Statistics from the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network show us that one in 68 children have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the United States (Stitcher 443). Although these children have a disorder and many struggle with academics as well as with social skills, all children still deserve the right to attend school. Unfortunately, many of these children are presented with several struggles throughout their education in the public school system. Many public schools do not have the educational tools that these children need to succeed, such as specialized teachers and staff as well as proper classroom structure. Their education is stymied due to their behavioral issues in the classroom, causing them to fall behind socially and academically. Several argue that in order for these children to receive the education that they require, they need to attend private schools that can properly meet their additional challenges. For many families this is not an option due to the financial burden that it requires. The medical care of these children is another important factor that if not tended to, can affect their education. The diagnosis of autism in the school setting can help the school better cope with each individual’s form of autism. Increased inclusion and additional funding needs to be put into place for children with autism in the public school setting.  With increased funding, public schools can increase the training of teachers and staff members, develop methods to decrease behavioral issues, and increase social skills, and improve medical care for students with autism.  

One of the main reasons that these children aren’t receiving the education that they need is due to the insufficient and lack of training of the teachers and staff in these schools. The behavioral issues that these children have, although they are not always able to be maintained by the school, often do not follow their “expectations for student conduct” (White 80). Schools are obligated to provide Evidence Based Interventions (EBIs) that are specialized to fit the needs of every student (Locke 2). According to research, even though there are processes such as EBIs that are put into place for autistic children, these practices are often not properly being carried out. Several of these children require one-on-one teaching styles and a more frequent change of environment to foster their academic success and control their rash behavior. The behaviors such as aggression, not following class rules, tantrums, and inappropriate behavior cause problems in the classroom setting that cannot always be controlled by teachers who are unequipped to handle it (White 80). Special education professionals who are specialized in working with students who have autism spectrum disorder are recommended for these children, and this is not something that is in the budget for many schools (White 80). If these types of teachers were available for every autistic child, their behavior, as well as their academic success, would be greatly improved. Conflict between educators arise as to whether or not a regular classroom environment should be presented to children with autism or if they should be educated by staff who have “autism-specific training” (Roberts, Simpson 1085). Many argue that these specially trained teachers would focus more on the autistic children, and would therefore take away the educational time from the rest of the class. However, this is actually not the case because the point of hiring more highly trained staff members means that they would know how to balance these different types of students in a more efficient way. One of the reasons that some of these kids struggle is because these unskilled special-needs teachers do not take the time or are not interested in focusing on their own education. Due to this lack of trained educators, many teachers, as well as the parents of these children, are concerned about the lack of success of autistic children in the public schools (Roberts, Simpson 1085). This lack of properly trained or educated special-needs teachers often leads to the exclusion of these students in the classroom.

When looking at the success of other disability groups and other typical students compared to autistic children in public schools, the educational outcome is disappointing (Roberts, Simpson 1085). Although some of these children may be academically able to succeed, the lack of support in these schools hinders their ability to advance (Goodall 307). Awareness of what types of inclusion prove successful for children with autism in a normal school is quite lacking, even though the number of autistic children attending these schools continues to increase (Falkmer 2). These children do not know how to behave in a socially acceptable manner or how to learn like the rest of the children in the public school classrooms. However, completely separating these children from their peers and a normal classroom environment is not the answer. Instead, inclusion practices need to be implemented for these students. One study showed that “school commitment and willingness to accept students” (Roberts, Simpson 1085), which comes from the teachers and staff, were a big part in inclusion. Practices of inclusion proved to be beneficial and resulted in improved social skills with their peers, approval of diversity, and reducing shame that these students often possess (Roberts, Simpson 1085).  The Salamanca Statement (United Nations, Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization), which stated that all children deserved the right to receive an education, created the idea of inclusion in public schools all around the world (Falkmer 1). Inclusion should be approached in a way that the classroom and school environment fits the needs of the child, and not that the child should have to conform to the environment that they are placed in (Goodall 306). 

For instance, a large classroom setting and long periods of sitting is overwhelming for many autistic children during a long school day. Breaks throughout the school day for individual time or small group support with a specialized teacher benefit many students (Goodall 310). These children respond better to “short periods of highly structured learning rather than long periods” (Goodall 311). Curriculum in schools affects these students based on the sensory and social environment. Many autistic students learn better towards the end of the day due to their inconsistent patterns of sleep (Goodall 310). Public schools are not always understanding and adaptive to such factors and how these factors may affect these children (Goodall 310). In a study done from the perspectives of the children, they stated that another big part of their inclusion in school was friendships, because it affected their level of happiness in school (Cullinan 25). This is important because if schools focus on these children’s happiness in school, they are more likely to help these children succeed in the classroom. Participating in activities and social time with their classmates to develop friendships is an important part of inclusion for these students (Cullinan 25). Children with autism are motivated by their peers to achieve higher academic goals, be more willing to socialize, and improve their own social skills (Goodall 308).  Their behavior often becomes “less autistic” at times and improves through this inclusion with peers (Goodall 308). Peer awareness and education in these mainstream classrooms is another factor of inclusion that needs to be addressed (Goodall 308). If the other children in the classroom can better understand their autistic peers and understand some of the challenges they face, the will hopefully be more accepting of these children into their social circles. 

A process developed for the inclusion of autistic children into mainstream schools, called the three waves of intervention, is an intervention process that sums up the idea of inclusion. The first wave, using the TEACCH approach, aims to improve social skills, individual help, decrease behavioral issues and parental stress (Goodall 314). This type of teaching is structural and uses “natural reinforcement” while concentrating on “visual learning” (Goodall 314). The second wave focuses on introducing “small group interventions” such as peer guidance and social skill groups. Wave three focuses on those autistic children who benefit most from individual help. This phase may include frequent withdraw from the large classroom or applied behavioral analysis to examine what practices the children benefit from most after applying several options (Goodall 314).  In order for the three waves of intervention process to work, both the teachers and the school must understand the needs of the children and the what the curriculum needs to include in order to carry out this teaching process.

The medical health care of students with autism in public schools is also an important factor in supporting their education. School psychologist and staff need to work together on each individual child so that they can better understand their condition, and therefore, implement ways to provide the best learning environment for them. Not every autistic child is the same behaviorally, socially, or academically (Stitcher 444). Determining ways to support each child in the school setting starts with diagnosis. Therefore, schools should be involved in the diagnosis as well as the treatment of these students. The National Research Council, recognizing that schools are the main source of health care management for many autistic children, has proposed that there needs to be a link between education and health care (Boswell 98). The course of autism in these students as well as their initial diagnosis can be improved with the advancement of healthcare in schools (Boswell 98). A 2007 report by Bhasin and Schendel shows that “school diagnoses can account for over half of ASD diagnoses (Boswell 98),” and that about 70-80% of autistic children receive their health care through their school. These statistics prove that public schools need to have up-to-date health care resources and professionals to provide for these children. Public schools do not support children with Autism in several areas and therefore do not seem to be beneficial for several autistic students. 

Therefore, instead of teachers and students having to carry out this process of inclusion, many believe autistic children should just attend private schools. Although this may seem like the ideal solution for both the school and families affected by autism, there are several negative issues that arise with this option, such as cost and the scarcity of these schools. Many parents decide to enroll their children in these private schools so that their children can have more individualized teaching, reduce the amount of bullying, and prevent classroom issues caused by their behavior (Hoe Chi Au 122). One obstacle faced by many of the families of these children is the expense of it all. Many families just can not provide the funding necessary to send their child to a private school. For example, a very popular school in Hong Kong for autistic children averages about $2,386 U.S. dollars per month of enrollment (Hoe Chi Au 122). This equates to about $28,632 per year, which is more than the cost of many college tuitions in the United States. These funds come primarily from the parents pockets, and are not funded by the government (Hoe Chi Au 122). These schools provide many more opportunities than public schools can, such as, after school one-on-one instruction, social or language therapy, high teacher to student ratio, and behavioral control services (Hoe Chi Au 122). The reason that these children often succeed in this form of schooling is due to these inclusions and the trained staff than can produce the proper learning environment. If we could add funding to public schools for improved autism education, these schools would not be necessary. The teachers in this private school setting are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree, go through a seven week detailed training process, and pass all of the expectations at the end of the program (Hoe Chi Au 125). These teachers must also keep up with their certification and are observed closely by the school (Hoe Chi Au 126). 

One mom discusses on a video interview, how she was forced to either sue the public school district or send her autistic child to public school. Her son Clark, who was in the public school setting for years, was either placed in a mainstream classroom environment with little staff assistance or into a classroom of students who were significantly more academically and socially behind than he was (Trusera). When the regular class environment proved to be too advanced and stimulating for Clark, they moved him into the “self contained classroom” with other students who have special needs. In this classroom he fell behind even more, because he was not exposed to the social level he needed to be, and this in turn lowered his self esteem, which affected his overall performance. Due to his behavioral disruptions and lack of educational advancement in the regular class, and unsuccessful education in the special needs contained class, Clark’s parents were asked by the school to move him to another school (Trusera). The school didn’t have an answer as to what they could do for Clark, and their special needs educational department was just not well equipped enough to have him as a student (Trusera). In situations like this, parents only option may be private school. For Clark, his family was fortunate to have the financial stability to do this for him. However, for the families who do not have the finances this presents an unfortunate and unfair situation to children in a society that is supposed to provide fair education to all students.  

In order for students with autism to succeed in the educational program of public schooling, there are several improvements that need to be made. These children will continue to fall behind if they are not provided with the right teachers who are skilled in the area of autism and who also care for their students well being. Inclusions in the classroom, such as breaks in instruction and more one-on-one attention, need to be implemented in order to provide a better learning environment for the children. These children should not have to adapt to the schools that they are placed in, rather the schools need to consider methods that will improve the educational system for students with autism. More flexibility and understanding from the school will help not only the students with autism and their families, but make the environment of the school better as a whole. Diagnosis and treatment of this disorder in the public schools will help teachers understand the approach they need to take in educating these students, because they can be counseled by their co-workers who diagnose these kids in the school. Overall, increased funding and inclusions in the public schools for children with autism, coupled with better educating teachers about the special demands facing an autistic child, will result in creating better methods to control behavior and promote proper social skills, all of which will substantially better the education of these students. 
