Autism is currently diagnosed in approximately 1 out of every 150 children. With increasing prevalence of this condition, more awareness is needed amongst the population to diagnose it at an early age so that therapy can be initiated.
A study conducted in Singapore, amongst 503 preschool teachers, displayed the deficiency of teachers regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices on childhood developmental and behavioral disorders. Similarly, in our study, we saw that, out of all the responses on knowledge, only 47.9% of the responses were correct. This clearly displayed the fact that majority of the population is not aware of the basic facts about autism.
Diagnosis of autism at an early age is highly beneficial in the intellectual development of the child. Early diagnosis of the disease enables initiation of appropriate therapy in children, aiding in their development. Teachers play a vital role in interaction with a child during the early years of life. Their ability to pick out Autistic children in the classroom will be beneficial on the long term.
Management of autism includes a combination of medication plus behavioral and cognitive therapies. A clinical trial conducted by Ghanizadeh and Moghimi-Sarani concluded that risperidone and acetylcysteine, in combination, decreased irritability in children with autism but had no effect on the core symptoms of autism. Similarly, in a systemic review of medications commonly used to treat autism, it was seen that although medications are commonly used for treatment of autism, there is little evidence of effectiveness of these treatments.
A catalogue published by the Illinois Weselan University in 2005 greatly emphasizes the role of teacher training in management of autism Spectrum Disorders in infancy. In our study, even though 57% of the teachers realized the importance of getting prior training when dealing with children with autism, only 8% of teachers in the private sector and 9% of the teachers in the non-private sector had attended formal training on autism. This clearly displays the lack of training opportunities regarding autism for teachers.
The Ministry of Education, British Columbia published a resource book for teachers dealing with autism in 2000. Multiple tools were given to help teachers when facing Autistic children. When the tool was used by teachers on Autistic children, they showed marked intellectual improvement and coped up well with the school work. A few of the kids also started attending a normal school later. This again emphasizes the fact that through proper training of teachers we can greatly improve the quality of education of autistic children and improve their intellectual ability.
Eldevik et al., in 2012, reported favorable outcomes in children undergoing behavioral interventions in mainstream preschool settings compared to children who were receiving normal treatments. He reported that students in preschool settings had better IQ scores and better adaptive techniques.
The research clearly elaborates the lack of awareness amongst teachers regarding autism. It is suggested that schools implement proper training programs for teachers to train them in diagnosing Autistic children and then teach them accordingly.
[Source of research: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/aurt/2013/961595/ ]