Running head: ARE CANADIAN TEACHERS PRIMED TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH 1

ASD?

Are Canadian Teachers Primed to Support Children With ASD (And Their Families) in the

Regular Classroom?

Bethany Briones

Trinity Western University

ARE CANADIAN TEACHERS PRIMED TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH ASD? 2

As a teacher, I have dealt with numerous students who present with Autism Spectrum

Disorder (ASD) and their families, and spoken with other teachers in the same situation who are

struggling to support these students. ASD is a “neurodevelopmental disorder that includes

impairments in language, communication skills, and social interactions combined with restricted

and repetitive behaviours, interests or activities” (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018, p.2).

Towards the last few months of the previous school year, a student with Autism Spectrum

Disorder (ASD) was moved from a mainstream grade two class to my class, because he had

made no academic progress that year so far. Being that I was the Opportunity teacher, a class

designed for students with mild to moderate cognitive delays, I was willing to take this student

and fit him into our smaller class size of twelve with more supports. However, the struggle to

teach students with ASD has become an increasing challenge not only in my school, but in

schools across Canada. One in sixty six children and youth between the ages of five to

seventeen years old are diagnosed with ASD in Canada, which means it is likely that a teacher

will teach a student with ASD at some point in their career (Public Health Agency of Canada,

2018). Although Canadian teachers will most probably have a student with ASD in their

classroom, they have not been adequately trained to support them.

To begin, Canadian universities do not provide enough education and training to teach

preservice teachers on issues in inclusive education, such as ASD. Most only require one

course for students to obtain their bachelor of education undergraduate degree (McCrimmon,

2015). As well, these courses are mainly based on theory and do not give students the

opportunity to put their theory into practice (McCrimmon, 2015). This means teachers do not

learn how to teach students with exceptionalities, such as ASD, until they are in their own

classrooms. Even then, they are left with little guidance, except maybe from their colleagues. As

well, one course on inclusive education is not enough to learn the diverse needs. ASD could be

a course all on its own. Although McCrimmon (2015) suggests that teachers could obtain more

education regarding ASD through post graduate classes or professional development, this is
ARE CANADIAN TEACHERS PRIMED TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH ASD? 3

something teachers have to do on their own time, which is difficult when they already have the

demands of preparing and planning. This creates a divide between teachers who are able to

teach students with ASD and those who are not. An example of this at my own school was

when a student in my class with ASD was yelled at by a supervisor at recess for being in the

wrong area of the field. She had thought he was choosing to ignore her orders, when in reality

he was confused as to which area he was allowed to play at and the immediate yelling and

noise scared him and resulted with him in tears and afraid. If she had been informed of the

signs of ASD, she would have known that he was doing self-stimulatory behaviour and that

yelling would not be the appropriate management tool. It is not enough for some teachers to

learn more about ASD while others do not, since teachers need to work together to create a

safe and inclusive learning environment for all students.

Secondly, teachers lack the necessary resources and assistance to meet the wide range

of needs to support students with ASD. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada

(2018), it is common for students with ASD to have one or more comorbid conditions such as

developmental disorders which requires them to have numerous tools and supports. For

instance, a student with ASD may be nonverbal or working on their communication skills, but

funding to get resources such as Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) apps are

scarce. On the other hand, even if there is enough in the budget, teachers have to be the ones

to advocate for resources and even then students with higher functioning autism or Asperger’s

syndrome are often neglected to give resources to those with low functioning autism (Lindsay,

Proulx, Thomson, & Scott, 2013). Recently, my school got a new occupational therapist, but she

has barely been in the classroom as she has a huge caseload of twenty schools to visit and the

student I have has high functioning autism compared to other needs of students with autism

within the school. There is also more of a focus in Alberta on intervention for students with ASD

at a kindergarten level with the provision of an educational assistant that works with them one-

on-one and frequent visits from an occupational therapist and speech language therapist
ARE CANADIAN TEACHERS PRIMED TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH ASD? 4

(Centre For Autism, n.d.). However, once that student is finished kindergarten, their next

teachers are often left in the dust to try and figure out how to best support that student

especially with the lack of help provided. Although there are supports in place, there is not

enough for all students with ASD to access it long term. This leaves teachers on their own to

determine the best tools to support their students with ASD.

Lastly, even if teachers get the proper education and support, they are continuously

discovering the best way to meet the uniqueness of their student with ASD. ASD is distinct in

that each person that presents with it has different “symptoms, deficits, and abilities” which

make it difficult for educators to feel confident teaching these students (Public Health Agency of

Canada, 2018, p.2). Whatever strategy for one student with ASD does not necessarily work for

another student with the same diagnosis. For instance, Armstrong (2012, p.71) says that there

are “many different kinds of autism as there are people who have it- from totally nonverbal

individuals with intellectual disabilities on the one hand, to superintelligent and highly verbal

people with Asperger’s syndrome on the other”. One does not know what a student with ASD is

capable of doing unless you take the time to read their assessments, reports, and develop a

relationship with them. To better put things into perspective, in the Edmonton Public School

district I teach in there are classes specifically for students who have ASD and the goal of it is to

help them develop their academic skills as well as their communication skills, social interactions,

and behaviour (Edmonton Public Schools, 2013). However, it would not be best suited for all

students who have ASD and some are higher functioning and are capable of being in a

mainstream class. Sometimes the interactions class might do them more harm since they need

to be with other students their age so they can be challenged and have positive peer role

models. On the other hand, a student with ASD in a mainstream class might get anxiety from

the large class size and struggle to interact with their peers and get the required support from

their teacher. This also applies to managing a student’s behaviour, a student with ASD might

need social stories and a step by step visual of the tasks or schedules whereas another student
ARE CANADIAN TEACHERS PRIMED TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH ASD? 5

with ASD can be shown and modelled what to do once and they won’t need additional visuals.

The only way to really understand what a student with ASD needs or can do is if you have

rapport with them and see what does and does not work.

In summary, teachers in Canada need to have more training on ASD, additional tools

and supports, and an understanding of the individual child that they are teaching with ASD. It is

not enough for one general education course in university on inclusive education to prepare

teachers to support the child with ASD, and teachers already in the classroom setting need to

be more informed about the needs and strengths of ASD. As well, teachers cannot be expected

to educate a student with ASD, when they are not given sufficient resources, such as

communication devices and time with consultants to offer advice. Then even with sufficient

knowledge, training, and supports for students with ASD, teachers need to get to know each

student with ASD as a unique individual who has different strengths, capabilities, and

expectations than a previous student with ASD they have taught. If we expect students with

ASD to have academic and social success than we need to better prepare and equip the ones

setting them up for that success.

ARE CANADIAN TEACHERS PRIMED TO SUPPORT CHILDREN WITH ASD? 6

References

Armstrong, T. (2012). Neurodiversity in the classroom: Strength-based strategies to help

students with special needs succeed in school and life. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Publications.

Centre For Autism. (n.d.). The common approach: Children 5 & under. Retrieved from

https://centreforautism.ab.ca/program/common-approach/

Edmonton Public Schools. (2013). Interactions: Program description. Retrieved from

https://epsb.ca/programs/specialeducation/interactions/

Lindsay, S., Proulx, M., Thomson, N., & Scott, H. (2013). Educators’ Challenges of Including

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Mainstream Classrooms. 60(4), 347–362.

McCrimmon, A. W. (2015). Inclusive Education in Canada: Issues in Teacher Preparation. 2–5.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451214546402

Public Health Agency of Canada. (2018). Autism spectrum disorder among children and youth

in canada 2018: A report of the national autism spectrum disorder surveillance system

(Publication No. 170433). Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/public-

health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder-children-

youth-canada-2018.html