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

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.