Main description:

This book is written at a time of a paradigm shift in the African continent where dependence on western epistemologies and ontologies are giving way to African indigenous knowledge systems. Africa has been an importer of knowledge from the west since time immemorial and this book contributes to the body of knowledge on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the African perspective. As a result, decoloniality and Inclusive Education have gained traction within the academic discourse, with University of South Africa (UNISA) hosting decoloniality annual conference and a summer school to stimulate academic discussions and debates with a focus on African indigenous knowledge systems and theoretical lenses as opposed to the western epistemologies.

The book also demystifies some of the misconceptions that children with ASD are a curse and punishment from God or gods. Among others, Ubuntu seems to be the dominant theoretical framework underpinning some of the research studies reported in this book.

Contents:

Chapter 1: An Afrocentric perspective on Inclusive Education and Ubuntu Chapter 2: Framing Autism Chapter 3: Early Identification and Curriculum Differentiation for Learners with Autism Chapter 4: Religion and Autism: Integrating the Person with Autism into a Community Chapter 5: Voices and Views of Senior Students with ASD Chapter 6: Learners with ASD in a Rural Context Chapter 7: Technology Opening New Worlds for those with Autism - an Overview Chapter 8: Partnerships for Autism in the Zimbabwean Inclusive Education System Chapter 9: Parents and community partnerships in educating children with ASD as an Inclusive Education strategy Chapter 10: ASD: Adolescents and Sexual Experiences in Rural Mpumalanga Chapter 11: Classroom Assessment of Learners with Autism - Implications for Educators Chapter 12: Autism and inclusion Chapter 13: Autism and the Law A Preliminary Conclusion: Trends in ASD Research in South(ern) Africa Appendix: Autism-related organisations in South Africa