Inclusion and Behavioural Modification Techniques for Children with Autism: A Case Study

Abstract Inclusion is a sense of belonging, feeling respected, valued for who you are, feeling a level of supportive energy and commitment from others so that you can do your best work (Miller and Katz, cited in Handbook of Inclusive Education, C.B.S.E.). Inclusive education means placing children with special needs and abilities along with mainstream children as far as possible. This helps the children to develop a sense of belongingness, promotes confidence, imbibes the value of cooperativeness and appreciate the variety existing in human resources concerning talent, belief and background. Each teacher uses interventions to help children to excel and this is especially applicable to special needs children. To cater to the individual needs of students, individualized education programme (IEP) is made which is a planned document developed by a team for an individual child. The present study was conducted on three autistic children studying at Drishti Dr. R. C. Jain Innovative Public School, Ludhiana, to see the effect of specially designed interventions on the behavioural aspects of these children. Applied behaviour Analysis, communication support, social skill training, structured routine and picture exchange communication system. The study showed marked improvement in social communication, expressive and receptive language and self-care. Keywords: Inclusion; Inclusive education; Individualized Education programme; Strategies for autistic children