IN an uneducated, over-simplified and unintelligent way, I can see how Pauline Hanson might think her theory on ‘autistic kids’ has merit.
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Get autistic kids out of our kids’ classrooms so the children who are “straining at the bit” to “go ahead in leaps and bounds in their education” can do so, unimpeded.
What might that mean? To begin with, it would mean taking all the kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD) out of mainstream settings and dropping them into (non-existent) specialist classrooms.
Better build some big ones.
What was once considered a rare disorder accounts for more than 30 per cent of participants in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and that’s only counting the children with a diagnosis.
Have a chat to your local school teacher and you’ll soon learn there are lots more kids suspected of being on the spectrum, or with other learning and/or developmental difficulties, but with no diagnosis, and no supports outside the education setting.
What does Autism Spectrum Disorder look like in the classroom? There is no one answer. And, thankfully, it doesn’t stand still.
With the right supports in place, backed up by dedicated professionals (as well parents, grandparents, friends, and school communities) what might pose a challenge to a child with ASD during the first semester of the year, could be straightforward the next – in a good way.
Just like anyone, I am biased by my own experience, and that of my six-year-old son who has progressed from a specialist setting to the local public school where he is going ahead, (just as Pauline Hanson would like for typically developing kids) – in “leaps and bounds”.
That’s thanks in large part to an inclusive environment where he is supported to develop age-appropriate social skills, and build friendships with his typically-developing peers.
And the supports in place in his classroom are of benefit to all, and in some cases, a natural fit with the mainstream curriculum – visual schedules, timers, and movement breaks; stories about the value of friendship, tolerance, and inclusion; and the importance of listening, taking responsibility, and emotional regulation.
I readily acknowledge that my experience is not true for anyone else and there are children with much more challenging behaviours than my son, and a thousand other variations on the theme.
But on the whole, the long-game is to develop positive, independent, contributing members of society, who are capable of securing ongoing and meaningful employment and have healthy relationships. In short, to be well-integrated members of our communities.
Take those kids out of mainstream settings and run the risk of developing a sub-class of adults unable to integrate – likely forced to rely on welfare, and behaving in ways that people who are marginalised and excluded tend to do – antisocially.
It may well be true that teachers at some schools need more support to manage the needs of the children in their classrooms, and in some cases there is a need for more specialist settings for children with high-level needs, but there is no one-size-fits all approach.
Simply taking kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder out of the mix is not going to fix it.
