Autism in an Inclusive Class: A case study of how teachers manage to include pupils with autism

Abstract

The Government of Ghana in the recent years has put in place several policies, aimed at the increasing participation of children with disabilities in the mainstreams classrooms. One of such policies is the Education Strategic Plan, 2003 – 2015 which aims at inclusion of all children with non-severe disability in the mainstream classroom. Following this policy, some pilot inclusive schools were established and some children with special needs including those with autism found themselves in the mainstreams classrooms. One of such pilot schools is the Effiduase Methodist Primary School. This study was done at the Effiduase Methodist Primary 5B of Sekyere East District in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The study goal was to find out how the teacher manages to include the pupil with autism. The study employed two research methods. The main research method was observation which was complemented by semistructured and unstructured interviews. The observations were done in one classroom whiles four targeted respondents were interviewed. The findings of this study indicate that although Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Education has made several significant statutory policies, inadequate teaching and learning materials and lack of resource persons are hampering the successful inclusion of the pupil with autism. However, there is a considerable commitment and dedication on the part of the parent(s) of the pupil with autism, teacher, and authorities of the school which have sustained the inclusion of the pupil with autism