School inclusion of children with a autism spectrum disorders: literature review of various strategies
This literature review seeks to provide an overview of the principal strategies for school inclusion that have been attempted with children who have autism spectrum disorders. Its main objective is to assess the effectiveness of each of these by analyzing the academic, social and behavioural gains made by the children. As a means of verifying that the strategy has a good chance of being used in the classroom, this literature review mainly focuses on social validation, or the satisfaction of those involved in the inclusion process. Following this, a description of the inclusion, its impact, and a brief picture of the situation in Quebec is presented. School inclusion strategies, in Quebec and elsewhere alike, are articulated around a number of axes: approaches that focus on antecedents, on social skills, the buddy system, as well as educational and cognitive-behavioural strategies. For many authors, the best strategy is one that is adapted to both the child and the context, all the while ensuring that more typical children also benefit.