Autism And Autism

Autism refers to a disability defined by demonstration of certain types of behaviours and patterns of interaction and communication. It is a profound and poorly understood developmental disability that severely impairs the individual’s ability in the areas of language and social relations. Autism belongs to a group of disorders identified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Fourth Edition (IV) published in 1994 as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs). Autistic children are normal in appearance and physically well developed. Their disabilities in communication and comprehension ranged from mild to profound. Autism can be a lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The prevalence

Schreibman (1988) contended that children with autism can range from high function to nonverbal. Perko and McLauglin, (2002), citing Coleman, (1992), observed that intelligence of individuals with this condition measured in Intelligence Quotients (IQs) may range from less than 10 to more than 130. This means that not all individuals with autism are mentally retarded. Davidson and Neale (1998) reported that approximately 80 per cent of autistic children score below 70 on standardized intelligence tests. Because of the significant number of autistic children who are also mentally retarded, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate the two disabilities. However, their most distinctive feature which helps distinguish them from those solely mentally retarded is that they seem isolated from the world around them. Educators therefore, need to gain greater understanding of this diverse and complex disorder so that children with this disorder will be adequately catered for in an inclusive school

After the 1992 constitution, the first policy that seemed to open the avenues for the children with disabilities in general was the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE). For the first time, the issues of compulsory schooling and disability was addressed by legislation, however, the word ‘inclusion’ was not directly used but regular schools were encouraged rather than mandated to accept children with disabilities including those with autism. In the 2006 Disability Act, provision for inclusion of children with disabilities was made clear and now some efforts are being made to include children with autism in the regular