Autism Online Courses

Autism and Access to Postsecondary Education

Autism is a disease that has influenced a significant number of children and young adults. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is living to the graduate level despite daunting educational conditions. Since autism is an increasing public health issue, early identification and management strategies must be introduced to ensure that these children and young people have access to postsecondary education (Hart, Grigal, and Weir 109).

Tailored Approaches and Assistance

To be competitive, students clearly need tailored approaches and assistance in the classroom. Many clinicians and healthcare professionals have made guidelines for students on the autism spectrum’s emotional, occupational, and learning needs. The government and the stakeholders have ensured specialized planning for the school transition of these students thus making the educational as well as the social lives successful. Reports from the health department have confirmed that the pupils with autism disorder are increasing and the need for educational strategies improvement is also increasing. However, concerns about their educational experiences in the mainstream schools are attracting the public. Research has concluded that the autistic students are being bullied by other pupils and are viewed as hard to teach (White, Scahill and Koenig 1403). It is also evident that students with autism disorders are twenty times likely to be excluded from mainstream schools as compared to those with special needs. The data indicates that evidence-based strategies have to be installed to ensure that the presence, acceptance, and achievement of students with ASD are put into mainstream settings. Improving the social and educational requirements of the students is the primary strategy for addressing the needs of the pupils. Many governments have embarked on providing online courses for the children rather than traditional courses to minimize the challenges they experience in schools ranging from the academic experiences, teachers, and other students (Hamad, Serna and Morrison 195).

Online Courses for Autism

The children with autism grow into adults who want to join colleges and study like the other peers. Several services have to be put into place to make the students enjoy their school life and be successful. The awareness of children with autism is growing, and a lot of research is being carried out to help parents and teachers to understand the unique behaviors and needs of these pupils. Children who have grown with the condition to young adulthood confess that the children have to be prepared for a transition that helps them face the challenges in social relationships, academics, and employment (Hart, Grigal and Weir 110). Academically, research has proved that the traditional courses the autism students are exposed to are challenging because the students often face discrimination from their fellow pupils and some teachers claim that teaching the ASD is difficult. The tolerance of the students in the learning institutions is becoming unbearable, and thus the introduction of online courses is a great advantage to the students as well as the teachers (VanBergeijk, Klin and Volkmar 84). The paper will provide an argument that supports the idea that online courses would be better than the traditional class for young adults on the autism spectrum.

What Are Online Schools?

Online schools refer to learning institutions that teach courses entirely through online methods. The online courses have replaced the traditional mode of teaching that requires a student to have direct contact with the tutors. The courses have to be fully accredited so as to serve the purpose of the curriculum. There are many reasons for the growing need to incorporate virtual courses in the education sector in particular for students with autism disorder. For example, online courses are fast and efficient because all the student’s services are conducted through internet technology (Hart, Grigal and Weir 115). The online courses differ from the traditional classes through the physical media that links educators, administrators, and the children. Despite having no physical face to face communication with the teachers, online courses provide the students with the opportunity to keep in contact with the educators and other children through web connectivity. The children can also make phone call communications with the teachers who can assist them without the need to travel and meet them in person. To improve the communication and interaction strategy, many online institutions have implemented system programs to build and maintain students’ profiles. There also many online books and journals made available for online use. Students with the autism disorder cannot afford to travel to far schools and colleges as normal children do (Hamad, Serna and Morrison 200). Therefore, providing online courses for them to access while at home is appropriate and beneficial for the students. Moreover, lack of travel costs is also a saving factor for the parents because they do not have to pay for their kids’ transport to schools.

Economic Feasibility and Equal Opportunities

Moreover, attending traditional courses in mainstream schools requires financial fees and other school materials to add up such as textbooks and teacher’ teaching materials. On the contrary, most online courses will always provide electronic reading materials free of cost because they are made available on the internet. For instance, students taking computer engineering classes can access web design class for free and use products such as Corel without any cost. The pupils can receive a full version of selected programs with a limited license thus the success of online schools. Traditional courses may also require the use of computers that are provided for the students to share. The machines will often use Microsoft operating system and Windows XP depending on the course work requirements (Humphrey 42). However, many online courses require that the student has their laptops which are provided for free for the autism students by the government. It is evident that these students when they undergo the leading traditional courses together with other normal students are likely to be disadvantaged and their needs might be neglected (VanBergeijk, Klin and Volkmar 105). The development of online schools for them has solved the problem of bullying from their fellows and the complaints from teachers that teaching them is difficulty.

Benefits of Online Schools

Online schools are better than traditional schools because they provide the students with many materials that are needed to address their individual need. For example, laptops, study guides, course guides, science kits, art, supplies, network routers, and printers. Therefore there is no need of students traveling to schools where they can meet the teachers. For a long time, teachers have blamed the parents of the autistic children that their pupils are manipulating and they are not ready to fit in the mainstream traditional courses (Hamad, Serna and Morrison 203). The tutors have failed to understand and recognize the challenges the child faces in trying to adapt to the environment and curriculum. With online courses, the child and the parent will not have to face the dilemma anymore. Schools teaching traditional courses do not appreciate the training for special needs students like the ASD. There is substantial evidence that the schools’ administrators and teachers do not have the knowledge and training to deal with autistic students. The teachers are not motivated to obtain the training independently, and thus many traditional schools are using punitive and restrictive measures when dealing with the autistic pupils (Hart, Grigal and Weir 120). This is not the case with online schools where the program is entirely oriented and designed to fit the needs of the students.

Economic Feasibility and Equal Opportunities

The parents with autistic children are likely to experience financial constraints as they try to balance the payments for education and treatment. The online schools have proved to be more economically feasible than traditional schools. The cost of setting an online school is less because it does not require building and full-time teachers. Instead of setting a mainstream facility, the money can be directed to programming online education that reaches many autistic pupils. The students with a low income can be provided with internet access, laptops, and other supplies needed for their schooling. The online courses are a great equalizer regarding social, religious, financial, mental, and ethnic differences (White, Scahill and Koenig 1409). It gives the autistic students an equal opportunity to learn and exploit their full potential. They can stay in school by just remaining logged in even when the traditional schools do not accept them. Children can interact with one another through online study groups thus boosting their social life. Many traditional schools neglect and discriminate against pupils with special needs. They often feel out of place and thus cannot perform well in their studies. In online education, children can interact via Wimba and Elluminate, a socialization method that best fits the autistic students. The bullying in mainstream schools is still done despite the laws and policies that restrict the act. On the contrary, there is few bullying reported for online teaching such as cyber-bullying that can be easy to stop with the online IP addresses the moderators can use to track the bullies (Hart, Grigal and Weir 123).

Counterargument: Importance of Interaction and Accreditation

Besides, providing a counterargument to the idea of online courses being better than traditional courses is necessary. For example, online schools do not provide an opportunity for the student to interact with the teacher. Therefore the type of education has been regarded as a directed learning program that lacks socialization. Again, the students have to remain focused in the teaching neglecting the social welfare of the student. The critics of online courses argue that online programs have to be taken seriously by adhering to the educational standards. Policies have been put in place to determine if an online school is accredited and if it is providing quality education to the students. Due to the logistics and requirements needed to set up an online facility, many educators have shunned away from setting up the facilities (Hamad, Serna and Morrison 207). Therefore, many autistic students remain at homes without attending school because they often feel they cannot fit in the traditional schools. The government has to facilitate the setting of the online schools to accommodate the growing number of autistic students.

Conclusion

Autism is a special need that exposes the child to challenging situations such as accessing education. Going through the traditional courses has proved to be difficult for them because of the discrimination from teachers and other students. An alternative of enrolling the students into online schools has provided a solution to the problem. Despite online courses having advantages and disadvantages, the merits are more thus asserting that online courses are better than traditional courses for young adults on the autism spectrum.

Works Cited

Hamad, Charles D., et al. “Extending the Reach of Early Intervention Training for Practitioners: A Preliminary Investigation of an Online Curriculum for Teaching Behavioral Intervention Knowledge in Autism to Families and Service Providers.” Infants and Young Children 23.3 (2010): 195–208.

Hart, Debra, Meg Grigal and Cate Weir. “Expanding the Paradigm: Postsecondary Education Options for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disabilities.” Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities 25.3 (2010): 109-126.

Humphrey, Neil. “Including pupils with autistic spectrum disorders in mainstream schools.” Educational Support and Inclusion 23.1 (2008): 41–47.

VanBergeijk, Ernst, Ami Klin and Fred Volkmar. “Supporting More Able Students on the Autism Spectrum: College and Beyond.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2008): 83-110.

White, Susan Williams, Lawrence Scahill and Kathleen Koenig. “Educational Placements and Service Use Patterns of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 37.8 (2007): 1403–1412.