An Embedded-Intervention Approach to Tactile Function Training for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Classrooms

Abstract

In inclusive classrooms, students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly exhibit atypical tactile processing, manifesting as tactile hypersensitivity (tactile defensiveness) or tactile seeking. These differences can directly undermine classroom adaptation, leading to frequent behaviors such as refusing to touch learning materials, leaving one’s seat in agitation, and avoiding peer interaction. Given the limited special education resources in many mainstream schools and the practical constraints on providing intensive, one-to-one rehabilitation, an urgent challenge for inclusive education is to translate specialized sensory interventions into feasible everyday teaching routines. Drawing on tactile function training practices with six students with ASD placed in regular classrooms, this study proposes an embedded intervention framework. The framework integrates tactile support into four dimensions of routine schooling: environmental design, schedule and routines, instructional activities, and interpersonal interaction. Concrete operational procedures are provided for each dimension, and typical cases are used to illustrate intervention effects and implementation reflections. The practice indicates that embedded tactile function training can effectively improve students’ classroom adaptation, offering front-line teachers a low-cost, high-yield, and operationally actionable set of strategies for inclusive classrooms.