In previous posts, I have argued that the mainstream school can be – rather than an inclusive environment – a place where autistic children are victimized and isolated.  It isn’t always, but it often is.

However, we often hear the idea that autistic people should be mainstreamed because exposure to neurotypical peers can improve their social skills (e.g., Lynch & Irvine, 2009, p. 848, Roberts & Simpson, 2016, p. 1086; Sansosti & Sansosti, 2012, p. 924).  In theory, because neurotypical children are more socially skilled than autistics, the autistic children need to be exposed to the neurotypicals in order to learn from them.

It sounds reasonable, at first.

But how much does observing a social skill executed in real time actually help those with social challenges duplicate it?  Neurotypicals don’t bother to slow down for autistic observers, nor will they repeat a conversation for the sake of those observers.  Instead of helping autistic children learn social skills, the chance to observe rapid, fluent interactions of neurotypical children in mainstream settings might instead serve as a constant reminder for autistic children that their own social understanding, and status, is lesser.

It is also unclear whether neurotypical children give autistic children enough opportunities to practice social skills.  As I mentioned earlier, autistics in the mainstream are often isolated, or even victimized.  Positive social interactions might be few and far between.  Children on the autism spectrum might learn to avoid interactions with other children, lest such interactions turn into episodes of bullying.

I’ve seen autistics, especially cognitively-able autistics, conversing far more happily and fluidly with other autistics than with neurotypicals.  Yet with neurotypicals, they become shy and quiet – if they are not outright frightened, then they could at least be described as cautious and watchful.  Thus, ironically enough, autistic people with enough social skills to begin with, but who still have social impairments, would probably learn them better from those who also have social impairments.

In a sense, what I’m talking about here relates closely to the idea of a zone of proximal development – an idea which comes from the Russian psychologist Vygotsky.  By proximal development, Vygotsky meant things that children could do, but only with some guidance and support.

Basically, Vygotsky thought that people shouldn’t spending all of their time relearning what they already know (after all, that doesn’t lead to growth), but at the same time, we shouldn’t be trying to teach somebody skills way beyond their level, either!  If the task we set someone is so far beyond them that they just won’t be able to do it, no matter how much we help them, then they aren’t going to learn to do it.  We have to teach people gradually, setting them tasks that are challenging, but within their ability to accomplish, as long as we are there to provide help.

Social skills in the mainstream are often beyond the zone of proximal development.  Few autistic children will learn to navigate the complex and confusing world of teenage social interaction in the mainstream.  The gap between the social competence of an autistic person, and the social competence of their neurotypical peers, may simply be too great for the autistic kid to catch up, no matter how hard they try, or how much social skills training they receive.  As a result, they may give up, and their social skills might atrophy while their mental health declines.  If they become socially anxious due to the stresses of the mainstream school, opportunities for social practice will decline in number.

On the other hand, social skills in schools specialized for autistic children are within the zone of proximal development.  Autistic children start from a level relatively similar to one another, allowing them to constantly challenge one another to make small but steady improvements.  Some children may be further ahead than others, but I think that heterogeneity only adds to the richness of the special school environment.  Furthermore, adults like educators and speech pathologists can offer further support.[1]

These ideas aren’t purely theoretical: there’s actually empirical research to support my arguments here.  In 2016, Connie Kasari and her colleagues published an excellent study in which they compared two social skills interventions.  One of these interventions was delivered to students to autistic children in specialized groups, while the other one was delivered to autistic children alongside their neurotypical peers in mainstream classes.  Contrary to the authors’ own predictions, the intervention worked better in the specialized setting.

Therefore, I don’t see any real reason to think that mainstreaming is necessary for the learning of social skills.  On the contrary, I think many autistic people will have an easier time learning to navigate the social world in a specialized environment, where they can practice alongside others at their own level and pace – and where they can enjoy themselves and experience friendship while doing so.

As always, I don’t say that everyone should move to a specialized school – but I think those who are struggling to function socially in the mainstream (and they, or their parents, will know who they are) should have the option of trying an alternative.

 

What are your thoughts?  Comment below!

Footnotes

[1] If autistic children in specialized schools can sometimes interact with one another a bit more like adults would than most neurotypical teenagers, precisely because of the influence of their teachers, parents, and other adult support figures, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  I think some autistic people struggle to apply one set of social skills in one context and then to learn another set of social skills for a different context.  Therefore, it might be easier for autistic people to learn adult social skills as children, so they’re ready to be adults when they reach adulthood.

References

Kasari, C., Dean, M., Kretzmann, M., Shih, W., Orlich, F., Whitney, R., … King, B. (2016). Children with autism spectrum disorder and social skills groups at school: a randomized trial comparing intervention approach and peer composition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 57(2), 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12460

Lynch, S. L., & Irvine, A. N. (2009). Inclusive education and best practice for children with autism spectrum disorder: An integrated approach. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 13(8), 845–859. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110802475518

Roberts, J., & Simpson, K. (2016). A review of research into stakeholder perspectives on inclusion of students with autism in mainstream schools. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(10), 1084–1096. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2016.1145267

Sansosti, J. M., & Sansosti, F. J. (2012). Inclusion for students with high functioning autism spectrum disorders: Definitions and decision making. Psychology in the Schools, 49(10), 917-931. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.21652