AN EMPATHIC INTENSIVE ENGAGEMENT WITH CHILDREN WITH SEVERE AUTISM IMPROVED THEIR ICT ATTAINMENT LEVELS

Year 2016, Volume: 5 , 139 - 144, 01.09.2016

Salima Y. Awad Elzouki Osama A. Tashani Bridget Cooper

Abstract

This research was carried out over 13 months, with
eight children, in a specialist school unit for children with severe autism,
aged 6-10 years (7 males, 1 female).  The
assessment of the children's characteristics and abilities was used to
establish individual performance levels (P-Levels). P-Levels are used to
describe attainment levels for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SENs)
working below level 1 of the National Curriculum in England and Wales, and were
applied to English language skills (writing, reading, listening, speaking) and
Information and Computer Technology (ICT). These P-levels acted as a baseline
to assess how computer-based interventions affected the participating
children's learning abilities. An empathic and ethnographic approach was
adopted to observe and interact personally with each child, through the
development of computer interventions based on each child’s interests e.g.
cartoons, singing, and drawing. Gradually, positive relationships were built
and ultimately made an interestingly significant change in the behavior and
learning abilities of the children. The findings suggested that the behavior
and learning abilities, measured by P-levels, of children, under the umbrella
of the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), are wide and varied, albeit with some
similarities. A slight improvement in the children’s Facial Emotional
Recognition was observed, combined with a positive change in their interaction
with the researcher and progress in their ICT attainment, with the biggest pre-post
change recorded for ICT P-levels (p=0.026, Chi square). The level of
non-cooperation in the initial study reflected the challenges faced when
teaching children with severe autism, however using interactive tools tailored
to the individual interests of each child was shown to make the computer
technology a more enjoyable, engaging and efficient teaching tool. Further, the
extensive field work yielded fascinating and intrinsically valuable and
important insights into daily life in an educational unit for children with
severe autism. 

Keywords

Severe autism, technology, p-levels, empathy, ethnography

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