Quote:
Originally Posted by Wookie
But if suddenly I had to babysit a few Autistic kids on the ice. I'm sorry, but that would just suck the desire for me to help. Am I a jerk? Maybe... Maybe I could handle one that was exceptionally closer to the non-autistic spectrum.
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Autism has a very wide spectrum, and kids on the mild end of it are so close to "normal" that you wouldn't even notice if not for certain stims or tendencies. Others are nearly uncontrollable. My wife has worked in behavioural modification therapy and speech instruction with autistic children for over twelve years, and the needs of each of these children are truly unique. When incorporating special needs kids into mainstream programs, each case really should be looked at on an individual basis. Sadly, the way most programs are funded these days, personalized service like that is a pipe dream.
I do think that it's unfair to force individuals who are not trained to work with special needs children to do so. Situations like that can be very uncomfortable and frustrating for the instructor, and often are less than ideal for the child as well as they may not respond well to certain teaching methods or class structure. It's not a reflection on the instructor at all, but autistic children often struggle with mainstream programming and can be very disruptive or unnerving for instructors or other students/class participants. I consider myself to be a pretty patient person but there is no way I could do what my wife does with these kids.
To Photon's point, it would be ideal to have aides available for these children, but again cost becomes a hurdle. Many families with special needs do receive money from the provincial government to help with this, but the amount depends largely on the severity of the child's condition. Most aide programs are focused on education, and the kids who get enough money to have full time aides or even enough hours to get someone to work with them outside of school are severe enough that they probably wouldn't do well in a class like this anyway.