Autism and Inclusive Education in Cameroon: Attitudes, Resistance and Pitfalls

Chaffi W. Cyrille Ivan

Integrating children affected by autism in ordinary education remains a challenge within public primary schools in Yaoundé. Actually, children living with autism, despite the "Inclusive education" slogan, still do not have access to ordinary schools, which hinders significantly the achievement of Education for all. This article examines the attitudes of teachers with regards to the integration of children affected by autism into ordinary schools. It seeks to verify the hypothesis that the attitude of teachers dealing with autistic children in educational situation has a clear impact on the integration of these children into ordinary schools.  Through a qualitative approach based on interviews, the study brings out a set of unfavorable factors that strive against the inclusion of autistic children at ordinary schools.