Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/20186
practical motor skills; speech and language therapy; and one-to-one assistance in the classroom from a paraprofessional. Some stu- dents are in mainstream classes most of the time and are pulled out for special services, while others are in self-contained classrooms most of the day. “Pick any two districts with similar num- bers of students with autism, and you’ll find little consistency in services offered or stu- dents served,” notes the San Francisco Chroni- cle. “Access to services often depends more on where children live, rather than what they may need.” “Autism presents itself in lots of different ways, in a wide variety of children with a wide variety of needs,” says Mundy. “This creates complications for schools when it comes to providing services for all these children. The needs of some children are being met in public school, but it’s often hard for pub- lic schools to have all of the exper- tise to the meet the needs of all these children. There are many children whose needs aren’t being met. But I’m very hesitant to blame public schools for that; the system is the problem because there isn’t enough money to support expertise and services for all children with autism.” Mundy believes the state is moving in the gual Crosscultural Language and Academic Development), and are added to an existing special education teaching credential. Each covers a specialty area, such as autism. The holder of the autism authorization is trained to conduct assessments, provide instruction and provide services related to autism. The autism authorization will be embedded in all special education teaching credentials issued after Jan. 1, 2013. It may now be earned at California State Univer- sity campuses in San Bernardino, Domin- quez Hills, Fullerton and San Marcos, and online from the University of California system (see related story on page 19). The new voluntary authoriza- Tyrone Cabell CTA Board member tion may be helpful to special edu- cation teachers, but it’s unavailable for general education teachers who need help teaching students with autism. According to federal law, stu- dents with disabilities must receive an education in the “least restric- tive environment,” which means mainstreaming wherever possible. But full in- clusion can be extremely challenging for some general education teachers — especially when they lack training. right direction with the Added Authoriza- tions in Special Education (AASEs). The added authorizations are similar to those for general education, such as BCLAD (Bilin- Challenges of mainstreaming “It can be difficult for teachers,” acknowl- edges Rachel Thomas, president of the Man- hattan Beach Unified Teachers Association. “When children want to make noises in class and walk around the room during a lesson, it can severely impact the rest of the kids who need to learn and focus. General education teachers don’t want to aggravate or upset these kids. They want them to do well and learn. But sometimes they can pre- vent other kids from learning, which can be frustrating for teachers.” Thomas adds that her district hires consul- tants to provide training to teachers who have students with autism, and teachers greatly ap- preciate this support. “The challenge is helping children with autism fit into the structure of the school and helping them deal with their own frus- trations,” says Sue Allen, the kindergarten teacher in Middletown. “For the most part mainstreaming is good, and other kids learn to accept children with autism and play with them quite well. Students with autism have more of a sense of belonging and learn to socialize. Because they are special and amaz- ing in different ways, they make me a better teacher for all my students.” Educators say that mainstreaming children with autism may depend on what parents want rather than what school staff think best meets the needs of the child. “Sometimes, inclusion is not the answer,” says Madeline Cabading, an education sup- port professional at West Portal Elementary School in San Francisco. “Sometimes it’s more about making the parent happy than what’s right for the child.” Cabading, a member of United Educators of San Francisco, works one-on-one with chil- Ryan Bentley, a second-year teacher at nearby Poinsettia Elementary School, has had autism “clusters” in his first-grade classroom both years. During a classroom visit, it’s difficult to tell which children have autism and which do not. He considers all his students “mainstream” and calls those without autism “typical peers” who may also exhibit behavior that can present problems at times. “I don’t have different standards for students with autism, but I do have different expectations for them,” he says. “Students are expected to raise their hand when they have a question, but kids with autism have a tendency to blurt out whatever they’re thinking. They might be processing what they are learning, and I completely ignore it. If I don’t pay attention to it we can move past it.” Bentley has not received special training, but he has developed a knack for working with this challenging population. Much of it can be attributed to collaborating with special education teachers and parents and listening to their advice. And some of it is just instinctual. “When I give students a new assignment, the typical peers may get it and students with autism my not understand what is being asked. Some will shut down, and some will get verbal, and some will get physically agitated. So any time I see that happen, I get close to the student and down to their level and speak in a calm voice to reassure that student. You have to calm them before they can move forward with anything.” At first he was apprehensive, but he now loves working with students who have autism. “Having them in the classroom has helped me improve my overall teaching,” he says. “The strategies I have learned to help autistic students succeed in the classroom have been beneficial for helping all my kids succeed.” Bentley’s district has recently offered professional development on how to teach children with autism, but there were not enough spots available to all staff members for this training. He hopes to take district- offered training in the future, and meanwhile has been researching autism himself. “I think teachers working with kids who have autism can definitely benefit from getting training on how to work with these students,” he says. “There are strategies you can use with autistic students that can really make a difference, and not all teachers know what these strategies are.” Amy Gold Learn more about California SELPAs at www.cde. ca.gov/sp/se/as/caselpas.asp. NOVEMBER 2010 | www.cta.org 13