Facilitators and Barriers to Inclusion of Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parent, Teacher, and Principal Perspectives

Abstract

The inclusion of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is increasing, but there have been no longitudinal studies of included students in Australia. Interview data reported in this study concern primary school children with ASD enrolled in mainstream classes in South Australia and New South Wales, Australia. In order to examine perceived facilitators and barriers to inclusion, parents, teachers, and principals were asked to comment on the facilitators and barriers to inclusion relevant to each child. Data are reported about 60 students, comprising a total of 305 parent interviews, 208 teacher interviews, and 227 principal interviews collected at 6-monthly intervals over 3.5 years. The most commonly mentioned facilitator was teacher practices. The most commonly mentioned barrier was intrinsic student factors. Other factors not directly controllable by school staff, such as resource limitations, were also commonly identified by principals and teachers. Parents were more likely to mention school- or teacher-related barriers. Many of the current findings were consistent with previous studies but some differences were noted, including limited reporting of sensory issues and bullying as barriers. There was little change in the pattern of facilitators and barriers identified by respondents over time. A number of implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.

Transition support for students on the autism spectrum: a multiple stakeholder perspective

“…It is possible that schools may be providing transition support, but not communicating this effectively to parents. This would be consistent with the findings of Stephenson et al (2020), who concluded that transition plans should be more explicit so that parents have a better understanding of school transitions.…”

“…Recent research indicates parents and professionals vary in their perception of school transition planning for adolescents on the autism spectrum in issues such as the frequency of transition planning meetings (Carter et al, 2019;Hatfield et al, 2017;Stephenson, et al, 2020). Data in the current study support this finding.…”

The Importance of the Promotion of Evidence-Based Practice as a Reasonable Adjustment in Mainstream Education Settings for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

“…Finally, we wish to not only articulate the relevance of our argument for the promotion of EBP in Australian schools but also advocate its applicability on the international stage. The road to a full participatory, inclusive education locally has been fraught with challenges, as school systems struggle with the complexities of managing intrinsic student factors, resources, and teacher attitudes (Garrad et al, 2019;Stephenson et al, 2021). Globally, these barriers are consistent (Sharma & Vlcek, 2021), and the issues that students with disability face in accessing an equitable education are the same (Young et al, 2017).…”

La percepción de las necesidades de las familias de niños y niñas con trastorno del espectro autista: Claves para el fomento de la parentalidad positiva desde ámbito educativo

“…También destacan las necesidades relacionadas con la información sobre servicios (Brown et al, 2012;Farmer et al, 2014;Srinivasan et al, 2021), la dificultad en el acceso (Siklos y Kerns 2006), los costes económicos (Chiri y Warfield, 2012), la escasez y la insatisfacción con los mismos (Bitterman et al, 2008;Brown et al, 2012), entre los que destacan los servicios educativos (Zablotsky et al, 2012). En relación a los servicios, muestran también necesidades vinculadas a los y las profesionales que trabajan con sus hijos/as, como la percepción de baja formación y capacitación para trabajar con personas con TEA (Kiami y Goodgold, 2017), la falta de profesionales en los servicios, tales como la falta de profesorado auxiliar en el aula (Stephenson et al, 2020), dificultades en la colaboración y comunicación con profesionales, por ejemplo, no contando con sus opiniones en la planificación de la intervención (Moro et al, 2015;Siklos y Kerns, 2006). Algunos estudios han comparado estas necesidades y valorado cuáles son más frecuentes.…”