Thursday, April 1, 2010

Autism and School Suspensions

Many students struggle with behavioral issues in school that sometimes end up in suspensions. Researchers have found that many of these suspensions are linked to undiagnosed autism.

According to Shaun Heasley “As many as one third of children suspended from British schools for displaying disruptive or aggressive behaviors could actually be exhibiting signs of undiagnosed autism, new research indicates.

In a study of 26 British elementary school students at risk for suspension or who were suspended from school, scientists found that one in three qualified for a diagnosis of autism.

The findings are surprising, researchers say, because none of the students — who attended 16 different schools — were previously suspected of having the developmental disorder. Instead school staff pegged the students as unruly and disruptive.”

With my background as a father with three teenagers that have autism and an advocate in my community, I have noticed that here in the United States suspensions are increasing in alarming rates. Some of the parents have chosen to have their children tested and found that their child has some form of autism. For more information see:
Undiagnosed Autism Could Be To Blame In Many School Suspensions at Disability Scoop

6 comments:

Cruiselife & Co said...

Wow, that's an interesting assessment. Although I'm not sure how accurate it is. I was unruly and disruptive in class years ago, but I still made good grades. For the most part.

Chris Stonecipher said...

Lauren,
Not all people with autism have serious behavioral issues but many do. It is my opinion that the outburst are due to communication barriers and social anxiety which is common in people with autism.

Glynis Peters said...

That is an interesting find. At least they get chance of help.

Anonymous said...

Another interesting post. I think we are just now starting to publicly give some of this life changing disorders, such as autism, the attention that they need to demand a better medical understanding from the medical community.

jo oliver

Anonymous said...

Most people are ignorant/not aware/insensitive. It's one thing to know the medical definition or descriptions of such conditions, and quite another to empathize with such students. And it's so easy to brand them as badly behaved or disruptive. The most difficult thing about dealing with autistic children is that they are uncommunicative about their needs and feelings.

CA Johnson said...

This was a very interesting article. I have a friend who has a child who has autism.

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