Research Problem: How do lack of adequately trained teachers and ineffective of teaching techniques or strategies by the existing special needs teachers hinder effective learning among autistic children with special education needs? What can be done to ameliorate the situation?
Introduction
Autism is a common learning disability in some children that hinders effective communication with peers or teachers hence adversely affecting learning in school-going children suffering from this condition. This neurological disorder affects the social development of children or their ability to interact with others while also impeding their communication skills. How to assist children with this autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) by the school teachers is a problem that warrants research in order to promote special education among these children. Research shows that children with autism tend to be naturally or “typically good at drawing, math and science” (Buerhrly, 2005, p.70). Accordingly, teaching strategies that involve use of visuals to help them practice these subjects and advance the relevant skills need to be encouraged.
The proposed research seeks to find solutions to the question or problem of lack of enough and properly trained special needs instructors particularly in early childhood development centers. This is given the fact that most learning institutions confine these children in general education classrooms with teachers or facilitators who may not be well equipped to effectively deal with their problems makes it important to research on the most effective ways of facilitating learning among children suffering from autism. The existing problem of lack of adequately trained special needs teachers is also exacerbated by the fact that the unique social, psychological, mental and economic needs of children suffering from this disability are rarely recognized or adequately met (Denning & Moody, 2013, p.3). According to these authors, this gap in the special education needs of autistic children fundamentally and substantially affects the performance and success of such children within the realm of education. The other question that the proposed research seeks to answer to is whether inclusive learning programs involving relevant modes of classroom engagement and evidence-based learning strategies can help meet the special educational needs of autistic children.
In efforts to achieve the objectives of this paper, desktop research using secondary sources of information on the topic such as books, peer review journals, and genuine internet sources will be used to enrich the literature review and buttress the arguments made in the research. By this, I mean that these are the sources of information from which I plan to base my arguments, propositions or assertions and statistics, if any, on the prevalence and impact of the problem at hand., I plan to do the study by interviewing parents and teachers of children with autism on the challenges they face in promoting effective learning or special education among children with disability. From these, plausible learning strategies for children with ASD condition will be suggested.
References
Buerhrly, B. R. (2005). All children can write! Teaching strategies for helping children with autism. Language Arts Journal of Michigan, 21(1), 67-72. Retrieved January 29, 2016, from http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1219&context=lajm
Denning, C. b., & Moody, A. K. (2003, Fall/Winter). Supporting students with autism spectrum disorders in inclusive setting: Rethinking. Electronic journal for Inclusive Education instruction and design, 3(1), 1-21. Retrieved January 29, 2016, from http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1153&context=ejie
