They told me I would have friends but the playground was a

nightmare of noise and fghting, lying, and cheating and people

going fast, all knowing what to do but me. It was like a fock of
birds, wheeling, surging, changing direction at a whim, all
knowing what to do, and all in unison except for one at the back.
Me. I had to watch and anticipate and follow so I was never
quite in harmony. Sometimes I got left behind and there are
hawks out there. I didn't know how to tell who was a friend.
Geraldine Robertson, a lady with Aspergers syndrome who lives in Tasmania, providing a vivid
refection of her experiences in the school playground (Source: Attwood, 2006 p.4)
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Essay Answer One:
Aspergers Syndrome as a Form of Educational Exclusion:
The personal refection opening this paper serves to highlight Aspergers syndrome
(henceforth referred to as AS) as a condition that has signifcant consequences on how
one perceives and acts in the world, particularly within a school environment. AS is a
developmental disability on the autism spectrum. It is characterised by difculties with
social interaction, communication and cognitive processing skills such as executive
function, sensory perception and the ability to comprehend others perspective (Shearer
et al. 2006, p.1). As Safran identifes, those with AS lack the social awareness and skills
needed to connect with his or her world (2002, p.60). In education, such difculties
often lead to exclusion.
Educational exclusion refers to those students who do not (or can not) participate in
education to the full extent ofered to mainstream students. This can refer to exclusion
from both the educational content and social aspects of the school community.
Exclusion from education is problematic as it neglects what UNESCO (2014) defnes as
a fundamental right. It robs individuals of the opportunity to attain knowledge and
develop new ways of being and perceiving oneself and others (Freire, 2009, p.81).
Educational exclusion then, is a concern on both an individual and social level.
As a neurological disorder, those with AS are often excluded from education due to
their internal struggle with social awareness and communication. This internal struggle
is then a seedbed for additional external sources of exclusion. Such external exclusion
can be explored through the concept of normalisation. Normalisation is the principle of
promoting equal educational opportunity for disabled students. The beneft of
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normalisation is the suggestion that it challenges misunderstandings and prejudice of
disabled students. Normalisation hopes to counter the prospect that diference can
situate students outside of school systems and induce a lack of inclusion, achievement
and support.
While certainly, in theory, to promote normal in education is to promote inclusion. In
practice, this is troublesome. As Baker (2002) outlines, rather than creating equal
opportunity, normalisation can be inherently divisive. It imposes standards and
norms that create a distinction between normal and abnormal, inturn contributing to
educational exclusion. Instead of valuing diference, normalisation threatens to only
further marginalise students (Goodley, 2007). The real problem then, is that the
disabled "are encouraged to change themselves to gain access to society, rather than
calling into question their exclusion in the frst place" (Culham and Nind, 2003, p.74).
The notion of normalisation in education threaten to engender greater exclusion rather
than less.
Such issues surrounding normalisation also relate to further concerns tied to an
additional feature of educational exclusion defcit discourse. Defcit discourse relates
to language that places responsibility for problems on the people they are applied to,
creating negative, damaging, and often incontestable, singular identities" (Humphry,
2014, p.486). In education, the defcit ways of speaking about educationally excluded
students frequently dominates the language educators draw on to make sense of their
non-mainstream students. Here, students identifed as outside the normal, are
framed frst and foremost as at risk of disengagement.
Students with AS often fall in to this category. Rather than being at promise they are
deemed at risk, framed as a problem to be mitigated rather than an individual to be
engaged with (Zyngier, 2008). Ultimately, this creates a context where perception creates
identity (Freire, 2009, p.83). This external exclusion is familiar to AS students. Unable to
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efectively relate and communicate in social situations, these students become a
problem to be normalised or excluded all together. Crucially, this dissipates the
opportunity for those outside the mainstream to be educated on their own terms, a
right that mainstream students enjoy freely.
The key distinction to make here then is that in education we must strive for equity not
equality in education (Lyons et al. 2011, p.68). Teachers must acknowledge that popular
pedagogies and mainstream curriculum structures are not appropriate for all. Instead,
there needs to be a certain fexibility and respect in teaching practice which refects the
diversity of individuals implicated in education. As Friere outlines, a students position
within the school community defnes their identity, how they relate to others and the
extent they engage with the school as a whole (2009, p.81). Without fexibility and
respect, it is too easy for students to become disengaged and/or excluded.
Subsequently, we see that the extent that students are included or excluded in education
relates to the extent that their individual social position is either undermined or
respected.
To avoid exclusion of AS students therefore, respect must be promoted across student,
teacher and policy levels. For students this involves respecting and understanding the
communicative and relational difculties AS students have and modifying interactions
and expectations to accommodate this. For teachers it is utilising informed and
alternate pedagogies that provide allow AS students to feel comfortable, valued and
able to build upon their unique talents. On the policy level, strategies such as AS
specifc professional development, whole school awareness and adequate teacher
support are all vital actions.
In my teaching context of Tasmania, many of these actions are a reality. By efectively
communicating with parents, providing teacher advisors and ofering individualised
school management plans, schools make an efort to include students with AS. These
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students are recognised and respected as unique individuals, but encouraged to also
enjoy the beneft of engaging in the mainstream learning sociable and co-operative
roles, social cues and conduct, managing emotions, developing gross and fne motor
skills and coping with auditory and sensory sensitivity. Ultimately, it is through the
combination of respecting and emphasising the individual whilst also promoting the
mainstream that AS students are ofered the most meaningful and efective educational
experience.
References:
Attwood, T. (2006). Asperger's syndrome. Tizard Learning Disability Review,11(4), 3-11.
Baker, B. (2002). Evaluation, Standards, Normalization: Historico-philosophical
Formations and the Conditions of Possibility for Checklist Thought. Philosophy of Music
Education Review, 92-101.
Culhami, A., & Nind, M.,(2003). Deconstructing normalisation:clearing the way for
inclusion. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 28, (1), 65-78.
Freire, S., Carvalho, C., Freire, A., Azevedo, M., & Oliveira, T. (2009). Identity
Construction through Schooling: listening to students voices.
Goodley, D. (2007). Towards socially just pedagogies: Deleuzoguattarian critical
disability studies. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 11(3), 317-334.
Chicago
Humphry, N. (2014). Disrupting defcit: the power of the pause in resisting the
dominance of defcit knowledges in education. International Journal of Inclusive
Education, 18(5), 484-499.
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Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011). Classroom management: Creating positive
learning environments (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning.
Safran, J. S. (2002). Supporting students with Asperger's Syndrome in general
education. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(5), 60-66.
Shearer, J., Butcher, C., & Pearce, A. (2006). Ministerial Advisory Committee: Students
with Disabilities (MAC: SWD) South Australia September 2006.
UNESCO (2014). The Right To Education: Law and Policy Review Guidelines. Retrieved
from: www.unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002284/228491e.pdf
Zyngier, D. (2008). (Re) conceptualising student engagement: Doing education not
doing time. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(7), 1765-1776.
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Essay Answer Two:
Policy for promoting inclusion for Student's with Asperger's Syndrome
Most broadly, students with AS come under sections 5.2 and 6.2 of the Disability
Standards for Education 2005 (Figure 1). This document outlines in a legal sense a
teachers responsibility to ensure disabled students are not excluded from education.
More specifcally in my educational context, a policy useful in promoting inclusion for
students with AS is the Tasmanian Education Departments STARS program (Figure 2).
STARS is a support program for students with AS and High Functioning Autism.
Students attend STARS for part of their educational provision at a scheduled time each
week. Here, the focus is on teaching positive social and communication skills in
partnership with each students family and school.
This program is necessarily broad, refecting research by Attwood that each child with
Aspergers syndrome in unique and a teacher [must use] diferent strategies for each
(2006, p.2). Consequently, the exact content and strategies necessarily varies from
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Figure 1 - Two sections of the Disability Standards for Education, outlining the core responsibility and
expectations of a teacher. Figure 2 - A screenshot taken from the TA! webpage, outlining the basis for the program"s name.
student to student. One possible implementation of the STARS program is exemplifed
when considering exclusion within my specifc teaching context of secondary school
fne arts. AS students often fnd this context difcult as it involves pedagogies with an
emphasis on social interaction and unstructured learning environments. For AS
students, interpersonal skills, social cues, unstructured environment and lapses in
routine prove difcult, making such pedagogies prone to promoting exclusion (Lyons et
al. 2011). The value of STARS therefore, is that it implements individualised strategies
to mitigate such problems. Developed in consultation with both peers and teachers and
modifed to the specifc student and teaching context, such strategies might be (Figure
3):
Ultimately, the STARS program is about empowering the student through knowledge of
how to manage difcult situations while also enlightening educators on how they can
facilitate positive actions. Most importantly in the context of student with AS, is that
policy promotes a balanced approached that addresses prescribed learning outcomes of
these students, but also respects their individual diferences (Lyons et al. 2011 p.91).
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Figure # - An example of the range of strategies that may be de$eloped and utilised under the STARS
program.
References:
Attwood, T. (2006). Asperger's syndrome. Tizard Learning Disability Review,11(4), 3-11.
Australian Government. (2005) Disability Standards for Education 2005. Attorney-
Generals Department, Department of Education, Science and Training. Retreived from:
www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2005L00767
Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011). Classroom management: Creating positive
learning environments (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning.
Tasmanian Department of Education (2014) The STARS Program. Retrieved from:
https://education.tas.edu.au/tasmanianeschool/Pages/The-Stars-Program.aspx
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Essay Answer Three:
iPads to promote inclusion for students with Asperger's syndrome.
The iPad is a key tool to mitigate educational exclusion for students with AS. On a
personal level it provides tools to help organise time in to structured and easy to
navigate schedules. This helps to alleviate anxiety stemming from unstructured
classrooms, providing the predictability, order and consistency these students seek
(Dahle & Gargiulo, 2004). Additionally, on a social level, various iPad apps ofer tools
that help teach students social cues and etiquette. These skills seem obvious to
mainstream students but are a source of confusion and exclusion for those with AS.
Three specifc apps aimed at students with AS are explained below (Figure 4)
As Safran identifes, students with Aspergers syndrome often respond well to visuals,
graphics, models, and technology" (2002 p.64). Each of the apps described in Figure 4
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Figure % - A summary of three i&ads apps useful for managing and de$eloping the skills of students with
Asperger"s syndrome
communicate in this way and are thus useful tools for overcoming exclusion in the
classroom. More than just games, these apps are developed by academic organisations
like the University of Victoria (CanPlan app) and are backed by strong research. As
studies and user reviews attests, these apps efectively help students organise their
personal actions and relate and communicate more efectively with those surrounding
them. Importantly however, while these apps undoubtedly work, there is still an
imperative to ensure they are well managed.
As Safran outlines, technology like iPad apps allow students to get to the message
unconstrained by their social limitations" (Safran, 2002 p.64-5). While this has an
obvious beneft for AS students, there needs to be an awareness not to develop a
dependency on such tools. While various iPad apps can help organise or become social
translators, this should not be at the expense of real interactions and support. To
retreat entirely in to the iPad and away from social interaction would avoid the benefts
that come with group and peer collaboration (Lyons et al. 2011, p.110). Ultimately, such
avoidance would only lead to further and more entrenched exclusion. Like any
approach to learning, it needs to be managed as part of a balanced approach to a
meaningful and inclusive education environment.
References:
Dahle, K. B., & Gargiulo, R. M. (2004). Understanding Asperger disorder: A primer for
early childhood educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 199-203.
Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011). Classroom management: Creating positive
learning environments (3rd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Cengage Learning.
Safran, J. S. (2002). Supporting students with Asperger's Syndrome in general
education. Teaching Exceptional Children, 34(5), 60-66.
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iPad App Links:
Emotion Detective:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/emotion-detective/id523056642?mt=8
CanPlan:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/canplan/id598687543?mt=8
Proloquo2Go:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/proloquo2go/id308368164?mt=8
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