Autism and Developmental Disorders
2023. Vol. 21, no. 3, 5–17
doi:10.17759/autdd.2023210301
ISSN: 1994-1617 / 2413-4317 (online)
Trends in the Inclusion of Children with ASD in the General Education System: All-Russian Monitoring Results
Abstract
Objectives. To ensure the accessibility of education, taking into account the specific features of autism spectrum disorders (ASD), a systematic approach to the creation of special conditions based on the analysis of objective indicators of the inclusion of children with ASD in the general education environment is necessary. The trends of inclusion of children with ASD in the general education system have been identified on the basis of the results of the All-Russia monitoring in 2022.
Methods. Monitoring included statistical data collection, processing and analysis. A structured statistical form with a list of the main criteria and conditions necessary for the organisation of education for children with ASD was developed for data collection. The data were provided by the executive authorities of 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation that carry out state management in the sphere of education.
Results. The total number of students with ASD in 2022, as compared to 2021, increased by 17 per cent and totalled 45888 people. The share of children receiving education at different levels in the total number of children with ASD included in the education system is as follows: at the level of early help — 2.1 per cent; preschool education — 28 per cent; primary, basic and secondary general education — 68.5 per cent; secondary and higher vocational education — 1.5 per cent. In 56 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, 64 regional resource centres have been established to provide support for families raising children with ASD and to train specialists working with children and families.
Conclusions. The annual intensive growth of the number of children with ASD in the Russian education system testifies to the accessibility of education and causes high requirements to the system of education of students in educational organisations in accordance with the current legislation. The increase in the share of pupils with ASD receiving inclusive education and the decrease in the share of children studying individually at home indicates the expansion of opportunities for their inclusion in the general education system. In order to improve the quality of education for children with ASD, it is necessary to introduce into the work of educational organisations the Federal Adapted Educational Programmes for students with disabilities at all levels of education, as well as to train qualified personnel.
General Information
Keywords: autism spectrum disorders (ASD), general education system, education of children with ASD, support, regional resource centre, monitoring
Journal rubric: Education & Intervention Methods
Article type: scientific article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/autdd.2023210301
Funding. The study was carried out within the framework of the Strategic Academic Leadership Programme “Priority-2030” under the research project “Learning and adaptation technologies for the implementation of interdepartmental models of education and support for children with ASD”
Received: 18.09.2023
Accepted:
For citation: Khaustov A.V., Schumskih M.A. Trends in the Inclusion of Children with ASD in the General Education System: All-Russian Monitoring Results. Autizm i narusheniya razvitiya = Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2023. Vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 5–17. DOI: 10.17759/autdd.2023210301.
Full text
Introduction
The problem of integrating children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) into the educational system and educating them is one of the most acute in modern world education [21; 22]. Parents, professionals, the scientific community and state authorities in Russia pay special attention to the issue of supporting children with autism spectrum disorders. The educational system for children and adolescents with autism is being intensively developed in the country. The relevance of the issue is constantly growing. This is mainly due to the rapid and steady increase in the number of children with autistic disorders.
Despite the resources involved, the problem of accessibility and quality of education for people with ASD in Russia and their preparation for adulthood remains relevant [4; 18]. Systemic decisions are made by state structures [17] on the basis of the analysis of objective data on the state of education of students with ASD in Russia, accessibility of education, the number of children with ASD in educational organisations, the conditions for their inclusion in the education system, obtained in the course of annual monitoring. Analysing the results of monitoring allows to identify key trends, areas of growth, determine development prospects and develop recommendations and normative documents aimed at improving the system of education and support for children on the autism spectrum [19; 20].
Data Collection Methods
All-Russian monitoring of the state of education of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is conducted annually in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in accordance with the form developed by the Department of State Policy for the Protection of Children's Rights of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation together with the Federal Resource Centre for the organisation of comprehensive support for children with ASD of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. Monitoring data were provided by the executive authorities of 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (RF) that carry out state administration in the sphere of education.
During the monitoring, data were collected on the total number of students with ASD in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, on the number of children/students with ASD attending early intervention services (in the education system), receiving education at the levels of preschool, primary general, basic general, secondary general, secondary vocational and higher education. The data on the number of students with ASD by forms of education and forms of education, by forms (models) of education organisation at the level of preschool and general education are systematised. The data on the number of children with ASD who receive the assistance of psychological and pedagogical support specialists, as well as information on the value of correction (adjustment) coefficients of financing established in the regions have been revealed. Information was obtained on the presence of regional resource centres (RRCs) in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for the organisation of comprehensive support for children with ASD and on the organisations in whose structure RRCs operate.
Results and Discussions
Dynamics of the number of students with ASD and the conditions for organising their education in Russia
In all federal districts there is a fairly uniform small (12—18%) increase in the number of children with ASD in the education system. The greatest dynamics was revealed in the Central Federal District — 27%. The Volga Federal District and the Siberian Federal District added 19% and 16% respectively. This situation may indicate the development of a system for identifying children at risk of developing ASD and diagnosing ASD in the regions of these districts, as well as the readiness of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to include such children in the education system. The Southern Federal District showed the lowest dynamics of growth in the number of children with ASD, which was less than 1% compared to 2021: only 22 people. The North Caucasian District, which showed a 50% increase in the number of children with ASD in 2021, even reduced its figures by 3% in 2022.
Table 1
Dynamics of the number of students with ASD in Russia
Year |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Number of children with ASD in education system |
15998 |
22953 |
23093 |
32899 |
39117 |
45888 |
Table 2
Number of students with ASD by federal districts (FDs)
Federal District / Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Central FD |
5175 |
6006 |
11526 |
13476 |
17216 |
Southern FD |
3111 |
3215 |
4065 |
4463 |
4485 |
Northwestern FD |
1262 |
1485 |
1833 |
2173 |
2451 |
Far Eastern FD |
1201 |
995 |
1716 |
1803 |
2070 |
Siberian FD |
2870 |
3339 |
3789 |
4879 |
5678 |
Ural FD |
2472 |
2618 |
3260 |
3650 |
4115 |
Volga FD |
3760 |
4493 |
5291 |
6449 |
7709 |
North Caucasian FD |
895 |
942 |
1419 |
2224 |
2164 |
The results obtained during the monitoring and their comparison with world statistics on the frequency of autism occurrence in approximately 1 child out of 100 children in the general paediatric population [1; 23] continue to testify to the insufficient detection of children with ASD in Russia and to the uneven development of the diagnostic system in different regions.
According to the monitoring results, it was revealed that the uneven distribution of students with ASD by educational levels — from early help to higher professional education — continues to be traced (Table 3).
Among children with ASD, 980 children are covered by early intervention services in the education system, which is 2.1 per cent of the total number of students with ASD in Russia; 12810 children (28 per cent) receive educational services at the preschool level; 31396 (68.5 per cent) are schoolchildren studying at the levels of primary, basic and secondary general education; 661 (1.4 per cent) are studying at the level of secondary vocational education; 12 (0.026 per cent) are identified at the level of higher vocational education. The percentage ratio almost does not differ from the monitoring results of previous years.
The low coverage of services in the education system can be traced at the level of early help. This is primarily due to the difficulties in organising the early help system in the Russian Federation, despite its intensive development in a number of regions. Only 39 constituent entities of the Russian Federation declared the existence of early help services that provide support for children at risk of developing ASD, and in 19 of these regions the number of children receiving this service ranges from 1 to 9. In Moscow, 447 children at risk of developing autism spectrum disorders are covered by early help services (45.6% of the total number of children receiving this service in the Russian Federation).
Analysis of monitoring data has shown that the total number of children with ASD at the preschool education level is 12810, their share in the total number of persons with ASD has slightly increased compared to 2021 (by 2%) and amounts to 28%.
Compensatory groups still hold the leading position among the models of preschool education organisation: 7,232 children with ASD of preschool age receive education in such groups, which is 64% of the total number of children with ASD at the preschool education level (Table 4). The monitoring results for this parameter were analysed for all constituent entities of the Russian Federation except for Moscow, which did not provide its data on this indicator.
According to the results of 2022, the indicator of the number of children attending groups of combined type with inclusion in the resource group [16] increased by 40% and currently counts 886 children. Their share increased from 6.2% to 7.8% of the total number of children with ASD included in the preschool education system.
Table 3
Distribution of children (students) with ASD by education levels
Education Level / Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Early help |
387 |
535 |
572 |
569 |
980 |
Pre-school education |
6898 |
7192 |
8089 |
10152 |
12810 |
Primary general education |
8460 |
10149 |
13950 |
19241 |
21937 |
Basic general education |
4310 |
4750 |
5548 |
7885 |
9004 |
Secondary general education |
244 |
238 |
354 |
422 |
455 |
Secondary vocational education |
89 |
116 |
269 |
432 |
661 |
Higher vocational education |
8 |
10 |
7 |
13 |
12 |
Number of children with ASD receiving preschool education in different models of educational organisation
Table 4
Model of Educational Organisation / Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
Combination group |
1869 |
1932 |
1831 |
2249 |
2624 |
Combination group with support for the child in a resource group |
187 |
378 |
278 |
633 |
886 |
Compensatory group |
3986 |
4367 |
5286 |
6281 |
7232 |
Variant forms of preschool education |
843 |
798 |
520 |
773 |
451 |
Individualised home-based education |
162 |
287 |
174 |
216 |
120 |
* Without Moscow
According to the information received, the education of children with ASD according to the adapted basic general education programme of preschool education for children with ASD (hereinafter referred to as the ABGEP PE ASD) is carried out in all regions, with the exception of the Republics of Altai, Buryatia and Nenets Autonomous Okrug. When children with ASD are included in groups of neurotypical peers or children with other developmental disorders, their education is carried out according to the ABGEP, which the main contingent of these groups is taught according to.
In 2022, the percentage of preschoolers with ASD who are studying under the ABGEP PE ASD was 72 per cent of the total number of children with ASD in this age group. In 2021 this share was 58 per cent, in 2020 — 47 per cent, in 2019 only 37 per cent. Thus, there is a convincing dynamics of the increase in the number of children with RAS, studying under the ABGEP PE ASD. In general, we can conclude that the Model Adapted Adapted Basic Educational Programme for Preschool Education of Early Childhood and Preschool Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders developed and approved (22.03.2022) in Russia has allowed the majority of Russian organisations to develop their educational programmes that take into account the special needs of children with ASD. This trend is likely to be strengthened with the adoption of the Federal Adapted Educational Programme of Preschool Education for Students with Disabilities [12; 15].
The total number of children with ASD at the levels of primary, basic and secondary general education is 31,396, their share in the total number of persons with ASD is 68.5 per cent.
As for the indicator of the number of children receiving general education according to different models of education organisation, the analysis was carried out for all constituent entities of the Russian Federation, except for Moscow, which did not provide data. 38 per cent of schoolchildren with ASD (10362 people) study in separate remedial classes (Table 5). In absolute terms and as a percentage, this indicator has decreased compared to 2021, even though the total number of students with ASD at the levels of primary, basic and secondary general education has increased. The number decreased by almost 1000 pupils, the share fell by 3%.
Analysis of the monitoring data showed that the percentage of pupils with ASD attending general education inclusive classes was 20% (5,368 people), which is 5% more than last year (15.4%). The number of children with ASD studying in inclusive conditions using the "Resource Class" model increased and amounted to 2105 people (7.8%), but there was no increase in their share compared to last year, which indicates a number of difficulties in introducing such a model — regulatory, legal, organisational, personnel, and financial.
Noteworthy is the fact that the absolute number of students for whom education is organised in the format of individual education at home has decreased; the share, despite the dynamics of growth in the total number, has decreased by 2%.
A slight increase in the share of pupils with ASD receiving inclusive education and a decrease in the share of children studying individually at home, nevertheless, indicates the expansion of opportunities for inclusion of children in general education system.
Table 5
Number of children receiving primary, basic and secondary general education under different models of education organisation
Model of Education Organisation / Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022* |
General education (inclusive) class |
2118 |
2370 |
3016 |
4244 |
5368 |
Inclusive class with support for the child in a resource class |
529 |
758 |
1402 |
2081 |
2105 |
Separate (remedial) class |
5461 |
6767 |
8103 |
11354 |
10362 |
Individualised home-based education |
5138 |
5944 |
7331 |
9870 |
9172 |
* Without Moscow
Monitoring data indicate that the share of schoolchildren for whom an adapted basic general education programme (hereinafter referred to as ABGEP) for students with ASD has been developed is 58%; in 2021, this indicator was 54%. In 2022, 42% of pupils with ASD were trained under other programmes, including ABGEP for students with severe speech disorders, mental retardation, mental retardation (intellectual disabilities), severe multiple developmental disorders.
Despite the expressed positive dynamics compared to 2021, this result is evidence of a significant deficit in the system of education for people with ASD. The lack of specific ABGEPs developed and implemented in educational organisations for students with ASD when they are included in a group of peers with other developmental disabilities indicates that their special educational needs are not taken into account. This situation may be due to the fact that specialists working in "heterogeneous" classes do not know the technologies of individualisation of educational programmes, which allow implementing different variants of ABGEP in the conditions of one class. Pupils in grades 5—9, for whom there is no separate FSES for students with disabilities, are at particular risk. Pupils with ASD at this age are taught according to the FSES of basic general education together with neurotypical peers or according to the FSES of students with mental retardation (intellectual disabilities).
The presented picture is typical for most regions, statistically significant differences at the level of RF subjects are not observed. However, it should be noted that only 3 regions out of 85 that took part in the monitoring stated the complete absence of ABGEPs for learners with ASD. These are Kalmykia, Nenets Autonomous Okrug and St. Petersburg. While for the first two regions this can be justified due to their geographical peculiarities and rather small number of identified pupils with ASD (22 and 1 respectively), for St. Petersburg this situation is extraordinary.
The prospects for positive changes in this situation are high due to the approval of the Federal Adapted Educational Programmes for students with disabilities at all levels of general education, which set standard requirements for the educational activities of general education institutions [3; 8; 9; 14].
The rate of inclusion of children with ASD in a full-time education format that meets their special educational needs has increased compared to the last year 2021 from 90 per cent to 92 per cent of the total number of students with ASD (Table 6).
However, it can be assumed that the majority of children receiving education at home (Table 5) are included in statistical reporting as full-time students. This indicates that despite the formal classification of a child as a full-time student, in reality his/her socialisation needs are not met, because he/she does not attend school [10].
The number of students enrolled in secondary vocational education (SVE) programmes increased from 432 in 2021 to 661 in 2022. Their share in the total number of people with ASD remained at the level of 2021 and currently stands at 1.4 per cent. The number of regions involved in this work has increased — from 37 in 2021 to 49 in 2022, but this service is received (according to the data of the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, carrying out state management in the sphere of education) from 1 to 10 people in the region. The best indicator is noted in Moscow: in 2022, the share of students at the level of SVE was 6% of the total number of students with ASD in this region. It should also be noted that, for example, the Tula region successfully confirms its systematic work in the field of organising training for people with ASD at the SVET level: 21 learners in 2020, 20 — in 2021, 25 — in 2022, which is about 4% of the total number of persons with ASD identified in the region. Also, the Smolensk and Saratov regions stated that about 4% of students from the total number of students with ASD receive education at the SVE level [2].
Provision of students with ASD with specialists As a result of analysing the monitoring data, it was revealed that the staffing problem of providing students with ASD with specialists remains relevant (Tables 7, 8). In 2021, there were positive changes in the situation with the provision of children with ASD with the help of psychological and pedagogical support specialists. However, in 2022, the staffing system was unable to respond quickly to the growing number of students with ASD by increasing the number of specialists. In 2021, 98% of students with ASD (38470 out of 39117) received the necessary psychological support, in 2022 this indicator decreased by 14 points to 84% (38503 already out of 45888). The growth of the total number of children with RAS in 2022 as compared to 2021 by 17% entailed a disproportionate decrease in the volume of psychological assistance. The dynamics of provision with specialists during the last years can be traced in Tables 7 and 8.
Table 6
Number of students with ASD by forms of education
Year / Form of Education |
Full-time |
On-site and off-site |
Part-time |
Outside the organisation |
2018 |
18114 |
1459 |
637 |
305 |
2019 |
20023 |
2079 |
720 |
324 |
2020 |
25801 |
1885 |
694 |
413 |
2021 |
34952 |
2625 |
1024 |
516 |
2022 |
42588 |
1787 |
841 |
602 |
A similar situation occurred with the provision of the need for social pedagogues. The negative effect in percentage terms was reinforced by a decrease in absolute values. In 2022, only 56% (25888) of students with ASD received support from social pedagogues, while in 2021, almost 70% (27116) of children with ASD were provided with their assistance.
In absolute terms, the number of children receiving services of a defectologist increased — by 4655 people, but in percentage terms remained at the level of 2021, which is 66%. This confirms the need to train young specialists on the developed in 2021 exemplary Basic educational programme of higher education direction "Special (defectology) education" (bachelor's degree level), training profile "Education and psychological and pedagogical support of students with autism spectrum disorders".
Approximately the same dynamics (a 1% decrease) is observed in terms of receiving speech therapy for children with ASD. In 2022, 73% of students (33699 people) will receive speech therapy, last year this indicator was 74% (28913 people).
The increase in the number of pupils with ASD covered by tutor support by 4,276 people did not change the situation in percentage terms as compared to the previous year and amounted to 37% (in 2021 — less than 33%) of the total number of pupils with ASD. The problem of organising tutor support remains topical, but there is an important trend of increasing the share of children provided with tutor support.
The state of affairs in the Russian Federation with regard to persons with ASD receiving support from an assistant-assistant has not changed dramatically in 2022, which reflects the low demand for the services of this specialist among persons with ASD.
Thus, the process of educating people with ASD is understaffed. Difficulties in organising support are related, among other things, to the low level of training of specialists. The results of the monitoring showed that more than 34448 teachers of various specialities working with persons with ASD need to undergo relevant professional development courses in their areas of activity.
Financial conditions for the education of students with ASD
In order to identify the amount of financial support for the creation of necessary special educational conditions for students with ASD, the monitoring includes the parameter of availability in the subjects of correction (adjustment) coefficients of per capita financing of education of students with ASD by categories: for those who have the status of disabled and for those who have the status of a disabled child.
The monitoring results showed a wide variation in the established correction (adjustment) coefficients across the country. Most regions have established coefficients ranging from 0.1 to 4 or fixed additional payments to teachers' salaries.
Table 7
Number of children with ASD receiving support from specialists (provision of students with ASD with specialists)
Specialist / Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Educational psychologist |
14940 |
18532 |
23341 |
38470 |
38503 |
Teacher-defectologist |
9926 |
11904 |
16136 |
25789 |
30444 |
Teacher-speech therapist |
12352 |
14914 |
19137 |
28913 |
33699 |
Social pedagogue |
8738 |
10443 |
13113 |
27116 |
25888 |
Tutor |
1926 |
2999 |
5453 |
12864 |
17140 |
Assistant |
700 |
925 |
1722 |
1725 |
2094 |
Table 8
Proportion of children with ASD receiving specialist support, in dynamics
Specialist / Year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
Educational psychologist |
65% |
80% |
80% |
98% |
84% |
Teacher-defectologist |
43% |
52% |
55% |
66% |
66% |
Teacher-speech therapist |
54% |
65% |
66% |
74% |
73% |
Social pedagogue |
38% |
45% |
45% |
70% |
56% |
Tutor |
8,50% |
13% |
19% |
33% |
37% |
Assistant |
3% |
4% |
5% |
4% |
5% |
In 2022, 17 regions out of 85 reported the absence of correction (adjustment) coefficients for financing the education of students with ASD in the subject, in 2021 there were 12 such regions. The reasons for the decrease in indicators are not clear. This may be both a consequence of the regions' lack of opportunities for additional funding to support children with disabilities and statistical errors.
The monitoring did not reveal any connection between the availability of funding coefficients in the region (or even an increased coefficient) and the provision of specialists. The Belgorod Oblast, having no correction (adjustment) coefficient for financing the education of students with ASD, shows almost 100% provision with psychological and pedagogical support specialists. At the same time, the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District — Primorsky Krai with a coefficient of 2; the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) with a coefficient of 13.03 in preschool education and 5.2 in primary school; Sakhalin with a coefficient from 4.89 to 3.15, depending on the level of education — can provide specialists for only about 49-55% of students with ASD in their region.
Thus, in addition to the introduction of correction (adjusting) coefficients of financing in accordance with the Approximate Methodology [11] and the toolkit for determining the normative costs of providing state (municipal) services for the implementation of adapted basic educational programmes, regional executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation need to ensure the targeted use of funds additionally allocated to educational organizations for the organization of quality psychological and pedagogical support and training in the form of educational programmes.
Resource support for the system of education and support for children with ASD at the regional level
During the monitoring we analysed data on the presence of regional resource centres in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for the organisation of comprehensive support for children with ASD, which perform coordinating functions in the regions in this area of work and influence the inclusion of children with ASD in the education system, the quality of assistance provided and, as a consequence, the statistical indicators.
The situation with regional resource centres development varies from region to region. During 2022 monitoring, 56 constituent entities of the Russian Federation (52 in 2021) declared the existence of one or more RRCs in the region. According to the regions, a total of 64 RRCs operate in Russia, of which the majority — 30 RRCs — are organised on the basis of Centres for psychological, pedagogical, medical and social assistance. There are centres established on the basis of general education and special (correctional) schools — 5 and 17 RRCs respectively. Three RRCs continue to operate on the basis of institutions of higher and secondary vocational education.
Six RRCs have been established in Russia on the basis of social protection organisations. In Astrakhan and Novgorod Oblasts such a centre is the only one in the region. In other cases, there is one more RRC in the region, created within the structure of the educational organisation — in Volgograd, Novosibirsk and Ulyanovsk Oblasts.
In 7 regions of Russia there are not one, but several RRCs. For example, in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast 3 RRCs were established on the basis of organisations of three key departments: education, social protection, and health care. In Samara Oblast, 3 RRCs have been established only in educational organisations.
RRCs established on the basis of health care organisations remained only in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. In the Republic of Buryatia, in 2021, the functions of the RRC for children with disabilities were assigned to the early intervention service at the city polyclinic, and in 2022 — to the Centre for Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Habilitation of Children with Disabilities already in the education system.
The list of RRCs in 2022 does not include the RRC established on the basis of NPOs in Kalmykia: RNO of assistance and support to families with autistic children in the Republic of Kalmykia "Tengrin Edsta" ("Marked by the Sky"), which was declared in the 2021 monitoring. In 2022, the Republic of Kalmykia did not provide information on the existence of RRCs in its region.
Every year the Republic of Tatarstan changes the information about RRCs in the region during monitorings. This year the absence of RRCs was declared, despite the actively developing system of assistance to children with ASD.
The Far Eastern Federal District is poorly represented by established RRCs: only 3 out of 9 regions have them. The success of the RRC in Khabarovsk Krai (there are 281 students with ASD in the region), supported by the advisory and methodological assistance of the Federal Resource Centre for the organisation of comprehensive support for children with autism spectrum disorders of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, has been noted.
In Primorsky Krai, Amur Oblast, Sakhalin, Kamchatka, Magadan — in the regions where 828, 127, 295, 206, 93 students with ASD have been identified respectively, the conditions for resource support of the system of education and support for persons with ASD have not been created.
In Moscow Oblast, RRC has not been formally established, but two institutions are mentioned — the Scientific and Methodological Centre for Supporting the Education of Children with Disabilities of the Institute for Educational Development of the State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Education of Moscow Oblast "Academy of Social Management" and the State Institution of General Education "Regional Centre for Diagnostics, Education and Correction", which are "entrusted with the functions of RRC for the organisation of comprehensive support for children with ASD".
Analysis of the situation regarding the regional resource centres' development in Russia shows that the issue of establishing a network of such centres in accordance with the Methodological Recommendations of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation "Organisation of the regional resource centre's activity on the organisation of comprehensive support for children with autism spectrum disorders"
- remains very relevant. At present, no RRCs have been established in 29 regions. Existing centres face various organisational barriers, lack of human and financial resources, difficulties in interdepartmental and network interaction. Many families and specialists from different regions do not receive the necessary accompaniment and support.
Thus, many RRCs still need consulting and methodological support from the Federal Resource Centre for the organisation of comprehensive support for children with ASD of the Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (MSUPE), as well as in the implementation of network projects aimed at developing a system of support for children with ASD and inclusion of children with ASD in general education system.
Summary and Conclusions
The analysis of All-Russian monitoring results made it possible to identify the main trends, opportunities and deficits of inclusion of children and adolescents with ASD in general education system and to determine promising directions in the development of the system of support for children with ASD in Russia, which are relevant at this stage.
In 2022, compared to 2021, a positive trend has been identified for the following indicators:
-
Increase in the number of students with ASD compared to 2021 by 17 per cent; the increment was 6,771 people.
-
Increase in the number and proportion (by 14%) of preschoolers with ASD studying under the ABGEP of preschool education for children with ASD, compared to 2021, which indicates that their special educational needs are taken into account in the educational process.
-
Increase in the share of pupils with ASD for whom ABGEPs for primary and basic general education have been developed and applied by 4 per cent compared to 2021.
-
A slight increase in the share of pupils with ASD receiving inclusive education and a decrease in the share of children studying individually at home, indicating an increase in opportunities for their inclusion in the general education system.
- Insufficient detection of ASD, uneven development of the diagnostic and statistical system in different regions.
- Minimum coverage of services in the education system at the level of early help, secondary general and vocational education.
- The share of schoolchildren for whom educational organisations have developed ABGEPs for learners with ASD is only 58%, which is a significant deficit in the system of education for learners with ASD. The absence of specific ABGEPs developed and implemented in educational organisations for students with ASD when they are included in the group of neurotypical peers and students with other developmental disabilities indicates that their special educational needs are not taken into consideration.
- Insufficient provision of students with ASD with the support of psychological and pedagogical support specialists included in the process of education of children with ASD.
- Lack of a model of regional resource centres for children with ASD in many regions, whose task is to provide targeted support to families and resource support to specialists from educational and other organ
-
Introduction into the work of regional health care organisations of modern screening and diagnostic tools aimed at identifying children at risk of developing ASD and at diagnosing ASD and included in the Clinical Recommendations of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation "Autism Spectrum Disorders: Diagnosis, Treatment, Rehabilitation, Prevention" [7].
-
Introduction of Federal adapted educational programmes of preschool, primary, basic general education for students with disabilities into the work of general education institutions in order to maximally take into account the special educational needs and ensure quality education of children with ASD [12; 13; 14].
-
Introduction at the regional and municipal levels of inclusive educational models, technologies and practices that promote the inclusion of children with ASD in the general education system [3].
-
Organisation of staff training in pedagogical higher education institutions in accordance with
the developed in 2021 exemplary educational programme, direction "Special (defectological) education" (bachelor's degree level), training profile "Education and psychological and pedagogical support of students with autism spectrum disorders".
— Introduction in the Russian Federation subjects of the "Methodology of normative costs for the provision of state (municipal) services for the implementation of adapted basic educational programmes" in order to create special educational conditions for students with ASD [6].
— Organisation of network interaction between the MSUPE FRC and the RRC, as well as the RRC with other regional organisations providing support and education for children with ASD.
References
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