Autism is defined as a spectrum disorder that impairs a students’ ability to effectively communicate or engage socially in a school community. Students have varying degrees of autistic engagement and severity of impairment which is why medical researchers have called it a “spectrum disorder.” A student with autism has repetitive behaviors that provide structure and predictability. For Lucille, a high school teacher in a suburban school community, the two students with autism in her self-contained classroom of nine students have taught her how to become a more effective teacher along an educational spectrum.
When Lucille obtained her Master’s in Special Education in 2002 with a minor concentration in Autistic
studies, she was determined to find a classroom of autistic students to teach. After she got her first job in August of 2002 in a high school urban school working with special education students, she received
IEPs (Individualized Education Program) indicating that in a class of nine students, two of her students had been diagnosed with Autism. With an education minor in Autism, she was determined to learn more on how to create instruction and curriculum design to help them reach their academic potential.
Lucille developed professional affiliations with the Autism Society of America (ASA) and became entrenched in the lives of her two students with Autism. She worked with families and community organizations to design a part of the classroom with educational resources to increase her capacity to teach and diagnose their learning capacities. Lucille learned from the Brigance test that Joe was highly capable and could be placed in mainstream classes for core and elective classes and given Instructional Assistant support. From Matthew’s testing, Lucille learned that he was comfortable in attending a PE (Physical Education) class with an Instructional Assistants’ support, but needed remedial support for his reading and math skills. Along with four low incidence special education students, Matthew stayed with her in a self-contained educational environment, where she taught the core subject areas.
With ongoing professional development and educational support, Lucille was able to create a proactive learning environment where both Joe and Matthew could actualize their learning capacity and academic potential. Her proudest moments came four years later when Joe accepted a scholarship to a Junior College to study Communications and Matthew was accepted into an intern program for the Culinary Arts.