I think we are in agreement. Autism cannot be ‘disciplined’ out of a child. It is a terrible burden for the child and the whole family. The behavioral conditioning has been shown to be helpful. Some of the earlier practitioners were dragged into court, weren’t they, before people really understood?
My question is: Why do they add to the child’s burden by trying to mainstream him into a class with unprepared teachers? Schools have funds available to have professionals deal with special needs kids. Why don’t they take advantage of them?
Some may have the funding but not all. One of the mantras when she was in the PS system was “no money” & “budget cuts eliminated that”. Many systems these days are just interested in moving them through until they’re 18. They have no interest in providing the needs of the child. They just want to provide what they’re legally obligated to do as minimally as possible.