored the use of Teaching Assistants(TAs) to support pupils with ASD
15 TAs from four schools interviewed
11 TAs employed by the school, 4 TAsemployed by outside agency specialising
in supporting pupils with ASD
Asked questions about deployment,training, relationship with teachers and
school environment
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Key findings - staff
Deployment:Getting to know the child vs. getting to know the subject
Supporting pupils with ASD
Helping the pupil stay focused, understand instructions and
develop organisational skills
Teacher is ultimately responsible for pupils learning
Very little work on developing social skills
Experience & training
Many TAs had no experience prior to the job
Amount of training varied between schools and TAs
TAs felt that generic ASD training was not helpful - wanted
more specific strategies for supporting pupils with ASD
Wanted training in how to make pupils independent learners
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Key findings - staff
Relationship with teachersFacilitated if TAs frequently worked in the same
lessons/department
Teachers over or under relying on knowledge of TAs - what is
the TAs role?
School attitudes towards pupils with SEN
Must be a whole school approach to inclusion of all pupils with
SEN
Senior management must be supportive of inclusion
Factors facilitating or hindering the ability of TAs to effectivelyinclude pupils with ASD
Access to expertise (including SENCO)
Good communication at all levels - TAs should be informed
about anything to do with the pupil they are supportingStaff awareness of ASD - if teachers have a limited
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Key findings pupils with ASD
Perspectives on life in school analysis in progress! What is life in school like from the perspective of the
pupils themselves?
Related paper - Humphrey & Lewis (2008)
20 pupils with ASD from 4 schools Interviews and diaries (written, audio, word-
processed)
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Key findings pupils with ASDCharacteristics associated
with ASD
Special interestsRote memory
Mentalising difficulties
Odd behaviour
Preference for visual learning
Social naivety
Inflexible thinking
Relationships with peersProblems
Bullying and teasing
Social isolation
Solutions
Peer support
Friendships
Negotiating difference
Desire to stay in mainstream
Wanting to fit in
The need for independence
Issues around disclosure
Constructing an
understanding of ASD
Being different/not normal
Having a bad brain or mental
syndrome
Being odd or a freak
Acceptance of ASD
Working with teachers and
other staff
Being treated differently vs.
being treated the same
Availability of support
Methods of support
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Key findings the classroom
How included in lessons are pupils with ASD?
Structured observations ofpupils in ASD, DYS and
CON groups over 5 lessons each
Observation schedule adapted from the Manchester
Inclusion Standard (2004) 15 items such as
The focal pupil is engaged with the task/lesson
The focal pupil is working independently
The focal pupil works collaboratively with peers Rated on a scale (1-4) summed to give a total score
Unstructured observations of 21 pupils with ASD in
3-5 lessons each
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Key findings the classroom
Pupils with ASD were least included in lessons
Both pupils with ASD and DYS were significantly
less included than the CON pupils; no significant
difference between ASD and DYS groups
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Key findings the classroom
Pupils with ASD were less likely to work independently, listen to their
classmates, and get along with their classmates than the DSY or
CON groups
Unstructured observations revealed that pupils with a TA were less
likely to work independently or work with/get along with their
classmates
K h i i f ff i i l i
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Key characteristics of effective inclusion
for pupils with ASD
Data from good practice phase common themes
and patterns across 4 schools
More detailed examples of practice this afternoon
from Gareth/Mary!
Strong inclusive ethos valuing diversity andrespect for all pupils and staff
SENCO/inclusion manager with high levels of
expertise and passion in relation to ASD
Links to specialist schools Sharing of knowledge and expertise
Training and development
Dual placement arrangements
K h t i ti f ff ti i l i
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Key characteristics of effective inclusion
for pupils with ASD
Communication of information about pupil needs
across the school
Frequency
Consistency
Reach Opportunities for training and staff development
In-house
External
Developing awareness and understanding of peergroup
Sensitively handled disclosure, circles of friends
Use of support staff
K h t i ti f ff ti i l i
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Key characteristics of effective inclusion
for pupils with ASD
Balancing universal, group and individual needs
What is useful for all learners?
What is useful for learners with ASD?
What is useful for Joe Bloggs?
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Where are we now and where are going? The wider picture developments in SEN policy and provision and what the future might bring
Implications for effective inclusion of pupils with ASD? Several potentially useful tools and strategies were rolled out during the lifespan of this project
Inclusion Development Programme (DCSF, 2008) ASD strand
1. What is the autism spectrum?
2. Social and emotional understanding
3. Communication and language
4. Flexibility of thought and behaviour5. Sensory perception and responses
6. Know the pupil
7. Curriculum priorities and inclusive practice
8. Sources of support
Achievement for All (DCSF, 2009), especially:
1. Assessment, tracking and intervention
2. Parental engagement and confidence
3. Wider outcomes
1. Eliminating bullying
2. Developing positive relationships
3. Promoting positive behaviour
Wh d h
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Where are we now and where are we
going? Lamb Inquiry (2009) parental engagement and confidence
A stronger voice for parents Greater focus on childrens needs
A more accountable system delivering better services
Development of Achievement for All (see previous slide)
OFSTED SEN review findings - some headlines (OFSTED, 2010)
Parents feel that the current system does not help their children to achieve their goals
Identification of pupil needs is inconsistent
No single model of provision works better than any other, but having a flexible system and
knowing about what kind of support is available locally is important
Additional provision at SAP and for SSEN is often not of good quality
SEND Green Paper (DfE, 2010) (with White Paper to follow)
Parental choice
Changes in funding system transparency and cost-effectiveness
Prevention of closure of special schools
Support post-16 transitions
Improve diagnosis and assessment to facilitate earlier identification
Wh d h
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Where are we now and where are we
going?
People with ASD are like salt-water fish who are
forced to live in fresh water. Were fine if you just
put us into the right environment. When the person
with ASD and the environment match, the problems
go away and we even thrive. When they dont
match, we seem disabled [Young adult with ASD]
(Baron- Cohen, 2003, p.180).
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