11 Year Old Autistic Boy In Zealand Killed In Traffic

I felt a real jolt when I saw this story from New Zealand on Hawke's Bay Today of an 11 year old autistic boy killed running alongside an expressway after sneaking out of his home clad only in his pyjamas. Police said Andrew had managed to flee his home in Spriggs Avenue despite his family doing all they could to ensure he stayed safely inside.

A few years ago Conor snuck out of the house without me noticing while I was engaged in a long business call. He crossed a parking lot in front of a busy drinking establishment and was crossing a busy main street when a good Samaritan stopped and took him to safety in a nearby service station convenience store.

Conor is alive and well, unlike Andrew Seong Nam Chan of Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, because of good luck and a good Samaritan. I have never in my life felt such intense fear, and intense guilt, as I did after realizing Conor had left the house. To this day, neither feeling is ever too far from my conscious mind. My thoughts are very much with Andrew's family.

Autism Education; The Inclusion Illusion In New Zealand

In New Zealand schools, parents and students are wrestling with the realities of inclusive education for autistic school children. Stuff.co.nz reports in Schools failing disabled that many students are being sent home from school early in the day or being told to stay home when there is no teacher aide.

A mother of an autistic 12 year old boy tells of him being sent home regularly, and being placed on shortened school days, for disruptive behavior, including hitting. Parents now tend to enroll their children in special education units. Teachers and parents talk about the need for more resources.

Here in New Brunswick, Canada, the inclusion lobby has been very powerful, and successful, at pushing the philosophy that all children benefit from mainstream classroom education. This mainstream classroom education benefits all philosophy is not supported by evidence and is not supported by the experience of some autistic children including my 11 year old son Conor.

Conor was being educated in a mainstream classroom and was frustrated each day, coming home with self inflicted bite marks on his hands and wrists. He was removed from the classroom to a quieter location where he receives instruction with the assistance of a teacher aide. He visits the mainstream classroom for visits with his peers, for defined periods of time and for activities within his range of abilities. Sometimes they visit him in his area for reading buddies and other similar activities.

The point is not that what works for Conor would work for all autistic children. The point is that it is necessary to take an evidence based approach to determine what works for each child. Some autistic children can function well in the mainstream classroom; some do not. Some require one to one ABA based instruction or other types of individualized instruction in a quieter area where they are not overwhelmed by their environment.

The belief that mainstream classroom inclusion works for all, including all autistic children, is an illusion. It is not supported by evidence. Look at what works for each child and educate the child accordingly.