Rosy McGuinness, an autism specialist with Loudon County Schools, said the challenges abound for students, parents, teachers, and districts.
Schools must find a balance between offering individualized, focused instruction, while also giving students with autism the chance to participate in an inclusive environment where they’re a part of the school community, McGuinness said.
Training teachers is also an essential part of classroom support for children with autism.
“We have to understand the nature of autism, its characteristics and challenges, and we help teachers understand that children [with autism] … lack the skills needed to manage themselves in certain situations,” McGuinness said.
Loudon County opened nine new classrooms specifically for students with autism this year, and the district is working to develop an autism program in every secondary school across the county.
Autism consulting teachers help classroom teachers with observations and on-site training, and McGuinness attends twice-monthly meetings of the Virginia Autism Council to develop competencies and training initiatives that she brings back to her district. Virginia hosts two meetings per year for autism specialists across the state.
Loudon County special-education teachers have five extra days built into their contracts for training, and once a month McGuinness meets with all the district’s autism teachers for short training sessions.
Ed Steinberg, the state director of special education for the Colorado Department of Education, said his state has seen a 600-percent increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism in the last six years.
And while the causes of autism are very controversial and highly debated, Steinberg said the condition itself and its skyrocketing diagnoses are very real phenomena.
One challenge schools face is the autism spectrum’s broad range.
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