better support for students with autism

An innovative system in Bourges to better integrate autistic children into school: it is only deployed in about fifteen departments, including Loir et Cher and Cher, for the Center Val de Loire region: the DAR (automatic regulation device). Three young people with autism are thus welcomed at the Jean Macé school in Bourges and a fourth is planned for the next school year. This self-regulating device comes to us from Canada and gives excellent results since these three students stay all day at school and will spend the next year in the upper class. These autistic students benefit from the help of an educator and a teacher deployed as reinforcements.

Obviously, Loukas takes pleasure in singing. This autistic youngster, who has been in first grade since February, spends most of his time with the children in his class and depending on the needs, he goes to a specially equipped room for learning in smaller groups: ” We come to pick them up from time to time individually or in small groups to do specific work “ explains Cécile Labedan, school teacher. ” The goal is that they can then return to their classes to perform. We reinforce with them or we work in the forecast of certain skills. We exchange a lot with their teachers and in anticipation, we will perhaps work on some notions of mathematics so that they are then successful in their class.

The Jean Macé school has six classes but seven teachers to enable this differentiated care: ” Indeed, we assign a supernumerary teaching position “explains Pierre-Alain Numérique, director of academic services at Cher. ” There is also a whole accompaniment and a large training component since the entire teaching team is trained in this specific care, but also all the staff who will be required to take care of them, for example in the canteen. It’s also a team effort with the medico-social sector.” The ARS releases 140,000 euros per year. This makes it possible to finance, among other things, a full-time specialist educator in addition to the teaching team. His name is Gabriel Pilorin: ” We are working on a notion of self-regulation so that later in class, the autistic student no longer needs support. And that is what really changes. The goal of the game is for the child to be independent. As soon as possible, we distance ourselves from the child.

It goes a lot through visual communication and promoting good behavior. For Gabriel Pilorin, these additional resources in this school are an investment for the future: ” Some people might think the cost is high, but that’s to take away ways later. We prefer to put a lot of resources in primary and perhaps in college so that these children no longer need support in high school. Eventually, the Jean Macé school will be able to accommodate 10 students in this Self-Regulation system