Adaptations of classroom teachers to inclusion students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

The aim of this research is to reveal the adaptations applied by the classroom teachers for the inclusion students with ASD who attend the second, third and fourth grades of primary school. To research; Eighteen classroom teachers, who work in different districts of Sakarya, have students with ASD in their classes, and were determined by criterion sampling method, participated. In the study, which was conducted with a holistic multiple-case design, one of the qualitative research designs, the data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. With the content analysis method, the themes were obtained from the data obtained about the adaptations made by the classroom teachers in the distance education process with the environment, content, strategy and auxiliary technological tools. The results of the research revealed that the adaptations made by the classroom teachers towards the environment are generally physical adaptations. It was concluded that all of the classroom teachers made adaptations in the queue order as physical adaptation. The opinions of teachers who use the methods of ignoring, peer interaction, bonding, reinforcement, boredom, verbal warning and time out (breaking) among classroom management adaptations in the arrangement of the environment differ on the effectiveness of the adaptations. It has been concluded that peer interaction and bonding methods have positive effects on the social, communication and behavioral problems of students with ASD. It was concluded that the adaptations for the content, on the other hand, were not functional despite taking into account individual differences. In addition, although social inadequacies and behavioral problems are general inadequacies of ASD, it was concluded that classroom teachers' content adaptations are mostly in the academic field. Adaptations made by classroom teachers in educational strategies are made in four different ways: method-technical, fluency-oriented, homework and assessment adaptations. The results of the research have concluded that although classroom teachers use in-school adaptations such as method and fluency more frequently and effectively, they rarely adapt homework and assessment. It has been stated that the adaptations related to the use of technological tools in inclusive education have different effects on the education of individuals with ASD. The research revealed that most of the classroom teachers did not make adaptations for their students with ASD during the distance education process due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, in the research, it has been concluded that the classroom teachers have insufficient knowledge of special education about educational and instructional adaptations.