This book, which aims to promote the successful inclusion of students with ASD, seems an appropriate one to review first.

Paula Kluth, “You’re Going to Love This Kid!” Teaching Students with Autism in the Inclusive Classroom, Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2003.

At close to three hundred fairly dense pages, this is not a book anyone should plan to read during an afternoon at the beach, but the time invested in reading it will be worthwhile. Reading it from the perspective of a parent interested in school-related questions, I approached it a few pages at a time, frequently marking passages that struck me as particularly apt.

Paula Kluth is a former classroom teacher and support teacher, who holds a Ph.D. in special education and at the time of writing was teaching at Syracuse University. (She is now an independent consultant.) She brings to her writing the experience of a classroom teacher and the habits of an academic, so this book is full of anecdotes based on her own time in the public school system, combined with ample bibliographical documentation about autism and inclusive pedagogy. The word “autism” in the title refers to the range of autism spectrum disorders, and the examples Kluth uses also illustrate the experience of diverse learners with ASD, whether highly verbal students with Asperger Syndrome or non-verbal learners, at all levels in the school system.

The quotation in the title sums up the overall tone of the book. The preface tells how Kluth’s principal greeted her on her first day of teaching, assuring her she was going to love a six-year-old child with autism she would be teaching that year. While never denying the challenges that accompany the integration of children with ASD in the regular classroom, Kluth at all times displays a positive attitude toward such students. In fact, Kluth tries to adopt and explain the perspective of people with autism, not just in relation to classroom functioning, but as regards other questions. (For example, Kluth notes in the chapter she devotes to definitions of autism that the criteria used to diagnose autism spectrum disorders are an outsider’s perspective, as they don’t refer to the actual experience of people with autism, unlike the criteria used to diagnose, for example, depression.) This commitment to understanding the perspective of the student with autism is, from Kluth’s point of view, good pedagogy: "Too often, students with autism are told about their lives instead of having opportunities to craft their own stories. In order for inclusive education to thrive, teachers must be curious about and interested in the expertise and experiences of individuals with autism. Furthermore, teachers must act on the education they receive from students" (46).

At the same time, Kluth understands the difficulties teachers face in their work, observing that they are charged with doing the impossible on a daily basis, and that they need all the help and support they can get (257). Kluth stresses the importance of working closely with families, since parents can provide more rich and detailed information about special needs students than any report. She devotes an entire chapter to the parent-teacher connection and explains why she placed it toward the beginning of the book: "This chapter is purposely near the beginning of this book; in placing it before the chapters on curriculum, instruction, communication, behavior, friendship, and other topics, we hope to communicate the idea that building partnerships with families is as or more important than anything else teachers can do in the classroom" (59). Addressing the negative labelling of parents who are perceived as difficult, Kluth reminds the reader that such parents may have been “insulted, ignored or otherwise hurt” (62) over the course of many years, and may bear scars from many previous bad experiences. I found the anecdote of a parent who burst into tears when her daughter’s Grade Five teacher mentioned the child had a lovely smile very poignant. Why did that mother cry? It was, according to Kluth, the first time a teacher had ever said anything kind or positive about this child.

Kluth includes a chapter full of ideas for creating a comfortable classroom environment. She quotes from the writings of people with autism to help the teacher understand, for example, the sensitivities to sound some autistic people have. As the mother of a child who dreads balloons, I could identify with a quote from Temple Grandin, explaining that she was terrified of balloons popping, because the sound was like an explosion inside her ear (79). There is also a chapter on fostering friendships and belonging, which emphasizes the usefulness of the ASD student’s special focused interests as a means of creating connections. In the chapter she devotes to building communication skills, Kluth asks teachers not to insist that students with autism make eye contact, as it can be irritating or even painful for them to do so. She examines some of the issues that can arise because of the difficulty students with autism experience decoding figuative language. Kluth devotes several pages to the controversial question of facilitated communication, coming down on the side of those who defend it as a valid approach to communication with some ASD students. Other sections examine augmentative and alternative communication.

I suspect educators will find the chapter on literacy an interesting one. Kluth deplores a tendency on the part of some school systems to exclude students with autism from meaningful literacy instruction, and examines approaches to promote literacy among students who do not follow a typical developmental sequence. She provides advice on the use of visuals and focused interests in literacy instruction.

The title of the chapter on behavior, “Rethinking Behavior”, is revealing. Kluth sees the behavior of students with autism as interpreted: a given behavior will be perceived very differently by teachers and by the person with autism. For this reason, she points out the usefulness of asking learners who can communicate to explain their perspective. Behavior is also contextual, “occurring under circumstances, in settings, and with people” (153). This may seem obvious, but its implications are less obvious: Kluth challenges us to view the behavior from a perspective that does not consider the learner with autism as the problem, but rather the situation as challenging. Beyond these general principles, the chapter contains much useful advice on triggers and strategies, such as the benefits of being gentle and remaining calm when the ASD student is in crisis.

The chapter entitled “Inclusive Pedagogy” is crammed full of tips on lesson planning. Kluth describes how she once believed her job as a special educator was to get lesson plans from classroom teachers and adapt them so that students with disabilities could participate, an approach that had many flaws. Kluth recommends that teachers move toward pedagogy that supports all learners: "By choosing content that matters, using flexible groupings, offering a wide range of materials, mixing up lesson formats, and designing a variety of assignments, teachers invite all students into learning and give those with and without autism opportunities to be successful in the inclusive classroom" (214). The chapter contains much down-to-earth advice about pedagogical strategies. As a former university teacher, I enjoyed reading Kluth’s description of activities to facilitate the participation of students with ASD in group work: I know that some of these could work well in university classrooms, and I believe they would also work well in public school classrooms where there are no ASD learners.

Similarly, the chapter on teaching strategies has plenty of practical suggestions for educators. The chapter’s subtitle, “Ideas for inspiring, helping and engaging all learners”, reflects Kluth’s view that the pedagogical strategies which benefit students with autism often help their typical peers. This chapter also advises school teams on preparing to welcome a student with autism, with suggestions on the information-gathering process that should happen before the student arrives in the inclusive classroom.

The final chapter, “Collaboration and Cooperation in the Inclusive School”, emphasizes the importance of collaboration, and not just between members of the school-based team: "The most important members of the collaborative team are the student with autism and his or her family.[…] The student with autism can offer the insider perspective and can provide the team with the best information on 'what works'. For this reason, students with autism should be formally and informally included in developing their own individualized education programs (IEPs) and crafting their own supports" (243-244). Other team members include classmates, administrators, teachers, therapists, paraprofessionals, counselors and psychologists. Kluth describes a number of different team teaching models that can benefit not just learners with autism but all students. She also offers some observations on “fading” adult support, to decrease dependency. Most importantly, she concludes this final chapter by promoting an attitude of flexibility toward teaching practices:

"Collaborative educators will question their own practices, attitudes, and knowledge and constantly consider how they might learn from the practices, attitudes, and knowledge of others. In inclusive schools, educators also continuously question and evaluate collaborative structures. When a model of service delivery doesn’t seem to work, stakeholders think about how they are supporting students, design ways to team teach more effectively, or consider shifts in roles and responsibilities. Opportunities will flourish if teams are inventive and flexible when designing and implementing collaborative models and if they are willing to craft new models when the existing ones do not work" (262).

If something is not working in the classroom, consult others and work together to change it. This basic tenet of successful teaching is especially important when supporting the inclusion of students with autism.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, not just because of the concrete strategies it recommends, but also for the attitude of openness that shines through Kluth’s writing. If I were a classroom teacher or a support teacher, I suspect I would want to go back to certain chapters more than once, looking for inspiration, advice and strategies. Kluth also has a website (www.paulakluth.com), where teachers and others will find further information and resources.

Mary Ellen Ross