General Education Teachers’ Perceptions of Inclusion for Children with Autism Perri Rosen, M.S.Ed. Erin Rotheram-Fuller, Ph.D. David S. Mandell, Sc.D.

Working with Children with Autism in General Education Classrooms Children with autism experience a range of challenges: Social interactions Behavior (stereotypic, repetitive, self-stimulatory) Language and communication Academics and learning Need for environmental sameness Unique patterns of cognitive strengths and deficits (Simpson, de Boer-Ott, & Smith-Myles, 2003)

Rates of Inclusion for Children with Autism in the United States (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009)

General Education Teachers Critical to the success of inclusion programs (McGregor & Campbell, 2001) Mixed findings regarding teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion and children with autism (Cook, Cameron, & Tankersley, 2007; McGregor & Campbell, 2001; Robertson, Chamberlain, & Kasari, 2003) Attitudes may change based on nature of child disability (Avramidas & Norwich, 2011) Training and support may improve teacher attitudes about inclusion (Avramidas & Norwich, 2011)

Procedure Survey was developed and administered to teachers as part of a pilot Teachers were offered consultation services with student consultants through a School Psychology training program Teachers completed and returned surveys to consultants

Demographic Data on Teachers Participants Demographic Data on Teachers Variable M SD Range Years of Teaching Experience 10.44 8.06 1-25 Years of Teaching Experience with Students with Autism 2.89 4.73 0-15 Number of Students 24.33 5.29 17-30 Number of Students with Autism 2.22 1.39 1-4 Number of Additional Adults in Classroom 3.06 1.84 1-7 Grade 3.62 2.20

Survey Measure A four-part survey consisted of both quantitative and qualitative components Part One: Demographic Information 10 items Part Two: Student Placement 3 items, 4-point Likert-type scale (Completely Appropriate- Completely Inappropriate) Part Three: Inclusion in Your School 16 items, 4-point Likert-type scale (Strongly Agree-Strongly Disagree) Part Four: Challenges and Supports for Inclusion 4 items, open-ended response format

Present vs. Recommended Educational Placement

Teachers’ Perceptions of Challenges Among Classroom, Teacher, and Student Factors SD Classroom-Related Factors 3.3 0.1 Well-structured and Organized 0.9 Calm Environment 3.2 0.8 Well-behaved Students Teacher-Related Factors 3.5 0.3 Supportive of inclusion 3.8 0.4 Prior Experience 3.1 Available support staff 3.6 0.5 Experience differentiating instruction Child-Related Factors 2.8 Appropriate behavior 2.7 0.7 Appropriate academic levels 1.1 Sufficient communication skills Adequate social functioning *(Strongly Agree=4, Somewhat Agree=3, Somewhat Disagree=2, Strongly Disagree=1, I Don't Know=0)

Additional Resources Wanted Resource Needed Percent of Teachers Training 89% Socialization between students with autism and peers 33% Inclusion of students with autism Implementation of IEP goals 11% Differentiated Instruction Increased support from professional staff 44% Increased planning time 22% Decreased support from professional staff Manipulatives and materials for students

Implications Overall, teachers reported positive attitudes about including children with autism The conversation may need to change: Teachers felt their skills were strong, but that children may lack readiness Despite high self-ratings of teacher competence, almost 90% of teachers reported a need for additional training