Social inclusion in the early years 67services. Indeed, many programs for young children with ASD purport to be doing
this very thing ... preparing them for inclusion. However, we are aware of no data
suggesting that this happens with any regularity. In fact, the opposite is demonstra-
bly provable. That is, once children begin their education in a segregated setting,
they stay there (Strain, 2015). A second pervasive myth is that children with ASD
cannot be provided with a sufficient intensity of instruction in inclusive settings.
While embedded instruction has at least a three-decade research history, there are
few examples in the literature where instructional opportunities have been tracked
for children with ASD. Finally the myth that inclusive environments are “too stim-
ulating” is pervasive, notwithstanding the fact that there is not one study of which
we are aware to directly support this myth. Of course, the primary basis of the “too
stimulating” myth comes from the sensory integration movement, which has yet to
yield evidence of effectiveness or relevance for young children with ASD (Barton
et al., 2015).
Finally, we think that preschool inclusion needs to be thought about as the
launch point and not the end point for inclusive opportunities. We base this idea
on results from a follow-up study on LEAP participants (Strain, 2015). Here, chil-
dren with ASD were followed for four years after the preschool experience. Based
largely on school district policy, some children were enrolled in developmentally
segregated kindergarten classes and then stayed there for the follow-up period. By
contrast, other children who were matched in level of Autism symptoms to the
developmentally segregated group were enrolled in inclusive kindergarten settings
and they remained in that type of setting for four years as well. At third grade, the
two groups differed fundamentally on measures of Autism symptoms, academic
achievement, language skills, and social skills, all heavily favoring the children who
experienced a continuation of inclusive education. These data suggest that the ben-
efits of inclusive settings for children with ASD may, in fact, be underestimated if
inclusion is limited only to the preschool years.
References
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Barton, E. E., and Smith, B. J. (2014). Brief summary: Fact sheet of research on preschool inclusion.
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