Mainstreaming Protocol

Mainstreaming Protocol

This program was established by Dahlia Soliman President of The Egyptian Autistic society with New Horizon school in 2005 following completion of Soliman's Masters thesis on ‘Mainstreaming Children with Autism in Egypt’ for the qualification of Master Degree in Autism, School of Education, The University of Birmingham, 2002.

The program begins in the specialized center. After the children have completed the three levels of the Verbal Behavior Program they start working on pre-academic skills. 

At the age of four each child is allocated a shadow teacher / teacher aide (TA) based on his needs (see section for shadow teachers) .The TA begins to work on KG1 (reception) material at the center and prepares the child for the school interview. The child is placed in a ‘pre-mainstream ‘class at the center where skills such as sitting in a group, raising his hand to ask a question, copying from the board and lining up are taught.

The child’s parent’s begin the process of “mainstreaming papers” required by The Egyptian Ministry of Education. The child is then registered at the education administration office and is now officially in the system.

The Education Psychologist at the specialized center then sends a referral form to the school, stating the child’s details (age, diagnosis, recommended grade level and specific notes on the child). An interview is arranged.

Occasionally (on a case by case basis) the child visits the school grounds several times before the interview to prepare him and reduce anxiety. This is done through the center with his TA. 

School interview

The child attends the school interview with his parents and TA.  The TA starts showing the assessor the child working with her on his familiar material (same work he does at the center) so that the assessor can see the child working comfortably. Then the assessor starts working with both the TA and the child. The child’s rewards are with him and he is rewarded in the usual manner. We try and transfer the ‘work system’ the child is used to at the center to school to facilitate transition. Some children work better if their parents are not in the room, so we occasionally have them arrive later.

Preparation of staff

A staff workshop is held explaining to the teachers what to expect from the child, Teacher aides roll, reward systems, behavior plans and explaining to them that the majority of the work is on the teacher aide and the center. We encourage teachers to be as involved as they can be without making them feel pressured. The importance of visual teaching, encouraging the child to participate in classroom activities and how to promote self-esteem is also discussed.

Preparation of classmates

Class mates are prepared first through the annual autism awareness campaign that happens in school explaining to all students what is autism. Then in their respective classes more specific information is given about the ASD children that will be enrolled in class. The younger the children the more accepting and willing to help they are. Questions such as “why doesn’t he talk like us” and “why does he do that with his hand” are answered clearly and children are taught to accommodate, help and include the ASD child. Children who choose to participate in the buddy program (accompany the child to the canteen or in breaks) get a special badge and a certificate. 

Early years inclusion

Four ASD children are allocated per grade. Two children can be in class at any point in time (accompanied by their TAs). There are two shifts per day. Each child attends 3 hours per day then returns to the center to continue working. Hours are annually increased. The increase may vary from one child to another. Children should attend at least one break per day and as many social classes as possible (PE, Drama, Art) since our main focus is social skills. Academic classes mainly of core subjects are also attended.

The TA is in charge of collecting the academic material required by the class teacher and continues to work on it at the center 1:1. At this stage the child is not expected to learn anything academic in the group. He is there to learn classroom routine (practice the skills he learned in the pre mainstream class at the center) and enhance his social skills.

For the first two weeks of school we send a senior staff member from the center as a supervisor to monitor both the children and the TAs, support class teachers if needed and resolve any issues that may arise. The supervisor mainly remains in the corridors and rotates in between the classes. Any timetable adjustments are also done then (elimination of subjects such as extra languages if needed)

Withdrawal procedure

The goal of our program is to equip the child to attend school full time without the need of a TA. Removal of the TA is gradual and essential as prolonging the TAs presence will lead to dependency by the child. As the child’s cognition and social skills improve, he/she will also want to remove the TA so that he can be more like his peers.

Removal of the TA is gradual and personalized to each child. Initially the TA sits next to the child in class. If a child is confident in a certain subject/room/group the TA can start sitting at the end of the classroom or act as a teacher aide to the class teacher for all the children. The TA eventually begins to leave the class frequently and leaves the child alone but remains in the corridor. This may happen in certain subjects, or all subjects based on the child. Coordination with the school and frequent meetings with school staff is essential at this point. Both the school and center staff monitor the child and agree on the level of supervision needed. Occasionally the child may need more support and the shadow is returned for certain subjects or situations (such as break) . At every stage the type of support required by the child may differ. Approaching puberty may lead to increased anxiety and obsession over social limitations and occasionally behavior issues. The child continues going to the center (after school) to address such issues and specialized staff may be sent to school to work in the natural environment in coordination with the school.

The following is an example of a child’s withdrawal plan:

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Name: Seif Ahmed (Factitious name)

DOB:

Grade:

Seif Ahmed Teacher aide withdrawal plan 2019/2020

September 2019- December 2019

Classroom : TA will sit at the back of class where the child can see her if he needs to and call her over (can access TA). Child will be told that he is now getting older and he can sit alone in class. Seif is able to have this done in all subjects.

Same applies for tests

Breaktimes: TA will be sitting in the playground somewhere Seif can see her. She will be monitoring his play from a distance. If he requires assistance or is not playing with peers she will get involved. If he needs her he can easily find her (can access TA). Buddy system can be introduced where each day a peer is chosen to work/play/ look after Seif in the playground.

January 2020-March 2020

Classroom : TA will explain to child that she is a teacher assistant there for all students not him alone. TA will frequently leave the classroom . child will understand that that he will spend some class time completely alone (partial access) 

Same applies for tests

Breaktimes: Before each break TA will remind child what he is required to do in break with his peers (how to approach them, initiate a social interaction and decline politely from an undesirable activity) . TA will monitor Seif from far but he will know where she is (partial access)

Continue with Buddy system.

March 2020-June 2020

Classroom : TA will remain outside class in corridor. The child does not have access to her. His questions and needs can be met by the class teacher as with his peers. In times of needs the class teacher can call in the TA however the child does not know she is close by. (No access)

Same applies for tests

Breaktimes: The child is alone in break. No access to TA except in emergency. TA is present but the child does not know

Continue with buddy system, at this point this will have naturally progressed to friendships and encourage playdates outside of school.

Bi-monthly updates between the center supervisor and class teacher to ensure the plan is running smoothly.

The class teacher has as much access to the TA as she requires.

A daily log book is kept by the TA outlining how long the child was alone, what kind of assistance was required, any behaviors that may have occurred and issues that arise.

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This is a general framework for the mainstreaming program initially established  by The Egyptian Autistic society and recently being implemented at Launch Egypt with New Horizon school. Each child’s inclusion process, goals and needs are different and must be catered for individually. 

Version 1 – October 2019 

Dahlia Soliman, MRSH, MEd