Autism and Education

There will always be controversies over what types of disabilities and exceptionalities should receive the most attention, with trying to excel both to reach their full potential. In the article "Autism and Education," one mother discusses the education of her son and daughter and their very differing needs. Her 8-year-old autistic son is on an IEP and receives a very personalized education that is consistently documented. Teachers are sure to cater to his unique needs, but not to those of her daughter who is on the other end of the spectrum. Although she is talented and gifted, she is not challenged and often bored with what is taught and re-taught. There is no specialized plan for her learning, no challenges or fancy tracking of improvement. If students are all on grade level and meeting expectations, do teachers concern themselves with further improvement? It seems that No Child Left Behind has created this unattainable goal of getting all students to the same level, focusing more on school goals than individual ones. I think this is an important point to be discussed because it has been shown that schools are spending much more on special needs than TAG students. This, to me, is the most troubling part of education; working with students on such different levels of learning with extremely different needs.