Abstract of

Why Everyone Benefits From Including Students With Autism in Literacy Classrooms

Kelly Chandler-Olcott

Paula Kluth

This article draws on research from literacy and special education, as well as insights from autobiographies and memoirs authored by people on the autism spectrum, to argue that all students, including those without disability labels, benefit when students within the autism spectrum are included in classrooms with their same-age peers. An overview of trends related to literacy instruction for students with autism is provided. Benefits for all members of the classroom community include the following: conceptions of literacy expand, multiple ways of participating in classrooms are valued, instructional planning is focused on outcomes, families become partners, and teachers are positioned as inquirers.

Abstract from Chandler-Olcott, K., & Kluth, P. (2009, April). Why Everyone Benefits From Including Students With Autism in Literacy Classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 62(7), 548–557. doi: 10.1598/RT.62.7.1