Submission
No 90
INQUIRY INTO SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM
DISORDER
Organisation: Moomba Park Autism Inclusion Parents
Date Received: 21 April 2016
Submission S090 Received 21/04/2016 19 April 2016 Family and Community Development Committee
Family & Community Development Committee
Parliament House
Spring Street
EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002
RE: Inquiry into services for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Terms of
Reference B: The availability and adequacy of services
We are the parents of students at Moomba Park Primary School, Fawkner who have
Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Our children are as varied as our own family circumstances; however we are all grateful for
the student-specific educational opportunities provided at this school.
The school embeds the evidence-based practice of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)
across all classes and social, cultural and sporting activities. The school operates an ASD
specific classroom with high level supports along with Behaviour Therapists working within
mainstream classrooms. Students are placed in the setting they will most benefit from.
This will change as skills and abilities improve, new challenges emerge and as the nature
or complexity of the subject material advances. Small groups within classrooms and ‘pull
out’ sessions are used to enable a staged transition between settings. The school places
the student in the most inclusive and least restrictive setting where the student can be
successful. This is key.
More detail about the program and its intricacies can be obtained from Autism Partnership.
This submission is to inform the committee how we parents see the school impacting our
children and families.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
The terms of reference specifically asks submissions to address the availability and
adequacy of services.
Availability
There is no other school like this in Victoria.
No school, other than Moomba Park Primary, delivers student-specific, comprehensive
education that uses data-driven Applied Behaviour Analysis designed by a specialist
Program Supervisor and delivered by teachers and behavioural therapists working together.
Some of the autistic students at Moomba Park participated in ABA-based early intervention
(EI) prior to being of school age. For these students the school offers the opportunity to
continue with an approach they are familiar with and the lines between pre-school/EI and
school are blurred or seamless. It is the natural progression for these students.
Access to ABA in other schools, including private and independent, must be organised (and
often paid for) by families themselves, alternatively families run their ABA program outside
school hours. For these students the ABA program may be ad-hoc, inconsistent and
lacking the features of a comprehensive quality program. Often parents are willing to
provide a behavioural therapist to a school and the principal may be open to the suggestion
but are limited by departmental policy.
Parents have mixed success in individually coordinating ABA through their child’s school.
For some it works very well with all the elements of a quality program in place. Others have
struggled with schools agreeing to some components but not others, changing their minds
after enrolment or having a different philosophy as to how the child should be included and
educated.
ABA providers operate right across Melbourne and some are now based in regional
Victoria. They not only work in early intervention but also offer school consultation. They
range from private-practice psychologists to large not-for-profit specialists such as Learning
for Life and ABACUS. Schools are generally free to allocate their resources as they
determine. With the NDIS arriving now is the opportune time for schools to innovate and
make ABA a real option for more children, not just those who are able to enrol at Moomba
Park Primary.
For students at Moomba Park Primary who have not had access to ABA or possibly other
forms of EI the school offers the opportunity to be taught in the way they can learn by
breaking tasks down, reinforcing success and fading prompts and supports. Importantly, it
enables the informing of parents of the behavioural strategies used to enable a consistent
approach between school and home.
Some parents travel great distances to take their children to this school. Some families
have relocated – moved their families from outer suburbs and from regional Victoria to
Melbourne. This potentially impacts their access to family and community supports, but
also opens them to a fully inclusive school with a diverse student body and a concentration
of students with autism spectrum disorder so the family and student are in no way the “odd
one out”.
Many of our families have experiences with other schools, both specialist and mainstream.
These families make the informed choice to travel to Moomba Park Primary.
The school itself takes a constant stream of enrolment enquiries for autistic children from
across Victoria and interstate. This program is in demand!
Adequacy
Teachers at Moomba Park Primary are not just trained in autism and behaviour
intervention. Their teaching is observed by the specialist ABA Program Supervisor and
they are coached in their practice. This builds teacher capability across the school, a key
goal of the Education Department’s Special Needs Plan. The coaching is not restricted to
outcomes for the autistic student but to the whole student body. Inclusive practices are
beneficial to all students. Any student with behaviours of concern (challenging behaviours)
will benefit from behaviour intervention using ABA. Any student with learning difficulties will
benefit from the suite of skill-building strategies used within ABA.
We parents are very clear and specific in what we know is best for our children. Some
families have tried and failed at other schools. To them the difference is clear; they have
experienced either ASD-specific schools or other mainstream schools where there may be
a teacher-aide and a teacher who has a good heart but who misinterprets their child’s
behaviour. Expectations may have been set low. A culture of accommodation arose where
‘so long as the student is not hurting or irritating anyone’ was seen as success.
To optimise independence there is a focus on learning-to-learn skills. These skills are often
difficult for autistic children to master and include sustained attention, waiting, learning from
social cues and working independently. Where lacking, these skills are taught explicitly.
Data informs the teacher and Program Supervisor in extending the student. We feel our
children are set challenges they wouldn’t be at other schools due to different educational
techniques and staff limitations (training or time constraints). Our children are pushed to be
their best both behaviourally and academically.
Improving speech and communication is another strength of the school. Previously non
verbal children are now speaking to express their needs and wants (which reduces
frustration and associated behaviours), communicating with peers and yet advancing
academically. Program design builds in opportunity for repetitive practice of communication
targets.
By utilising ABA techniques the school is able to reduce the incidents of challenging
behaviour and ensure students are kept safe and the classroom is not disrupted. This is in
stark contrast to media reports of students being restrained in other schools. It also
reduces the stigmatisation for the student and removes a barrier to social interaction and
the establishment of friendships.
It is well known that challenging behaviours can present in unique ways in children on the
autism spectrum. Rigidity, self-stimulatory behaviours and emotional regulation can
present huge limitations for autistic students, particularly in a mainstream school. More
than positive behaviour supports an ABA program digs deeper into these features.
To optimise inclusion the school plans for it. Our children attend camps, go on excursions
and participate in cultural activities. Where challenges present for students limiting aspects
are identified and worked on prior to the event.
The school works hard to match students who work well together. In other schools
students have been placed together just because they are ‘the two integration kids’,
regardless of their differing personalities and educational needs. At Moomba Park there
are approximately two autistic students in each classroom. This volume of autistic students
means that good matches for classwork and social connection can be made. Our children
benefit from being educated in a mainstream environment but there are other students who
are ‘like them’ and who face similar challenges.
Conclusion
The ABA program at Moomba Park Primary School is enabling our children to fulfil their
potential by the setting of high expectations. Our teachers work hard, and they work
effectively because they are supported by quality training, coaching and importantly data
which informs the delivery of their educational program.
Above all, families want options in educational settings. Our children are not set in stone
and we need to know that there are options available. Our children need more than to be
welcomed by a school (though many families do not even have this). They need to be
educated, challenged and have high expectations held for them.
The implementation of Applied Behaviour Analysis does this for our children. As a group
we want this to be available to other Victorian families. Start small; establish programs in
Melbourne’s east, south-east and west. Make use of technology and trial ABA by distance
in regional schools. Give schools and families the option.
Members of our group of parents would be happy to address the committee.
Regards
Brooke Rudd
Janine Drennan
On behalf of the Moomba Park Autism Inclusion Parents.