Classroom preparation for children with disabilities

¶ … Classroom for a Child With a Disability

Next month, an autistic child will be entering my classroom. Erik is a ten-year-old autistic child with a varied history of education through home-schooling, integrated classrooms, and also special education classes. Like the majority of autistic children, Erik is male. He is entering into a fourth grade classroom, having been delayed in his schooling one year.

Autism can be difficult to diagnose because there are no physiological indicators, which diseases such as cancer do have, and it is only through interpretation of observing the child that he or she can be properly diagnosed. Autistic children are said to never connect emotionally and intellectually with the outside world, and are stereotypically thought to shrink from physical contact from other people. However, it is more understood today that autistic children simply connect differently to the world around them, and that every child has a completely different level of physical and emotional comfort depending on the circumstances, the people involved, and the state of the child. Autistic children may have difficulty developing language skills, perform repetitive behaviors such as rocking back and forth, throw prolonged temper tantrums, and sometimes even perform self-injury. Autism is believe to be a neurobiological disorder, and while it is characterized by social impairment, autistic children can be highly intelligent in specialized areas, such as mathematical computations. Many do suffer from auditory and sensory disorders, and some of the common behaviors such as toe-walking, rocking, and looking out of the corners of eyes, can be attributed to these. There has been a significant rise in the cases of autism that are occurring, and factors such as food additives and other toxic chemical exposure from the environment are theorized to be linked to these occurrences. Proper nutrition, immunotherapy, sensory integration therapy, and avoiding certain food allergens and additives can be effective ways to help the autistic child have reduced symptoms.

Erik goes through cycles of severity with his autism. On some days, he seems almost normal, though obviously easily distractible. Some days, it would be easy to mistake Erik for being disobedient or not paying attention purposefully in class. Other days, Erik will not speak to anyone or respond when spoken to. When frustrated, Erik may lash out at others, or turn to self-destructive behavior such as biting. Erik does a lot of very detailed sketchings and appears to have a good comprehension of mathematics and reading, though he is not always able to share this comprehension with others. He has shown a great deal of progress working with computers, and in fact seems to understand them better than many normally functional adults that are trying to learn the technology, so it is especially important to incorporate computers into his education. In fact, I believe that all classrooms should have at least one computer reserved for that class alone. In the instance that for some reason the school computer lab is not available for Erik's use, I would acquire a computer for the classroom. Understanding that school funds are stretched thin, I would appeal to the community and to companies to contribute to our technology needs. An ideal computer for him to use would be a Macintosh, and such models as the clamshell iBook were designed for extreme durability and functionality combined, and the pretty colors are appealing and stimulating for all students. A laptop such as this can be obtained on eBay for as little as $150 in fully functional order, and while they run on an outdated operating system, it remains the perfect choice for students, including those with special education needs. This laptop could be used at any desk in the classroom, as well as taken to other places in the school, or even on field trips for students to continue their work. This computer would be able to go online via regular dial-up or ethernet, and could even be adapted for a wireless connection.