Is Inclusive Education Right for Every Child? An Account by the Parent of a Child with High and Complex Needs Due to Autism Spectrum Disorder.

There is often intense and passionate debate about the inclusion of those students with the most complex social learning and behavioural needs. This paper, written from a parent’s perspective, is based on a case study of a 15-year-old adolescent with severe and high functioning autism that was comparatively well-resourced through the new Intensive Wraparound Service Initiative and wellsupported by the school, the Ministry of Education and his parents. His mainstream education ended after two terms of multi-level failure and he has been returned to a special residential school. This paper examines in detail the issues surrounding his inclusion and the resources provided to facilitate his education. It discusses the failure of the initiative in this instance, and whether it was due to any deficiencies in his inclusion, the intervention plan and implementation, the level of resources, or whether it was ever practicable or feasible to include a child with this level of need in the mainstream.