AN EXPERIENCE OF INCLUDING A STUDENT WITH AUTISM

The main object of this article is to share my own experience with a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in a common school setting. My desire is for this article to be useful for those teachers who, like me, are working with students with ASD, for example in a context such as mainstreaming. At the same time, I would like this article to encourage teachers to have a friendly and understanding attitude towards these children. My experience has shown that they can truly teach us as much as we can teach them. Through this article I will explain the work we undertook at our school, beginning with a theoretical section which refers to the characteristics of children with ASD. Afterward, I will explain the related training and resources used to start the demanding but stimulating project and our results. Furthermore, I want to make a point on the importance of the teacher's role in this process, as he or she is in daily contact with the student. I will talk about the need for good teacher training in order to attend to the special needs of children with ASD, as well as the need for the involvement of the entire educational community.