What has been the biggest challenge in mainstreaming your child?

1 Comment

  • Sarah - 13 years ago

    I believe all of the above are equally challenging however clearing the administrative hurdle is the key which will unlock the door to success for mainstream/inclusion students with ASD. Maintaining an inclusion philosophy for a school district begins at the top and if the administration is not supportive of this philosophy, it will be most challenging to find educators who are knowledge and willing to change their teaching styles to accommodate the unique learning styles of our children. Also there is a lack of consistency from district to district [school] - often all one needs to do is visit a bordering city or town to find that everyone is on the "inclusion" train all the way down to the non teaching staff. This can leave parents like me wondering if moving to this next town and enrolling our child in school will provide her with the best opportunities for an inclusive education than she receives in her own town.
    This issue has been addressed in many studies and articles for 2 decades now and time after time the results are: ASD students can be more successful in inclusive environments but the barriers are lack of teacher training on ASD, lack of support from the administration, and/or lack of financial support from local & federal agencies. So after 20 years, it's really time to get moving!

Leave a Comment

0/4000 chars


Submit Comment