Little by little, children with autism or Asperger syndrome are becoming involved into routine, conventional situation alongside the typical pupils. Michael G. Connor, a chartered Educational Psychologist with extensive experience in infantile Autistic Spectrum Disorders management, in his article “Children on the autistic spectrum: Guidelines for mainstream practice” summarizes his many-year research findings and communicates a set of guiding principles for practitioners lacking experience and knowledge of dealing with mainstream conditions.

According to the author, the article is designed to present class teachers, classroom assistants and coordinators with practical material as to the essence of mental disorder, “estimated incidence, and theories of causation; methods of identification; the particular behavioral, cognitive and social profiles of children with autistic spectrum disorders,” as well as guidelines for the most effective techniques used in class to help pupils.

Providing detailed information on autism definition, causes and incidence, Connor also instructs readers on key means towards timely identification of autistic disorders. He presents a list of tools available for screening autistic symptoms. Discussing the approaches of disorder intervention and treatment, the psychologist illustrates how they serve to reveal the variety of needs, and levels of need, among children who are diagnosed as having autism syndrome.

Connor also informs readers on issues one may face when dealing with autistic children admitted to mainstream school, such as literalness of understanding, lack of learning skills, problematic involvement in group activities, etc., and basic strategies designed to provide pupils with necessary assistance, which are, in turn, divided into two distinct categories: Behavioral and Social Management and Scholastic Management.

The fact that autistic children, whose disorders are primarily characterized by failing to understand social situations and having troubles in social communication, are believed to be better put into mainstream situations and receive education alongside ordinary students. The fact that they tend to better develop their communication skills when being surrounded by non-autistic peers seems extremely interesting to me. As well as the fact that these days many mainstream schools agree to accept children with autistic spectrum disorders in order to maintain and improve their integration within society and to advance collective interaction with a more wide-ranging peer group, despite an obvious complexity of implementing such a challenging undertaking.