| This action research started in year 2009 at LIU Shanghai, a private school for children with autism spectrum disorder, to serve the needs of challenged students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the strengths and challenges of the program, plus solicit recommendations from the parents and teachers for making improvements. The parents' identified several strengths: teachers' care and patience with students and the ability to encourage engagement, the assessment tool and process, individualized learning plans, and noticeable results. They identified the challenges as not enough education about the LIU curriculum, inability to continue training at home, long distance from home, limited space at the training facility, safety during physical activities, poor air circulation, and the distance between the classroom and the bathroom. Their main recommendations were to incorporate social and play elements into the curriculum, provide learning sessions for better understanding the LIU curriculum, and getting a larger teaching facility. The teachers' perception of the strengths included assessment of students, individualized learning plans, systematic approach for student development, support for teachers with the curriculum, stimulating and challenging environment, encouragement from leadership, and opportunities for career development. Teachers reported the challenges as preparation time for the curriculum, teaching multiple children in one session, parental concerns about the curriculum, teacher turnover, personal safety, classroom design, organization and cleanliness of the space, and children's safety and protection. The teachers recommended having learning sessions for parents, more teacher development training, and increasing safety. As the Director of LIU Shanghai, I added some plans for the next cycle of this action research: incorporating more social interaction and play in the curriculum, providing more learning sessions for parents, including parents in student training sessions, expanding teacher development, increasing safety, conducting exit surveys, and informing practice with more data.;Key words: Challenged students, Shanghai, China, special education, private school, autism, action research. |
