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1. Māori Perspectives of Autistic Spectrum Disorder

   Bevan-Brown, J. (2004). Māori Perspectives of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education. This report is currently the only publication that directly pertains to Māori and ASD. In it 19 whānau tell their stories of caring for children...

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   Māori Perspectives of Autistic Spectrum Disorder

   Bevan-Brown, J. (2004). Māori Perspectives of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

   This report is currently the only publication that directly pertains to Māori and ASD. In it 19 whānau tell their stories of caring for children with ASD. The report’s use of extensive quotation highlights the diversity of perspectives among the participants and makes it valuable for building empathy and understanding for both whānau and children.

   The report discusses the barriers that parents and whānau have faced, and the resources and approaches that have been helpful. It also highlights the need for more culturally appropriate services in both health and education.

   Resources for:

   Others' stories

   Relevant to:

   Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings

   Contributed by:

   Bevan-Brown, J. 2004 .

2. Ministry of Education: Special Education

   The Special Education section of the Ministry of Education website includes pages on ASD, including   ASD evaluation and research. While the reports are made to the Ministry of Education, they are a treasure trove of evidence that school communities...

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   Ministry of Education: Special Education

   The Special Education section of the Ministry of Education website includes pages on ASD, including   ASD evaluation and research. While the reports are made to the Ministry of Education, they are a treasure trove of evidence that school communities can use for their own decision-making. They include:

   • evaluations of professional development programmes such as Tips for Autism and of parent education programmes such as Early Bird and ASD Plus
   • a review of the effectiveness of applied behavioural analysis
   • an investigation into Māori perspectives of ASD.

   Other research publications dealing more generally with special education include:

   • a review of international trends in special education
   • a summary of the public response to the Review of Special Education
   • a literature review on interventions for students whose developmental disabilities are associated with challenging behaviours.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Leading change, Understanding autism spectrum disorder, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   Ministry of Education .

3. Including Students with High Needs

   Education Review Office (June 2010). Including Students with High Needs. Wellington: Education Review Office. In t his report, ERO found that half of schools demonstrated mostly inclusive practices for students with high needs. Thirty percent of schools had some areas of...

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   Including Students with High Needs

   Education Review Office (June 2010). Including Students with High Needs. Wellington: Education Review Office.

    In t his report, ERO found that half of schools demonstrated mostly inclusive practices for students with high needs. Thirty percent of schools had some areas of good performance, and 20 percent had few inclusive practices.

   ERO recommended that school staff:

   • use the report’s findings, case studies, self-review questions, and inclusive teaching indicators to review the extent to which students with high needs are included across the school
   • identify where students are not well included and implement a plan to extend the effective practice already in the school.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Taking action

   Relevant to:

   Inquiry and knowledge-building, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Audit, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices, Managing transitions, Specific issues for secondary schools

   Contributed by:

   Education Review Office June 2010 .

4. Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand

   Fraser, D., Moltzen, R., and Ryba, K., eds (2005). Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand, 3rd ed. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.This book is a standard text for people working in special education. While drawing on international research, it...

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   Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand

   Fraser, D., Moltzen, R., and Ryba, K., eds (2005). Learners with Special Needs in Aotearoa New Zealand, 3rd ed. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

   This book is a standard text for people working in special education. While drawing on international research, it emphasises New Zealand research and perspectives and how they are applied to practice. Discussion questions and case studies support the book’s use as a professional tool.

   The theme common to all parts of this multi-author book is a commitment to learner-centred, inclusive education that builds on strengths and addresses needs.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

   Contributed by:

   Fraser, D., Moltzen, R., and Ryba, K. 2005 3rd ed. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.

5. Disabled Children’s Right to Education

   Human Rights Commission (2009). Disabled Children’s Right to Education. Wellington: Human Rights Commission. This report assesses the extent to which the right to education is realised for disabled children and young people in New Zealand, on the basis of complaints...

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   Disabled Children’s Right to Education

   Human Rights Commission (2009). Disabled Children’s Right to Education. Wellington: Human Rights Commission.

   This report assesses the extent to which the right to education is realised for disabled children and young people in New Zealand, on the basis of complaints and enquiries to the Human Rights Commission. It also discusses the concepts of inclusive and special education and summarises the relevant legal, policy, and human rights frameworks in New Zealand and overseas.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Special education and ASD in NZ school settings

   Contributed by:

   2009 Human Rights Commission.

6. Inclusive Education Action Group

   IEAG advocates for a fully inclusive New Zealand education system. It provides information about inclusive education on its website and through workshops for educators, parents, whānau, and caregivers....

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   Inclusive Education Action Group

   IEAG advocates for a fully inclusive New Zealand education system. It provides information about inclusive education on its website and through workshops for educators, parents, whānau, and caregivers.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings

7. Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools

   Alison Kearney's recent doctoral thesis Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools is based on evidence that disabled students are being excluded from and within New Zealand schools.Kearney wanted...

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   Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools

   Alison Kearney's recent doctoral thesis Barriers to School Inclusion: An Investigation into the Exclusion of Disabled Students From and Within New Zealand Schools is based on evidence that disabled students are being excluded from and within New Zealand schools.

   Kearney wanted to know how this was happening, and why. To answer these questions she conducted qualitative research with parents and school principals, teachers, teacher aides, and a group of year 6 students. A significant number of the parents and caregivers volunteered that their child had ASD.

   Kearney’s thesis is an important contribution to our understandings about inclusion in New Zealand schools, but its length makes it more suitable for selective reading.

   One approach may be to begin with her conclusion, in which she organises her major findings in relation to five key areas: access, accountability, attitudes, knowledge, and responsibility. She then provides tables of prompts for teachers, school principals, and senior managers for each area: “These prompts are designed to help guide attention and discussion to issues that are important if exclusion is to be reduced and eliminated” (page 217). You could use these prompts to help assess your current position and then review the effectiveness of your inclusion plan, setting up a system to collate and summarise your responses so that you can track progress over time.

   Kearney, A. (2008). “Exclusion at School: What Is Happening for Students Who Are Disabled?” The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations, 7(6), pp. 219–227.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Taking action

   Relevant to:

   Inquiry and knowledge-building, Understanding inclusion, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Audit

   Contributed by:

   Kearney, A. 2009 Unpublished doctoral thesis. Massey University: Palmerston North.

8. Autism New Zealand Inc: Proposal for Resource Development. Phase 1 Research and Needs Analysis Report

    Learning Media (2011). Autism New Zealand Inc: Proposal for Resource Development. Phase 1 Research and Needs Analysis Report. Wellington: Learning Media. The preparatory work for this report included an extensive needs analysis that collected and contrasted the perspectives of three key...

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   Autism New Zealand Inc: Proposal for Resource Development. Phase 1 Research and Needs Analysis Report

    Learning Media (2011). Autism New Zealand Inc: Proposal for Resource Development. Phase 1 Research and Needs Analysis Report. Wellington: Learning Media.

    The preparatory work for this report included an extensive needs analysis that collected and contrasted the perspectives of three key groups:

   1. school governance (including principals, deputy principals, and school trustees)
   2. teachers and specialist staff with working with students with ASD
   3. parents and caregivers of students with ASD.

    The findings showed a worrying picture:

   • School leaders often lack a realistic understanding of what is going on for the autistic students in their schools and how teaching staff are coping.
   • Teachers and teacher aides mean well, but generally lack the deep understandings they need to support autistic students to develop and progress holistically.
   • Parents often feel excluded and frustrated by the lack of support for their children.

    The report concluded that many autistic students are not currently fully included in New Zealand schooling.

    You can read a summary of the findings here.

   Resources for:

   Further learning

   Relevant to:

   Special education and ASD in NZ school settings

   Contributed by:

   Learning Media 2011 Wellington: Learning Media.

9. Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference and Teaching

   MacArthur, J., Sharp, S., Kelly, B., and Gaffney, M. (2007). "Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference And Teaching Practice". International Journal of Children's Rights, 15, pp. 99–120.This important journal article covers many of the topics addressed in this resource...

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   Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference and Teaching

   MacArthur, J., Sharp, S., Kelly, B., and Gaffney, M. (2007). "Disabled Children Negotiating School Life: Agency, Difference And Teaching Practice". International Journal of Children's Rights, 15, pp. 99–120.

   This important journal article covers many of the topics addressed in this resource but from the perspective of students themselves. It highlights the barriers to inclusion, but also describes policies and practices that make students feel included. The abstract reads:

   This paper reports on data from a three-year ethnographic study that highlights 11–14-year-old disabled children’s experiences of primary and secondary school. Observations at the micro level of the classroom and school grounds, and disabled children’s accounts of their life at school, combine to illustrate children’s agency as they negotiate a complex, changing, and often challenging social world. Children’s desires and rights to be valued and included as active participants in the group of “all children” are at risk, with some disabled children feeling and being made to feel different, and that difference being experienced in negative ways. Adults and peers at school can support disabled children’s agency, enhance their learning, and uphold their rights, but it is argued that systemic change is vital. The paper supports a focus on those aspects of school culture and pedagogy that are responsive to diversity, and on consistent and explicitly inclusive policy frameworks centred on children’s experiences and rights.

   Resources for:

   Further learning , Others' stories

   Relevant to:

   Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices, Specific issues for secondary schools

   Contributed by:

   MacArthur, J., Sharp, S., Kelly, B., and Gaffney, M. 2007 .

10. Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools (DVD and booklet)

    A prominent New Zealand researcher and disability advocate, Jude MacArthur creates a coherent picture of what we can aspire to in our schools.The Learning Better Together booklet is closely aligned to the principles outlined in the Index for Inclusion. The...

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    Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools (DVD and booklet)

    A prominent New Zealand researcher and disability advocate, Jude MacArthur creates a coherent picture of what we can aspire to in our schools.

    The Learning Better Together booklet is closely aligned to the principles outlined in the Index for Inclusion. The topics addressed include:

    • medical (deficit thinking) versus social models of disability
    • what inclusion means … and what it is not
    • Māori and inclusion
    • developing an inclusive school culture and inclusive classroom practices
    • inclusive education as matter of human rights and social justice
    • students’ social experiences and learning in regular compared to special education settings
    • the need for teacher professional development
    • the role of leaders.

    A   DVD is also available.It covers similar topics as well as a range of perspectives from children, parents, teachers, and principals. It is particularly valuable for exploring the principle of inclusion and the related concepts of segregation and exclusion. It shows disabled children being included in the classroom and playground context, clearly demonstrating the benefits to them and their peers. Important principles are addressed – for example, the need for active involvement by all concerned, the need for good communication between home and school, and the role of the teacher in addressing individual needs and setting up the classroom culture.

    The DVD shows that strategies for supporting students with special education needs (for example, visual schedules and social stories) are really just about knowing learners well and explicit teaching, and can be used to benefit others. The key message of both the DVD and the booklet is that inclusion is about responding to diversity and that it is a fundamental human right, not an act of beneficence.

     MacArthur, J. (2009). Learning Better Together: Working towards Inclusive Education in New Zealand Schools. Wellington: IHC New Zealand.

    Resources for:

    Further learning , Taking action

    Relevant to:

    Leading change, Understanding inclusion, Effective schools, Special education and ASD in NZ school settings, Building inclusive school cultures, Producing inclusive school policies, Evolving inclusive practices

    Contributed by:

    MacArthur, J. 2009 IHC New Zealand.