Providing a role model for an eclectic approach to autism education

A national school in Dublin's Donnycarney has 36 children with autism on its roll. It copes using an eclectic approach. Children are taught in special classes and in the mainstream school

'We're not anti-ABA. We use a lot of ABA in what we do here." Gerry Cogan, principal of Our Lady of Consolation National School in Donnycarney, Dublin doesn't want to get into a debate about approaches to autism.

His school is one of those using the eclectic approach that is currently being endorsed by the Department of Education. He just wants to point out that while Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is one effective approach to the condition, it's not the only one.

"Different children will require different approaches," says Cogan. "We are concerned with the holistic development of the child . . . It makes for happy children and we feel it's successful."

Indeed, between four and five children leave the school's unit for children with autism each year to join mainstream classes in their local schools.

The school currently has five, what it terms, "special classes", 36 children diagnosed with varying levels of autistic spectrum disorder now attend and the classes are staffed by five qualified teachers and 21 special needs assistants. Of those 36 children, five are currently attending mainstream classes for the full school day, while a further 12 children attend on a part-time basis.

The unit started off with just four students in 2001. The report of the National Task Force on Autism was published that year and while acknowledging the value of ABA, it recommended an eclectic approach for dealing with autism. The eclectic approach uses a variety of teaching strategies and it has been somewhat unfairly represented as a disjointed mish-mash of theories and methodologies.

According to class teacher Vanessa Casserly, this is just untrue. "The school day is very structured and ordered," she explains. "Each child has an individual education plan which sets out educational targets and evaluates the child's progress, but it's individually tailored for the child."

She is keen to point out that while different methodologies, including ABA, are used within the plans they are used in a cohesive manner. The child's progress is assessed and monitored every step of the way. If something isn't working, then it's adjusted.

Casserly's classroom is divided into distinct areas. Two children are sitting at tables known as "individual work stations". They are working through tasks such as sorting and word matching.

"I would normally be at that table over there working one-on-one with one of the children," says Casserly, motioning towards a table near the centre of the room. To the left of that is a table where children eat their lunch, and to the right of it, three boys are working in a group with a special needs assistant. The atmosphere is calm, and when one child begins to get slightly agitated, and Casserly calms him down with a few reassuring words.

Children are allowed to progress at their own pace, but there is a constant awareness that they are being prepared for a world outside the classroom. "Life outside school is difficult and unpredictable," says teacher Michelle Brady. "We try to gently prepare them for that."

Structure and routine in the school day is hugely important, but teachers gradually prepare the children for the possibility of change.

Brady explains: "We have coloured footprints on the floor to indicate who should stand where in the line for example, but we change the position of those each day." Small changes in the routine of the day are introduced bit by bit and the children do become more accustomed to unexpected variations.

In the eclectic approach, emphasis is also put on the consolidation of knowledge and skills. "I might teach a child how to put on his socks in the one-to-one setting," explains Casserly. "He will then move on to the individual work table and practise that when I feel he's ready, but it's only when he manages to put his socks on after we've gone swimming, for example, that I consider the skill to have been mastered."

This approach benefits children if they begin to take part in one of the school's mainstream classes. Junior infant teacher Amanda Marsh takes two of the children from the special classes into her class three mornings a week. "In the beginning it was a struggle," she says. "But they are coping really well now. There are huge benefits on both sides. They're never left alone at yard time. There's always someone over to them being a friend."

Integration into mainstream education is a long process. Like everything else, progress can be painfully slow, but the school has an advantage in having both the special classes and the mainstream in the one location.

Teachers are careful to avoid creating dependency on specific routines or special needs assistants. Indeed children may not even need a special needs assistant after rejoining a mainstream class. It depends on the child of course, but then, according to the teachers, everything does.

Qualified teachers are key to the success of the eclectic approach in Donnycarney. "A teaching degree is like a medical degree. It gives you an excellent grounding from which to specialise," says Cogan. Indeed, having gained skills in speech and language therapy and occupational therapy, the teachers have been able to minimise the impact of the HSE recruitment embargo on the school, he adds.

Of course, if every method has advantages, how can parents of autistic children know what is best for their child?

"I can't advise parents on that," says Cogan. "I would say explore your options. Bring your child to a school on a trial basis, observe and decide what you think best suits your child."

In the end, as Cogan points out, early intervention is crucial but beyond that, the rules vary.

"The children will always have autism," says Cogan. "We're just trying to give them the coping strategies to live with the condition."