Issues in special needs children and their education are currently a topic of interest a lot of individuals especially in kindergarten setting. In Indonesia, most of the early childhood education are not selecting new student. They enrolled any kind of student with various characteristics. The placement based on the age of the child. In their learning process, teacher found difficulties when dealing with a child who has special needs. Based on referral, most of the special needs students are under diagnose on the spectrum of autistic disorder. The majority of kindergarten teacher don't have enough knowledge and skill to manage child's emotional and behavioral problems. In this article, the author shares a framework of including student with autism in kindergarten setting. This sharing is based on some experiences in doing assessment and working collaboratively with class teacher, parent, and the headmaster. It also addressed about school policy about educating special needs. Some key issues are discussed. It's about teacher in doing observation class and referral, process of assessment, case conference, and team work.
This article also discussing about how culture in Indonesia influenced the school community on the subject of special needs children in educational settings. |