Schools under pressure due to increase in ASD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 29 March 2009

Schools under pressure due to increase in ASD cases

The increase in the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is having an impact in New Zealand schools according to teachers, parents and specialists interviewed in a newly-released video Autism at School.

Children with autism, a developmental disorder that affects the brain’s ability to process information, have problems at school with communication, understanding, concentration and behaviour. The number of children diagnosed with ASD has been increasing steadily since the 1980s and researchers routinely quote figures of one in every 100 live births.

“We filmed teachers who are creating learning environments in which ASD students can thrive, but they also speak of the disastrous consequences if the teacher does not know how to programme effectively for an autistic child and the impact that can have on the student’s ability to learn, their anxiety levels and behaviour,” said video director Jude Smith from Southern Moon Productions, who filmed in several schools in the Central Otago town of Cromwell and the South Auckland town of Pukekohe.

In the video, teachers and parents talk about children who became nervous wrecks or routinely disrupted the whole classroom because they didn’t have the support they needed to cope in the school environment.

“Only children who are severely disabled seem to qualify for extra support at school through the Ministry of Health, yet the Ministry seriously underestimates the effect a child with autism can have on the school” said Catherine Forsyth, the mother a 10-year-old boy featured in one of the video case studies.

“I am hoping this video will generate more understanding of the challenges both the student and the family face when a child with autism enters the school environment,” she said.

Amongst the case studies shown on the video is a ground-breaking initiative from Parkside special school in Pukekohe which runs several satellite classes in nearby schools and sends specialist teachers into other mainstream schools on weekly visits to support teachers and teacher aides working with ASD students.

“The visiting teacher service allows these children to access their neighbourhood schools with support and appropriate programmes. The schools at the same time gradually learn how to work with these children,” said Parkside School Principal Judith Nel.

“Feedback from the schools shows they are feeling far better supported, parents feel they have a viable option for their child and the young children are coming out with their learning intentions met,” Mrs Nel said.

In Autism at School, ASD students also talk about the problems they face with teasing and bullying. Parents say peer support is the best way to combat the problem and one example shown is the blame-free bullying approach where the bullies themselves are used to help support a teenage student with Asperger’s Syndrome.

For more details about Autism at School, go to http://southernmoon.weebly.com.

- ENDS –

© Scoop Media