This book discusses critical issues concerning autism and education, and what constitutes effective pedagogy for this group of learners. Autism is a high-profile area within the discipline of special education, and the issue of how to teach autistic learners remains a contested one: recent theorising has questioned a techno-rationalist approach that places the burden of change on the autistic pupil. The author explores the values that underpin educational approaches within existing pedagogical practice: while these approaches have their individual merits and shortcomings, this book introduces and expands upon a strengths-based approach. This book will appeal to students and scholars of autism and education, with particular regard to teaching autistic learners. ​

Education is an important aspect of the environmental influences on autism and effective education can have a significant effect on outcome for those on the autism spectrum. This handbook is a definitive resource for reflective practitioners and researchers who wish to know and understand current views of the nature of autism and best practice in educational support. It explores the key concepts, debates and research areas in the field.

This ground-breaking book gives an accessible overview and synthesis of current knowledge of relevance to the development of excellence in autism education. By situating understandings of autism within a ‘bio-psycho-social-insider’ framework, the book offers fresh insights and new ways of thinking that bring together global pedagogic practice, research, policy, and the insider perspective. Guldberg critiques current notions of Evidence-Based Practice and suggests ways of bridging the research-practice gap. She explores the interrelationship between inclusive principles, distinctive group learning needs and the individual needs of the child or young person. Eight principles of good autism practice provide a helpful framework for how education settings and practitioners can adapt classroom environments and teaching so that autistic children and young people can thrive. Written for anyone who wants to make a difference to the lives of autistic pupils, Developing Excellence in Autism Practice provides practitioners and students on education courses with tools for best practices, and shows how to draw on these to implement true positive change in the classroom.

This book is a comprehensive practical guide for music eductors who work with students with autism. This second edition offers fully up-to-date information on diagnosis, advocacy, and a collegial team-approach, as well as communication, cognition, behavior, sensory, and socialization challenges. Many 'real-life' vignettes and classroom snapshots are included to transfer theory to practice.

This is a research-based guide that provides a framework for effective training around autism for teachers. An edited collection of short chapters, the book is full of practical activities and discussion points ideally suited for time-stretched trainee teachers, those leading training courses and busy teachers continuing to learn on the job. Focusing on the myriad ways that autism affects pupils and their education, it covers key training strategies around autism including maths, physical education, sex and relationships, behaviour management and more. Each contains the material for a session to be delivered to trainee teachers or to provide a unit of self-study. Combining research into the needs of trainee teachers, parents, and students with autism, this book offers an effective roadmap for teacher training and a better understanding of how to meet the needs of autistic pupils.

Thousands of edcuators have turned to You're Going to Love This Kid! for fresh ways to welcome and teach students with autism; and now the book teachers trust is fully revised and more practical than ever. Gathering feedback from teachers across the US during her popular workshops, autism expert Paula Kluth targeted this second edition to the specific needs of today's primary- and secondary-school educators. Still packed with the ready-to-use tips and strategies that teachers are looking for, the new edition gives readers: dozens of NEW reproducible forms, checklists, and planning tools; photos of curricular adaptations, sensory supports and classroom scenes; throughly revised and updated chapters on today's hottest topics; a study guide with challenging discussion questions for each chapter; and new ideas throughout the book based on the latest reasearch on autism, inclusion, literacy, and behaviour. Readers will also get updates on all of the other topics covered in the first edition, including fostering friendships, building communication skills, planning challenging and multidimensional lessons, and adapting the curriculum and the physical environment. And with the new first-person stories from people with autism and their teachers and parents, readers will have a better understanding of students on the spectrum and how to include them successfully.

Becoming Mobius is about living with uncertainty. Uncertainty is a state of being that many people struggle with both in day-to-day life and in education; being uncertain has almost become a sin. If we are truly to have an education system that 'works', we need to accept that learning and life are not simple, and we need to engage with difficult and complex ideas. Focusing on the process of learning and teaching, Dr Debra Kidd posits the possibility that wondering and wandering teachers might impact greatly on a child's ability to live with and thrive among uncertainties. She asks of us, not only as teachers or researchers, but simply as human beings, what are the things that affect us, and how can we remain attuned to all their possibilities while still functioning? Taking cues from neuroscience, physi, anthropology and philosophy, particularly that of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, but also Hannah Arendt, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and others, Dr Kidd explores the nature and purpose of education through a series of different lenses. Details, moments, interactions and relationships are put under the microscope and their effects on teaching and learning examined. Becoming Mobius started life as Debra Kidd's doctoral thesis and draws on her extensive classroom experience, her own observations and research, and a broad base of educational thought; including the work of Gert Biesta, Masny's Multiple Literacies and more. In Becoming Mobius each chapter is presented as a plateau and maps the complexities of teaching and learning. This is a journey through a landscape of education. It is not a straight route. It is not a cop-out. It is a means of living in, with and through complexity and multiplicity. It is an attempt to bring forward a fresh vision of education. This is an honest, challenging and incredibly profound book that makes you stop and think - deeply - about what you do, why you do it and the effect it has. You will never look at teaching in the same light again. For anyone interested in thinking deeply about education.