Experience and Challenges in Setting up a Model - Mahasarakham ...

Recommendations

Info

Challenges IJEAD 2(2) : 37-47, 2011 The main challenge faced by the demonstration classroom is funding. The current funding has ended and the classroom has to depend on contributions from the public to pay the teachers’ salary and purchase teaching materials. Disabilities in Malaysia are viewed from the welfare model of disability, therefore the need to carry out research on disabilities is not understood by the society. As there is little funding for disabilities to begin with in Malaysia, there is more emphasis on funding service provision rather than research. At the beginning of the research project, difficulties in finding trained teachers in special education and autism was a major challenge. Students who graduate with a degree in Special Education are all employed by the government to teach in schools. Therefore all teachers and teacher’s aides in the model demonstration classroom do not have qualifications in Special Education. However, after 2 years of working in classroom with continuous training by the research team, the teachers have shown highly satisfactory progress in their teaching abilities. Their progress is further spurred by a 6-weeks training implemented by a master Special Education teacher with thirty years teaching experience from the United States of America. As teacher training has to be implemented at the same time as the operation of the classroom, the research team has decided that the teaching strategies that were to be investigated will be implemented one at a time and not all at one go. This initial restrain in resources 44 turns out to be a learing curve to the research team. The first teaching strategy that was chosen to be implemented was Structured Teaching. This strategy has proven to be very successful, the teachers found it easy to be implemented and it has helped the classroom to be structured resulting in the smooth running of the classroom. The lesson thus learnt from this implementation was that this strategy may be the most suitable for use in Malaysian special education classrooms, where teachers have little information and training on autism. A research is currently underway to investigate the effect of implementing Structured Teaching in Special Education classrooms in government schools. Another major challenge to this project is the lack of space. As the funding received was small and space limited, the research team had no choice but to set up the classroom in a building that used to be a cafeteria. The lack of space has hindered the implementation of teaching strategy that was to be implemented. The research team is currently trying to raise funds to build a center that will be spacious enough where teaching strategies can be implemented successfully. The final challenge of this research project is the complexity of doing research involving not only with children who autism, but also their families. The research team itself has to equipt itself with effective coomunication and collaborative skills in order to work with parents. Teachers not only have to be trained to work with the students with autism, but they also have to be trained to work with parents and under graduate students who come to volunteer at the classroom. However, the efforts
to overcome this challenge have led to improved and effective coomunication and collaborative skills among the research team and teachers. The insights gained from working with students with autism, parents and under graduate students have been valuable Conclusion There is a high demand for quality autism educational service. For example, the autism model demonstration classroom has been bombarded with request from parents to have their children with autism to be enrolled there. However, due to constraints in terms of funding, space and manpower, these requests References IJEAD 2(2) : 37-47, 2011 45 sadly, have to be turned down. Therefore, in order for this research project to have a positive impact on children with autism, in the state of Selangor, where the university is, if not the whole country, this research project is ready to launch into its second phase. This phase will include the implementing of Structured Teaching in 3 Special Education classrooms in schools in Selangor, the publication of books for the benefit of parents and teachers and a parent education project. However, the future of this classroom hinges upon its financial well being. It is hoped that this classroom will survive for the sake of a better future for children with autism in this country. American Psychiatric Association, (2000). Miller, W. R. (Ed.). (2000). Integrating spirituality into treatment: Resources for practitioners. Baron-Cohen, S., Scott, F.J., Allison, C., Williams, J., Bolton, P., Matthews, F.E., & Brayne, C. (2009). Prevalence of autism-spectrum conditions: U.K. schoolbased population study. The British Journal of Psychiatry 194:500-509. Center for Disease Control. Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders --- Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, 2002. MMWR CDC Surveillance Summaries, February 9, 2007, Vol. 56, No. SS-1. (1 in 150) Dawson, G., & Adams, A., (1984). Imitation and social responsiveness in autistic children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 12(2): 209-226. Dawson, G., & Osterling, J. (1997). Early intervention in autism. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), The effectiveness of early intervention, pp. 307-326. Baltimore: Brookes. Fenske, Zalenski, Krantz, & McClannahan, (1985). Age at intervention and treatment outcome for autistic children in a comprehensive intervention program. Analysis & Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, 5(1-2):49-58. Filipek, P. A., Accardo, P. J., Baranek, G. T., Cook, E. H., Dawson, G., Gordon, B., et al. (1999). The screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29, 439–483.
Page 1 and 2: International Journal of Educationa
Page 3 and 4: & Handleman, 2000). For intensive i
Page 5 and 6: Teaching and Leaning in the Demonst
Page 7: centered approach. The main tenet o
Page 11: IJEAD 2(2) : 37-47, 2011 Wetherby,

Experience and Challenges in Setting up a Model - Mahasarakham ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?