Children with autism do not always function well in a public education classroom and with the new laws requiring children to be placed in general education classes along side their peers is mentally and emotionally difficult for the child, the teacher and often the other students in class. Schools fight against the parents at all costs to keep from having to implement an IEP for a child who is high-functioning autistic with symptoms other than learning. For instance, if the child gets overstimulated by noise or stress, any little thing can set them off and then they can lose self-control. This could be demonstrated by something such as pulling their own hair, or pinching themselves to yelling out loud in class saying inappropriate things because they do not have the control to not say them at that particular triggered moment, up to throwing things in class, hitting another child, etc. However, when discussed with the school and the child’s doctor, the school says they do not have the funding to provide an aide to shadow the student to watch for signs of potential triggers affecting the child so that they could guide the child’s focus to something else or intervene. Instead, more times than not, the child gets suspended from school.
If schools cannot provide what is needed for these children, and the number of children diagnosed with autism has grown exponentially, school districts should be required to have a school that specializes in classrooms and education for these children. Education that includes not only mainstream education, but also therapy where the child gets hands-on training in social cues, independent living, mental health therapy if needed, etc.
The districts would require funding to provide this type of specialized education. But many of these children are being referred to “alternative schools” since they have random outbursts and the public school doesn’t want to deal with it. Alternative school is not where these children belong. They are not intentional troublemakers. They have a neurological disorder.