EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATION
Do Students on the
Autism Spectrum
Feel Included in the School System? By Stephanie C. Holmes, BCCC, Certified Autism Specialist
ACCORDING TO AVAILABLE RESEARCH AND ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE IN MY OWN PRACTICE, STUDENTS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM ALREADY WERE FEELING ISOLATED AND EXCLUDED BEFORE WE WENT INTO LOCKDOWN AND LIFE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. HOW HAS COVID-19 IMPACTED STUDENTS ON THE SPECTRUM? FIRST, LET’S DISCUSS STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES OF THEIR SCHOOLING PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
I
n my dissertation research completed this year, Creating an Inclusive Climate for Students on the Autism Spectrum (Holmes, 2020), seven students participated in the qualitative research on their experience in the public school system. While this number seems small, in qualitative research, five to eight persons are required for studying a phenomenon or experience of a specific population (Leavy, 2017). It is important to note the students represented both males and females, autism levels one, two, and three, and the students were 18 or older. Some had qualifiers of non-speaking, learning differences and disabilities, selective mutism, and other anxiety disorders. It is also very important to note this study, while on a vulnerable population, met the criteria and scrutiny of the Institutional Review Board’s ethical practices for my program of study. The purpose of the study was to examine barriers to inclusive practices and hear from administrators, teachers, paras, school counselors and psychologists, other specialists, parents, and students on the spectrum. This article will discuss the perspective of the student as their voices are not often included in discussing best-practices for what they would define as inclusion. A subsequent article will discuss ideas from these students for better inclusive practices. Exceptional Needs Today | Issue 1 | 59