Remedial education trajectories for social adjustment of children with special education needs: Problems of socio-economic analysis

Introduction. Today, the problems of social rehabilitation and adjustment of children with autism spectrum disorders are considered from the standpoint of their accessibility and are economically assessed from the standpoint of the costs incurred by the state without taking into account the socio-economic efficiency in future periods of societal development. The purpose of the study is to assess the socio-economic efficiency of remedial education technologies for children with autism spectrum disorders, reflecting their involvement in social reproduction in future periods. Materials and Methods. The authors used traditional methods of economic analysis in the research: comparisons, groupings, index method, method of using absolute, relative and average values, historical and logical methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study contained works of Russian and international scholars: psychiatrists, sociologists, teachers, social workers, psychologists, etc., as well as information and analytical material of the official statistics of the Russian Federation and the Sverdlovsk region. The empirical basis of the study included data obtained from parents of children with autism spectrum disorders living in the Sverdlovsk region. The sample consisted of 100 people. The results were processed using qualitative analysis and methods of mathematical statistics. Results. In the conditions of scarcity of information and analytical material reflecting quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the rehabilitation and educational process among children with ASD (autism spectrum disorder), the authors collected statistical material on the number of students in special education classes in the Sverdlovsk region. Based on the processing, systematization and analysis of the collected material, the authors identified trends in the annual increase in the proportion of students, which, in the authors’ opinion, is a positive phenomenon in the process of rehabilitation and adaptation of children with ASD. Based on the obtained results of statistical indicators, as well as on the results of parents’ survey, the authors identified problems in the quality and availability of remedial educational technologies for children in educational settings. In addition, the study determined the socio-economic effect of a rehabilitated child’s social involvement and obtaining a certain level of education and professional skills that will allow them to socialize in life, including participating in social reproduction, bringing economic benefits to themselves and the state. Conclusions. Along with the increase in the number of children with ASD in the Sverdlovsk region, there is an increase in the number of students pursuing special education programs. The study revealed the complexity of forming statistical material that allows tracking the results of development and social adaptation of a child in dynamics, which complicates making timely management decisions on the implementation and development of remedial education programs at all levels of the educational process. In order to assess the availability and quality of rehabilitation and remedial education technologies for children with ASD, the authors identified barriers to their implementation associated with the lack of an integrated approach to the implementation of rehabilitation programs. In cases of successful socialization of each child, the Sverdlovsk region - in particular, and the country - as a whole, will receive a socio-economic effect in the form of an increase in human resources and income of the region in the form of GRP, calculated by the authors in the course of the study. The obtained results can be used in designing and implementing a set of remedial education activities.