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The Right to Appropriate and Meaningful Education for Children with ASD

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Abstract

This paper will explore from a ‘child’s rights perspective’ the ‘right’ of children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) to appropriate and meaningful education. Human ‘rights’ principles within international law will be evaluated in relation to how they have been interpreted and applied in relation to achieving this ‘right’. The International Convention of the Rights of the Child (United Nations in Convention on the rights of the child, office of the high commissioner, United Nations, Geneva, 1989) and the convention on the rights of the person with disability (United Nations in Convention on the rights of person’s with disabilities and optional protocol, office of the high commissioner, United Nations, Geneva, 2006) amongst others will be utilised to argue the case for ‘inclusive’ educational opportunities to be a ‘right’ of every child on the autistic spectrum. The efficacy of mainstream inclusion is explored, identifying the position that a ‘one size fits all’ model of education is not appropriate for all children with ASD.

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Acknowledgments

Professor Laura Lundy, School of Education, Queens University Belfast. Paper adapted for publication having been submitted as part of EdD programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Nursing and Midwifery, Medical Biology Centre, Queen’s University Belfast, 97, Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland

    David Marshall

  2. Loughshore Education Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland

    Craig Goodall

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Correspondence to David Marshall.

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Marshall, D., Goodall, C. The Right to Appropriate and Meaningful Education for Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 3159–3167 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2475-9

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