Effective strategies for the inclusion of children with autism in general education classrooms.

Crosland et al. (2012) wrote a narrative review. They looked at how to keep students with autism in general-education classrooms.

The authors pulled together two big systems: Response-to-Intervention and School-Wide Positive Behavior Support. They also listed small, one-kid tactics like visual schedules and peer buddies.

The paper does not give new data. It maps out a game plan: start with schoolwide PBIS or RTI, then layer on self-monitoring, peer help, and visual aids.

The review says these layers let teachers support students with autism without pulling them out.

Simpson et al. (2001) said the same thing eleven years earlier. Crosland et al. (2012) is the updated playbook.

Zhang et al. (2022) and Van Hanegem et al. (2014) ran real classrooms tests. Both found peer-mediated tactics cut problem behavior and lifted social skills. Their data back up the 2012 advice.

Haas et al. (2019) give step-by-step scripts for ClassWide Peer Tutoring, turning the review idea into a ready kit.

Matson et al. (2008) surveyed Georgia teachers and saw mostly non-evidence tricks. That gap shows why the 2012 roadmap is still needed.

You can treat this paper like a checklist. First, see if your school already has PBIS or RTI. If not, start there. Next, pick one student with autism, add a peer buddy, a visual schedule, and a self-monitoring sheet. Run it for two weeks, graph the data, and adjust. The review says these small moves, inside a big system, keep kids in gen-ed with their peers.