Ten women with autism spectrum disorder participated in oral interviews in order to share their experiences since their diagnosis and to discuss the factors that had enabled them to achieve success ...in different aspects of their life. Participants were encouraged to share their perspectives on their success and to discuss the challenges they encountered in their daily lives and how they overcame these. Interviews were analysed using a narrative-themed approach. Participants indicated that both internal and external factors enabled them to achieve success in different aspects of their lives. These included being an agent of change, a changed identity after diagnosis, experiencing the belief of others in their capability and seeing themselves as a mentor to others. Their experiences with overcoming obstacles in their lives enabled them to develop self-efficacy and to shape their own success.
This study sought to describe factors impacting the success of students with ASD in university programs. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather both the students' personal perspectives ...of their university experience and the perspectives of a significant person in their life. An interpretative phenomenological approach was utilised to ascertain common factors that contributed or posed a barrier to students experiencing success in their studies. Findings revealed that students with ASD felt their internal influences of determination, perseverance and passion in their areas of academic interests, greatly impacted on their ability to achieve successful outcomes in university, but these factors were always mitigated by the degree to which they experienced anxiety, depression and isolation. Participants also highlighted the importance of mediating factors in helping them to manage their social-emotional needs so they could pursue their interests and achieve success in university programs. Author abstract
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Initiating and responding to peers are social communication behaviors which are challenging for students with autism. We reviewed intervention studies set in mainstream elementary schools, which ...targeted these behaviors and reported on intervention outcomes as well as the resources required for their implementation. A total of 22 studies met the criteria for inclusion. Findings suggest that school-based interventions can increase the frequency and duration of initiating and responding behaviors in elementary school aged students with autism. These interventions were resource-intensive and usually delivered by researchers or teaching assistants away from the classroom. Future research should build on this emerging evidence base to consider interventions which could be implemented by classroom teachers as part of the classroom program.
Students with autism often show challenges in social communication, particularly in initiating and responding behaviors. While the classroom offers a natural context for peer interactions, few ...interventions are designed specifically for classroom settings. This study investigated the effects of a classroom-teacher implemented social communication intervention, known as
Social Stations
, on the initiating and responding behaviors of students with autism. The study was set in an inclusive primary school, with the teacher embedding the intervention into the student’s daily literacy lessons. All students with autism showed significant improvements in the targeted behaviors, with improvements maintained over time. This study suggests that social communication interventions can be implemented by teachers as part of a daily classroom program.
Students on the autism spectrum often require support to navigate transitions from one educational setting to another. This study examined stakeholder perceptions about the transition supports that ...educators employ to support students on the autism spectrum to transition from one school setting to another. A non‐matched Australia‐wide sample of 167 educators, 680 parents and 142 education/therapy specialists was surveyed. Results indicated that stakeholders had mixed perceptions about the transition supports employed by schools. Although most participants did indicate their school offered some type of transition support, educators and specialists reported significantly higher levels of transition support than did parents. Additionally, participants associated with special schools or autism‐specific schools indicated more transitions supports than did those associated with mainstream school programmes. Results indicate a need for clarification among stakeholders regarding the provision of transition support and planning for students on the autism spectrum, improvements in monitoring of transition supports provided, and increased involvement and communication with parents and students on the autism spectrum to create transition plans and supports. In addition, further examination is needed of the relevance and effectiveness of transition supports employed, particularly in mainstream settings.
'The heartfelt story of a woman's fierce determination to bear witness to the wrongs inflicted upon her childhood friends, purely because of their skin colour. With searingly honest self-reflection, ...Webster pieces together stories of families and lives brutally ripped apart.' -Leah Kaminsky.
Given the increasing diversity of teachers and students in 21
st
century classrooms, fairness is a key consideration in classroom adjusted assessment and instructional practices for students with ...disability. Despite its significance, little research has attempted to explicitly conceptualise fairness for classroom assessment adjusted practices. The purpose of this study is to leverage the multiple perspectives of secondary school students with disability, their teachers, and parents to build a multi-dimensional framework of fairness for assessment adjusted practices. Open-ended survey data were collected from 60 students with disability, 45 teachers, and 58 parents in four states in Australia and were analyzed using qualitative inductive analysis. The findings present a multidimensional framework for assessment adjusted practices that include interactions across elements of assessment practices, socio-emotional environment, overall conceptions of fairness, and contextual barriers and facilitators. The interactions across these elements influence the learning opportunities and academic outcomes for students with disability.
Background
Studies involving autistic adults have often focused on negative outcomes and quality of life ratings.
Aims
This study provides a different viewpoint by examining the perspectives of ...autistic men who consider themselves to be successful.
Methods
Data were gathered from 10 men who shared their experiences and perceptions regarding their journey to achieve success. Self-determination theory provided a useful lens for examining the men’s narratives and understanding the factors that led to their success.
Results
Analysis of interviews revealed four main themes: (1) being my own self, (2) a competent professional, (3) solving problems in a neurotypical world, and (4) relating and connecting. These themes reflect the men’s perception of their own self-determination including their autonomy, competence, and relatedness with others.
Conclusions
The men’s sense of success was derived from their ability to achieve competence in their work, act without help or influence from others and demonstrate a high level of self-awareness and self-reflection. Despite this, many continued to experience difficulty in the social areas of their lives.
Implications: These findings suggest that self-determination theory may present an alternative and more positive means of enacting support programs for autistic individuals, and males in particular.
Self-determination skills, including competencies such as decision-making, are regarded by parents and teachers as important for students with special needs. Although not necessarily regarded as ...appropriate, teaching assistants often take substantial responsibility for delivering educational programs to students and little is known about their perspectives on self-determination. Perspectives of teaching assistants may impact on their support of programs to enhance self-determination that are developed by teachers. Teaching assistants in New South Wales mainstream schools (N = 320) were surveyed regarding their views on the importance and frequency of instruction of seven competencies related to self-determination of students with special needs. Consistent with previous research, assistants rated all the competencies highly in terms of importance, but frequency of implementation was more variable. Moderate correlations were found between ratings of importance and frequency of implementation, suggesting that greater instructional time was devoted to competencies viewed as more important. Limited differences were found between assistants working at primary and secondary levels. Although features of the interactions of teaching assistants that can inhibit self-determination have been often identified in previous research, it is argued that, paradoxically, assistants may be well positioned to facilitate the development of self-determination with appropriate training and supervision. Directions for future research are identified.
There are various models for supporting students with disability and their teachers in mainstream schools. In New South Wales, each school has a learning and support teacher allocation and the New ...South Wales Department of Education recommends each school have a learning support team. This paper draws on in-depth interviews with school staff from 22 schools, including 16 learning and support teachers, 20 class teachers, 25 school executives and other stakeholders. We report here on the role of learning and support teachers and learning support teams in planning, implementing and evaluating adjustments and on the operation of learning support teams. Qualitative analysis of the interview transcripts revealed two kinds of learning support teams: those that focus on a particular student and those that oversee the education and resource provision for all students with disability in a school. Some teams had more of a focus on administration and resourcing, while others dealt more with educational adjustments. Similarly, some learning and support teachers were more involved in administrative and liaison roles, while others were more active in supporting teachers and providing services directly to students. The most detailed descriptions of support were provided by learning and support teachers with special education qualifications.
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