advances in autism - emerald

ISSN 2056-3868Volume 4 Number 4 2018

Advances in AutismInternational outcomes in education, health and care

www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/aia

Volume 4 Number 4 2018


Number 4

Inclusive educational practice for autistic learnersGuest Editors: Damian Elgin Maclean Milton and Nicola Martin

153 Guest editorial

155 Special interests and inclusive academic learning: an autistic perspectiveFrederik Boven

165 How can Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter enable inclusion of and encourage participation of autistic pupils in a year 7 boy’s mainstream classroom?Jane Elizabeth Gurnett

174 Autism and dual immersion: sorting through the questionsDiana Baker, Audrey Roberson and Hyejung Kim

184 Inclusive school practices supporting the primary to secondary transition for autistic children: pupil, teacher, and parental perspectivesKeri Hoy, Sarah Parsons and Hanna Kovshoff

ISBN 978-1-78973-433-1

Inclusive educational practice for autistic learners

Guest Editors: Damian Elgin Maclean Miltonand Nicola Martin

GUEST EDITORSDamian Elgin Maclean MiltonLondon South Bank University, UK; University of Birmingham, UK; National Autistic Society, UK and University of Kent, UKNicola MartinLondon South Bank University, UK

EDITORSDr Eddie ChaplinLondon South Bank University, London, UKE-mail [email protected] Jane McCarthyEast London NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, UKE-mail [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORSteve Hardy Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, UK E-mail [email protected]

ISBN 978-1-78973-433-1ISSN 2056-3868© 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

EDITORIAL BOARDDr Marco BertelliCREA (AMG Centre for Research and Evolution), ItalyDr Elspeth A. BradleyUniversity of Toronto, CanadaProfessor Barry CarpenterInternational Educationalist Consultant, UKDr Yona LunskyCentre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), CanadaRichard MillsResearch Autism and University of Bath, UKCarol PoveyNational Autistic Society, UKDr Dene RobertsonSouth London and Maudsley NHS Trust, UKDr Tanja SappokEvangelisches Krankenhaus Königin-Elisabeth-Herzberge, GermanyDebbie SpainKing’s College London, UKAlison StansfieldLeeds Autism Diagnositic Service (LADS), UKPaula SterkenburgVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDr Lisa UnderwoodKing’s College London, UK

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Advances in Autism

Advances in Autismis indexed and abstracted in:American Sociological Association Publishing Options Database

Damian Elgin Maclean Milton and Nicola Martin

The Editors of this special edition (Professor Nicola Martin and Dr Damian Milton) have workedtogether extensively and have shared values when it comes to education. We are advocates ofuniversal design for learning (UDL) and inclusive practice which encourages and supportseveryone to fulfil their potential. In order for this to become a reality the culture of the setting, thepeople within it and all aspects of the environment need to be sensitive to the requirements of alllearners. Autistic pupils and students are the focus of this publication but we want to avoid thedanger of singling out people with this label very specifically because often what works for autisticlearners works for everyone. UDL principles demand planning for diversity and belonging ratherthan problematising and othering some individuals, often because of ableist assumptions thatdifference is a nuisance to accommodate.

Diversity adds value in our view and this perspective is shared by the contributors to thispublication. Nobody thrives if they are faced with negative stereotyping, chaotic environmentsand unsympathetic responses. Labelling behaviour as challenging, rather than working out whatthe individual is feeling and how best to assist them, is from our perspective, counterproductiveand inhumane. Intervening without adequately understanding what is going on for a person is noteffective and we have not included articles which come from an arguably unquestioningbehaviour modification orientated standpoint.

There is a wealth of research informed by autistic people which points to the harm caused bytrying to steer individuals towards the “mythical norm” with scant regard for the impact on theirwellbeing. We have included papers which consider the sensory experiences of autistic learnersand how best to address issues of sensory overload which may well be causing them distress.“Indicators of distress” is a term we prefer over “challenging behaviour”. Autistic people havedescribed distressing experiences far too often at every stage in their educational journey.

Included within this edition are papers which involve autistic researchers. Neither of us wouldconsider editing a publication in which autistic voices were absent. We believe in lifelong learningand that school, colleges and universities are not the only places in which education happens.Papers which reflect on learning beyond the classroom and beyond compulsory education areincluded. Asking autistic researchers to comment on their own experiences of university providesuseful insights which have the potential to impact positively on practice.

The collected papers in this volume speak with a similar ethos, with a focus on inclusion andmutual understanding. In research conducted by Milton (2017), autistic people often prioritisedusing the interests of learners to help within a secondary school setting, echoing the work ofprevious autistic scholars such as Dinah Murray and Wenn Lawson. This priority is furtherhighlighted by the paper by Frederik Boven included in this special edition. Boven indicates howthe passionate interests of autistic people can become a source of academic strength, yet warnsthey can also interfere with learning and may require specialist provisions.

It is also important to think about how those who do not communicate via speech canshare their wisdom and this may well be the focus of future contributions. Creativity is requiredin order to make learning motivating. Examples of creative approaches are included such as inthe context of Drama teaching and the facilitation of a safe space for mutual understandingand communication between autistic and non-autistic people, utilising Shakespeare’s iambicpentameter. This paper by Jane Gurnett highlights the issue of sensory overload and howthis can impact on autistic people within a learning environment and subsequently uponsocial interaction.

Damian Elgin Maclean Milton isLecturer at the Department ofEducation, London South BankUniversity, London, UK;and is at Department ofEducation, University ofBirmingham, Birmingham, UKand Autism Knowledge andExpertise, National AutisticSociety, London, UK andTizard Centre,University of Kent,Canterbury, UK.Nicola Martin is Head ofResearch, Higher Degrees andStudent Experience at theDepartment of Education,London South Bank University,London, UK.

DOI 10.1108/AIA-10-2018-041 VOL. 4 NO. 4 2018, pp. 153-154, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3868 j ADVANCES IN AUTISM j PAGE 153

Guest editorial

Learning should be highly motivating and learners need to feel a sense of belonging in order tothrive. Autistic learners may develop deeper engagements with aspects of learning which theyfind particularly thrilling and argument presented here suggest that this is something which shouldbe encouraged and built upon. Our perspective on autism and disability is influenced by socialmodel thinking, and have no interest in any sort of “cure autism now” (or actually ever)perspective. We thus prefer social model language such as the term “disabled people” ratherthan “people with disabilities” but have respected the North American preference for people firstlanguage in the article by Baker et al. which challenges the negative assumption that autisticlearners should be excluded from bilingual education and flags up issues of intersectionality.The paper by Hoy et al. tackles a commonly talked about issue for autistic learners of transition,in this case from primary to secondary school, yet does so by analysing qualitative data frommultiple stakeholders.

This publication illustrates good practice in education in which autistic learners are thriving andcontributing. It also showcases good practice in research in which an evidence base is developedupon which to make decisions about how to work effectively with learners. As editors of thisspecial edition, and as being deeply involved in the work of the Participatory Autism ResearchCollective (PARC), we were pleased to see the paper by Searle et al. addressing the potentialbenefits of this approach when researching the experiences of autistic university students.The findings of this study indicated that respondents thought it was important to be interviewedby autistic researchers through their shared understanding, facilitating positive feelings and asense of rapport in the interview process. This paper and that of Gurnett indicate the barriers tolearning that can come from breakdowns in mutual understanding, or the “double empathyproblem” (Milton, 2017), but also, along with the other papers in this collection, show how suchunderstandings can be improved, and how autistic people can feel a sense of belonging withinlearning environments as a consequence.

This publication is not exhaustive and we hope to edit further special editions focussing oneducation. It is important to remember that globally there are many disabled pupils who do notaccess school, and university is not available in the main to disabled people living in poverty in themajority of the world. Also, as PARC illustrates, a university education to PhD level in the UK is noguarantee of employment commensurate with attainment and ability for successful autisticacademics. We hope we have scratched the surface effectively and that there will be more tofollow. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and to Professor Eddie Chaplin who hassteered us through this process.

Reference

Milton, D. (2017), A Mismatch of Salience: Explorations in Autism Theory and Practice, Pavilion, Hove.

PAGE 154 j ADVANCES IN AUTISM j VOL. 4 NO. 4 2018

Special interests and inclusive academiclearning: an autistic perspective

Frederik Boven

Abstract

Purpose – Many people with an autistic spectrum condition have one or more “special interests” which ismore restricted, and which they pursue with more than average intensity. The purpose of this paper is to offera first-person perspective on inclusion of special interests in academic learning. The paper describesexamples of special interests of university students and offers recommendations for university teachers.Design/methodology/approach – The author combines the emerging strategy of using his ownautobiographical material as research object with the more establish method of conceptual analysis.Findings – The author finds that special interests can be a source of academic strength, but can alsointerfere with learning. The paper argues that including special interests in academic learning is an effectiveway of including students with autism in higher education, but requires some special provisions.Originality/value – Existing research has focused either on the special interests of persons with autism or ontheir inclusion in education, but the combination of these two issues has rarely been considered. The paperaddresses this neglected topic from the inside perspective of a former student with autism who, aftercompleting a research master’s in philosophy, was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at age 34. Theauthor combines this inside perspective with knowledge of the theory and history of autism.

Keywords University students, Asperger’s syndrome, Autism spectrum disorders, Inclusive education,Special interests, Circumscribed interests

Paper type Viewpoint

Introduction

Autistic Spectrum Conditions (autism) involve an atypical development that presents early inchildhood and lasts through life. Autism affects social interaction, language use, sensorysensitivity, behavioral repertoire and the content and intensity of interests.

The DSM-V (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) classifies autism as aneurodevelopmental disorder, defined by a concurrence of both “persistent deficits in socialcommunication and social interaction” and “restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour,interests, or activities.” This medical definition is contested by individuals with autism andothers, who believe that autism is not a biomedical disorder but a social construct (e.g.Runswick-Cole, 2016). In line with this social view, the term Autistic Spectrum Conditions(Kenny et al., 2015) is preferred here, for which “autism” and “autistic” will serve as shorthands.In addition, the term “special interest” (Asperger, 1944) is preferred for interests that areatypical in content, pursued with more than average intensity, and enhancing performancewhile diminishing impairments. Even though the DSM-V uses the term “restricted interests,”“special interests” is the term most widely used in academic publications, and preferred bypersons with autism ( Jordan and Caldwell-Harris, 2012).

Since the inclusion of Asperger’s Syndrome as an Autistic Spectrum Condition (AmericanPsychiatric Association, 1994), at least 38 percent of individuals diagnosed with autism have anaverage or above average intelligence (Baio, 2012). Of this group, an increasing number areattending a college or university (White et al., 2011). Protected by disability laws, these studentswith autism are eligible for adjustments in academic learning. Facilitating students with autism to

Received 31 May 2018Revised 24 July 2018Accepted 27 July 2018

Frederik Boven is Prospectiveexternal PhD student at theUniversity of Groningen,Groningen, The Netherlands.


obtain a university degree can greatly contribute to their quality of life, bring interesting andvaluable work opportunities within reach, and can improve financial independence; not to forgetthe positive effects the presence of students with autism within the academic community canhave on other students (Hart et al., 2010).

As part of a wider development to include the first-person experiences of students with autism(Prince-Hughes, 2002; Schlabach, 2008; Carranza, 2017; Ward and Webster, 2017), the aim ofthis paper is to offer the inside perspective of an student with autism from the Netherlands. Wheremost literature on students with autism focuses on social difficulties and student life this paperdraws attention to the positive potential of special interests for academic learning. Moreover,most authors focus on the early years at college, and especially the transition from high school tocollege, and do not address the Master’s stage (Palmer, 2006, Chapter. 9). However, themaster’s level can also pose a challenge, as the structure provided by coursework falls away andstudents have to plan and organize their own research on their own, with minimal supervision,and have to write a lengthier thesis. Therefore, this paper focuses on the master’s level.

Methodologically, the author has adopted the emerging research strategy of using his ownautobiographical material as research object (Soong et al., 2015; Tenni et al., 2003). Such anapproach has the advantage that it allows the researcher to work on topics that are not orinsufficiently covered in existing autobiographies. Its limitations are that the researcher is not“blind” to the goal of the research and can be reluctant to share failures.

This strategy has not been previously applied in autism studies, and adds a new twist to the moreestablished strategy of analyzing the autobiographies of persons with autism (Happé, 1991;Chamak et al., 2008; Hacking, 2009; Davidson and Smith, 2009). On the one hand, analyses ofautobiographies can offer valuable new insights, as they involve much richer descriptions than thesuccinct examples typically discussed in academic publications. On the other hand, this strategyhas limitations: memory is known to be unreliable, and personal experiences cannot simply begeneralized to all persons with autism.

To balance their respective weaknesses, the personal reflection was evaluated against aconceptual analysis of the academic literature on special interests – what PhilosopherPaul Ricoeur (1992, p. 16) calls “a detour of reflection by way of analysis.” In itself, conceptualanalysis has the limitation that it may reproduce the prevailing understanding of special interests,rather than enriching our understanding of them.

The paper starts with a discussion of the relevance of special interests in the context ofacademics, followed by concrete examples of special interests in college/university students,and a series of recommendations to university teachers for including special interests inacademic learning.

Special interest in the context of academic learning

Despite the emerging interest in the inclusion of university students with autism, there is a paucityof research focused on their learning style and preferences. Educational research focusing onautism foregrounds social and communication issues rather than strengths and weaknesses inacademic learning per se (Altman, 2010; Colclough, 2016; Eckhardt, 2017; Glennon, 2001;Vanbergeijk et al., 2008; White et al., 2011). However, another feature of autism that may affectacademic learning is special interests, which can interfere with learning, but which can alsoenhance performance. For example, former student Douglas O’Neill his lifelong special interest inastronomy has resulted in a PhD in the subject, as he puts it: “an obsessive youthful interestbecoming a lifelong passion” (Prince-Hughes, 2002, p. 85).

Studies that do address academic learning point to difficulties with executive functioning, such asplanning, and organization (Adreon and Durocher, 2007; Cai and Richdale, 2016) In so doing,they reflect the medical model of disability, which points to the impairments of students withautism as the cause of their problems. In contrast, this paper adopts the social model, whichemphasizes that it depends on societal arrangements whether autism is a problem. With someadjustments to academic practice, special interests are one of the strengths of students withautism, and tapping into this strength can be an effective way of supporting their inclusion in


higher education. Special interests were already described in the first two papers on autism.The mother of one of his patients with autism told Leo Kanner that her son was always “absorbedin some kind of silly, unrelated subject.” Hans Asperger (1944, pp. 16, 39 and 62) put moreemphasis on the phenomenon and observed special interests in several of the cases hedescribed: Fritz had a “special interest” in numbers and calculations, Hellmuth was “mostlyinterested” in poetry, and another child had “most of all technical interests.”

Nonetheless, it would take until the 1990s for the first studies to appear that specifically andsubstantially addressed special interests as a topic in its own right. Since then, several studieshave addressed the possibility of using special interests to foster formal learning, but only inchildren under 18 (Adams, 1998; Winter-Messiers, 2007; Brown and Stanton-Chapman, 2014;Diener et al., 2015; El Zein et al., 2016; Gunn and Delafield-Butt, 2016). The few studies that haveaddressed the special interests of adults with autism (O’Leary, 2011; Armstrong, 2014; Groveet al., 2018) have not focused on formal learning.

One of the reasons that special interests have been overlooked in higher education is a poorunderstanding of the defining features of special interests. First, they have a reputation ofrevolving around a topic that is highly restricted in scope. There is, however, little empiricalevidence for this widely held assumption, as the author has found only one study evidencing thatspecial interests may be more restricted in scope ( Jordan and Caldwell-Harris, 2012, p. 398).Even if special interest are restricted, this may only be the case for children with autism who haveless than average intelligence. Since most research has focused on this group, it is poorlyunderstood how intelligence, age and level of education affect special interests.

Second, it is widely assumed that the topic of special interests is most likely to fall within thedomain of “folk physics,” supposedly because this sits best with being better in understandingsystems than in social and emotional cognition (Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright, 1999; Klin et al.,2007). However, this view is not uncontested, as women tend have interests in different domains,and special interests may also fall in the domain of the social sciences (Aday, 2011, p. 113;Jordan and Caldwell-Harris, 2012).

Third, special interests are wrongly assumed to be obsessive. Even though persons with autismmay experience special interest as an “addiction,” they do not feel that they are unwanted ordistressful (Baron-Cohen, 1989), as is the case in obsessive-compulsive conditions. Rather, theyare a source of pleasure.

This poor understanding of the defining features of special interest is reflected by the fact that scholarsuse over 70 different term variants to describe such interests. By analyzing the salience of these termsin 80 academic papers focusing on the subject, the author has found that “special interests” is themost salient term, rather than “circumscribed” and “restricted” interests, or “obsessions.”

The value of special interests to higher education becomes more clear when it is recognized thattheir defining features is an intrinsically motivation to know all there is to know about a subjectwithout regard for the social or practical contexts in which it is embedded.

In a rare study focusing on special interests in so-called “high-functioning” adults, Aday (2011,p. 112) found that 85 percent of a sample of 150 reported one or more special interests; of thisgroup, 90 percent pursued their interest(s) daily, and 35 percent for six hours a day. A larger andmore recent study found that 65 percent of a sample of 687 adults with autism reported at leastone special interest; 56 percent of the sample pursued their special interest(s) every day, for0–2 hours by 31 percent and for 2–4 hours by 37 percent (Grove et al., 2018, p. 4).

This motivation to pursue their interests with vigour and persistence can positively affect learning.Cai and Richdale (2016) found that students with autism can be organized and plan in areas thatinterest them, but are unable to plan for other areas in their lives. Similarly, Darius, a student withAsperger’s declared: “I had extremely good memory and concentration for things that interestedme, but none at all for things I found pointless” (Prince-Hughes, 2002, p. 10). Finally, Dawn, aformer student with Asperger’s adds: “I could talk to people very well and even become veryenthusiastic about interacting socially if it revolved around my areas of interest” (Prince-Hughes,2002, p. 118). Thus, including special interest emerge as a potential way of tapping into thestrength of students, which can greatly contribute to their inclusion in higher education.

VOL. 4 NO. 4 2018 j ADVANCES IN AUTISM j PAGE 157

Existing examples of special interests in students

Welkowitz and Baker (2005) briefly describe the special interests of three college students withAsperger’s. Arnold is a 22 year old geography major with a special interest in geography. Gaby isa 20 year old student who has special interest and ability in computer science as well as in art andgraphic design. Sophie is a 21 year old history major who has special interest in economicanalyses of pre-war Germany.

Much more comprehensive is the example of Susan (Prince-Hughes, 2002, pp. 91-105), who asa thirty year old graduate student in linguistics looks back at her experiences with her specialinterest in letters and written language. Susan’s interest in letters goes back to early childhood.“My mother tells me that my favourite ‘toy’ at age 3 was the dictionary, and I would spend hourseach day pouring through its pages. One of the first things that attracted me was the shape of theletters. There were straight lines, curves and dots.” In eight grade Susan became interested in thegenealogies in the Bible book Genesis and researched the etymology of the occurring names. Inhigh-school this interest in etymology “evolved into an obsession with linguistics” and she “spentmany high school recesses and afternoons in the school library pouring through dictionaries.”When she started college, she knew from the first semester that she wanted to pursue linguisticsas a career, focusing on non-standard varieties of English in the nineteenth and twentieth century.For six years, she “exhaustively looked through the criminal court records at the State Archives,old newspapers on microfilm, school newspapers and yearbooks, diaries – almost any availabletext.” She painstakingly developed a large database with attestations of non-standard speech.This special interest developed into “highly innovative and original research” and led to severalpublications. Reflecting on her special interest, Susan observes that, on the one hand, her specialinterest in words has taken a lot of time, but on the other hand, it has kept her motivated to findthe needles of non-standard speech in the haystack of archives.

Susan’s is the only comprehensive narration of the special interests of an student with autism atthe college/university level the author has found in the academic literature. To remedy this, thenext section will offer a description of the author’s own special interests. The autobiographicalnarrative will start with describing the authors’ special interests, followed by a discussion of hisproblems and success, and how they were influenced by arrangements at his university.

A new example of special interests in a master’s student

As a student enrolled in a two-years Research Master in Philosophy, the author always had up tosix special interests. These interests were certainly not in the domain of “folk physics” but drewwidely from the humanities and social sciences – without any regard for disciplinary boundaries.Many interests revolved around concepts (dialectics, citizenship, framing, attention, blending,embodiment, literacy, public religion, transmedia, incarnation, Umwelt, etc.), and theseconcept-interests would last a few weeks to a few months, after which his interest shifted toanother concept. Other interests revolved around scholars (Hannah Arendt, Jeffrey Alexander,Gilles Fauconnier, etc.) or around wider disciplines (political philosophy, cognitive linguistics,cultural sociology, etc.) and, if they did not die out after a week or so, these discipline-interestswould last for several years.

The author pursued these interests almost daily, spending up to 6 h on one or more interestsevery day. This pursuit involved seemingly ordinary academic activities such as searching onlinefor publications, reading papers and books, going to the library, copying book chapters andwriting. However, the manner in which they were pursued was not ordinary: he would amassexcessive bibliographies, he would work hours on paragraphs that never crystallized into fullpapers, and he would print articles and borrow books on an usual variety of subjects. Bothreading and writing so captivated him that he completely shut out all perception, not only of hissurroundings but also of his bodily states. Hunger and muscle pain remained unnoticed and hehad great difficulty in switching to another kind of activity, especially relaxation.

Academic papers, and later his Master’s Thesis, posed a special kind of challenge. Rather thanstarting with a problem, or a research question, he would start from a special interest, and try towork that interest in the assignment. However, he was expected to present his research as a


rational answer to a problem or question. This took much effort and many attempts to come upwith a story to legitimize what was really just a fascination out of nowhere. On the one hand,teachers would appreciate his thoroughness and determination in trying to understand all thereis to understand about a concept-interest, scholar-interest or discipline-interest. On the otherhand, teachers would complain that he should be more pragmatic in his pursuit andpresentation of his research.

The transition from coursework to his Master’s Thesis presented a major problem, and it wouldeventually take him seven years to finish his thesis. He was not yet diagnosed with autism at thetime, and therefore did the special provisions for students with autism offered by the university.With hindsight, he might have benefited from the recommendations offered below, but overall thecoursework was attainable, as the assignments were well-structured, divided into sub tasks, andlimited in time.

Initially, his main difficulty was delineating and focusing his research, and developing a singlecoherent and centered argument. The author had to postpone his Master’s Thesis after a yearbecause of a burnout – not only due to academic demands, but mostly due to demands in thepersonal sphere. His teachers would not understand why he could not easily finish his Master’sThesis, because on the level of sections his work was of a high standard. He developed acutepsychiatric problems, which for a period of two years made it impossible to do any work at histhesis. After this period, he contact one of his professors, who believed in him, and was willing togive him a change at finishing his Master’s. This was the first time he contacted a student dean,who organized for him to receive the necessary financial exemptions to be able to continue hisstudies. During that time he was easily disoriented by literature searches, had difficulty setting upa coherent argument even at the paragraph level, and worked on seven special interestssimultaneously without a sense of how they would fit into a thesis. Other than financial provisions,he did not receive any special assistance, and only met with his professor every three months.

In the end, the author came up with his own adjustments. He was allowed to write his Master’sThesis completely in question and answer form, which helped him to get a sense of his intendedaudience by explicitly representing them in the form of an (imagined) interlocutor. He was alsoallowed to finish his thesis in his own pace, and to preserve the credits for his coursework. Thefinal thesis (Boven, 2014) was an attempt to bring seven special interests together within a singlenarrative. Although his thesis was marked with an 8 (out of 10), and he graduated cum laude, thecritique of other professors on his methodology and relevance was severe, and discouraged himto continue his studies. It would take him two years to work up the courage to submit a PhDproposal – to the Psychology rather than the Philosophy department.

In addition to a Master’s thesis, the author had to finish a Reading, which normally involves adiscussion of a substantial literature list. After several attempts, he proved unable to complete thisassignment it its original form. Because he had experienced some success with visualizing ratherthan narrating his research, he came up with the idea to present his findings in the form of anexhibition about The Republic, one of the dialogues of Plato – which had been one of his specialinterest for over five years. His professor kindly allowed for it, although this form was veryunorthodox and without any precedent. The author developed several large-size infographics, aswell as an audio tour, and some three-dimensional displays – which were shown to a public ofhigh school and higher education students of about 200 persons in total. Instead of the standardresearch paper, the author submitted a process report of conceiving, developing, and evaluatingthe exhibition. Together with the now completed Master’s Thesis this sufficed to complete hisResearch Master’s in Philosophy. Not much later he was diagnosed with Asperger’s.

Floating and grounded interests

In the view of the author, the defining feature of special interests is not their atypical topic (whichcan be more unusual, inappropriate, restricted, unsuitable or fixed) or the manner in which theyare pursued (which is often more intense and less social). These two secondary attributes stemfrom a single primary feature: a person with autism is intrinsically motivated to pursue theinterest, and experiences the interest as an end in itself, not necessarily as grounded withinsocial or practical contexts. Special interests are like hovercrafts that float without any support


from the ground – special interests are floating interests. They are important to the person intheir own right and not because he or she gains anything from them, be it status, money,credits, praise or simply the solution to a problem. It is because persons with autism tend not touse their social and functional context as a constraint on what they find relevant and valuablethat their interests may appear quaint, intense and “useless.” By contrast, the interests ofso-called “neurotypicals” tend to be grounded interests: extrinsically motivated and embeddedwithin social and practical contexts.

The pursuit of knowledge as an end in itself is an ancient Western ideal, already championed byAristotle, who divorced theoretical from practical knowledge, compared it to the passive gazing(theorein) of the spectator, and developed a rhetoric of uselessness as being free from practicaldemands (Nightingale, 2004). However, this is far from how learning is defined in contemporaryWestern universities. Today, university students are expected to learn how to solve widerscientific or societal problems, to develop an academic or professional identity grounded inshared practices, and to develop a strategy to monetize their knowledge. Students with autismtoday face the same crisis as Plato’s student Glaucon: they are challenged to combine a love fordetours through “theoretical” (in the sense of “useless”) knowledge with a willingness to return tothe practical realities of the wider community – unwelcoming as it may be (Altman, 2013). Only, forthe person with autism this descent does not involve a return but the homecoming of a strangerborn in exile.

For students with special interest, grounding them is not a given, but must be achieved arduouslyand painstakingly. This makes the transition from coursework to more substantive researchchallenging for students with autism, in spite of their strong intrinsic motivation to learn. In theeyes of their peers and teachers alike it will not do to study, for example “attention” because itinterests the student, he must show that it is relevant to do so, e.g. by showing how his researchfills a gap or problematizes assumptions. Isolated topics that interest the student for no reasonmust be girded with legitimizations that are alien to it. This process should not be mistaken withthe conventional process of understanding relevance. In grounded interests, relevance is addedfrom the outside, whereas in grounded interests it already belong to the topic of interest and is“merely” explicated.

To complicate matters, the interests of students with autism can be partly floating and partlygrounded. Not all special interests are special to the same extent: some will involve extrinsic aswell as intrinsic motivation. This leaves the student with autism with the difficult task of sorting outthe difference.

Special interests and inclusion of students with autism

If special interests are indeed driven by an intrinsic motivation, which is less flexible and lessembedded within practical contexts, this may have positive and negative effects on the inclusionof students with autism in higher education.

On the positive side, special interests may allow students with autism to complete tasks otherstudents find too tedious and lead their research into unexpected and innovate directions,questioning assumptions usually taken for granted.

On the negative side, special interests can disable students with autism (even if autism is notsimply a disability but rather a “difference”) by interfering with their learning. In the context ofdiscovery, special interests make it more difficult for students with autism to complete tasks thatthey are not interested in. Consequently, success at university may require greater effort on theirpart, or may not be achieved at all. In the context of justification, a reduced awareness of therelevant contexts of their special interest(s) may make it more difficult for students with autism tolegitimize their work, or it may feel inauthentic to them to do so.

If special interests can have the negative effect of partly disabling students with autism, avoidingor overcoming this is not the sole responsibility of the student. Performing tasks outside your owninterest, or adhering to norms shared in disciplinary practices, are not necessarily (and have notalways been) part of the academic enterprise, but depend on political choices and the historicaldevelopment of social institutions. Educators, and universities at large, therefore have to take part


of the responsibility if academic practices effectively (even if unintentionally) exclude studentswith autism who have a different structure of motivation but are otherwise good students. Thisrequires special provisions, as we will see in the next section.

Recommendations for university teachers

To make academic learning more inclusive to students with autism who have specialinterests, the author recommends a number of accommodations. For some students theymay require extra supervision, in which a case it may be necessary to for them see a counselor,but for other students it should be enough to change the content (not the quantity) ofthe supervision:

1. Students with autism (who are open to this) should be encouraged to include their specialinterest in assignments. For example, although “incarnation” is a Christian theologicalconcept, the author could have included this special interest within a history of psychologyassignment by studying how Christian psychologists have used this concept to develop orcriticize psychological theories. Similarly, the author’s special interest in the FrenchPhilosopher Paul Ricoeur could easily be turned psychological by focusing on hisphilosophical appropriation of psychoanalysis. This requires that university teachers bearwith their students with autism rather than immediately dismiss their ideas as irrelevant.

2. Students with autism may need assistance in reconciling their special interest(s) with theassignment. This should not involve watering down the requirement, or making the subject ofthe assignment fall outside the field in which the student seeks education. Rather, professorsshould use their more comprehensive knowledge of their field and of academic practice ingeneral to help the student to identify connections between his special interest and the taskat hand. Beyond this, the student may benefit from extra guidance from a counselor incoming up with an effective and efficient search strategy that will prevent him or her fromgetting lost in the associative process of internet searches; it will help to agree upon a limit foreach searching period, and to insist on regular breaks.

3. When encouraging students with autism to ground their special interests, teacher shouldmake any questions they have about the relevance of their students’ work explicit andspecific rather than expecting that their students will read this critique between the lines ofwhat is actually said. It is first of all to the student to forge a narrative that explains to othersthe academic and societal relevance of his work. In students with autism this process willlikely not move from an intuitive to an explicit understanding of relevance, but rather the otherway around: the relevance must first be made explicit and only then it can become intuitive, orif that is unattainable, become a deliberate principle. This requires not so much an explorationof students their ideas, but rather a precise explication of the kind of relevance they shouldidentify. Students should be encouraged to provide such an explanation. “I am expected tomake clear how my paper may benefit university teachers who currently have (or may have inthe future) one or more students with autism, and through their assistance, students withautism who have special interests.”

4. Including a special interest within an assignment helps students with their motivation, but thishas as a danger that it will interfere with their everyday functioning. Students with autism mayneed assistance in overseeing the practical implications of an assignment, especially if it isunstructured and undivided into smaller tasks. Teachers can help them make explicit thetime, resources and effort a task involves. If a student comes up with a reading list of15 papers, it helps to ask them howmany time it costs them on average to read a paper, howmany time that is in total, how they can fit this time into their schedule, and what they will haveto give up in order to achieve the goal they have set.

5. Because special interests are floating interests they are not automatically embedded withinrelational contexts. Students with autism may therefore need assistance in identifying andunderstanding the intended audience of their work, and the (implicit) norms by which they willjudged their work. It can help to make the questions and assumptions of potential readersexplicit by (temporarily) including them explicitly it in the text.


6. Special interests are inherently limitless. When you research a question, you can stop whenyou have found an answer. In contrast, the search for information about a special interest isnot spontaneously limited by a problem, an intended audience, or a drop in motivation.There is always more to know and more to understand. It thus helps to ask students withautism beforehand what would be a good satisfaction point. “The assignment is donewhen I […]”.

7. When students with autism try to include special interests in their work the process andcontent of their work may initially fail to install much confidence in teachers. One of thedeciding factors in success is a teacher who nonetheless believes in the student and trusts inhim to work through his challenges, and tap into his strengths – even if this takes a lot of time.

8. Because students with autism are motivated differently and think differently assignments thatwork for other students may not be suitable for them. It helps to allow students to be creativein adapting assignments to their special needs, even if this leads to unorthodox solutionswhich may not easily fit within exam regulations.

Conclusion

Attending to special interests in academic learning can contribute to the inclusion of students withautism in higher education by tapping into one of their strengths: a strong and persistentmotivation to get to the bottom of a specific topic. By sharing their story students with autism cancontribute to a better understanding of their unique challenges and strengths. Based on aconcrete example of academic learning with special interests specific adjustments have beenproposed that can help university teachers to support students with autism. These adjustmentscould also be useful for other students, but they are a necessity for students with autismwho – due to a partially disabling condition – cannot otherwise obtain a university degree andreap the many benefits of higher education.

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Further reading

Kanner, L. (1943), “Autistic disturbances of affective contact”, Nervous Child, Vol. 2 No. 3, pp. 217-50.

About the author

Frederik Boven is prospective external PhD student at the Faculty of Behavioural and SocialSciences of the University of Groningen. He has Master’s Degree in Philosophy from theUniversity of Groningen. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome as an adult and is boardmember of an autism foundation. Frederik Boven can be contacted at: [email protected]

For instructions on how to order reprints of this article, please visit our website:www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/licensing/reprints.htmOr contact us for further details: [email protected]


How can Shakespeare’s iambicpentameter enable inclusion of andencourage participation of autistic pupilsin a year 7 boy’s mainstream classroom?

Jane Elizabeth Gurnett

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to facilitate a greater understanding of verbal and non-verbalcommunication in an open space learning (OSL) environment. This is an exploration of the premise that byusing Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter as a scaffolding for learners on the autism spectrum, a “safe place”can be accessed.Design/methodology/approach – Using an action research model and following government guidelines,using common assessment framework analysing the findings using School’s assessment criteria model thatis used for single exercises through to whole scheme of work: making–performing–evaluating (self-evaluationsheets/peer evaluation sheets/teacher evaluation).Findings – There has been hypothesis that people with ASD may be more able to track their heart beats forlonger than neurotypicals. Kimberly et al. (2015) suggest that empathetic abilities and emotional experiencesin people with ASD can produce negative experiences, anxiety can occur and the interoceptive awarenessand ability to positively relate to self can be caused to dislocate. The use of the rhythm of the heartbeat mayaid communication skills in ASD learners.Research limitations/implications – In the autistic learner, overload, caused by hypersensitivity/hyposensitivity, can also affect and be effected by environmental issues in OSL environment. The autisticlearner can be deeply affected. Unlike a desk-based class there is nowhere to hide, no place of safety.Practical implications – By trying to find a common ground where the autistic learners can realise their fullcapacity the use of the heartbeat iambic rhythm can, the author posits, impact on the autistic learners senseof self and confidence, aiding learning.Social implications – As Hunter (2015) espouses, the heartbeat is a nurturing instrument. The authoradvocates that the heartbeat is also a unilateral marker that unifies a class/the environment at the same timeas comforting the autistic learner.Originality/value – There is an element in every being that has to be present from inception, the heartbeat, itis the first function an embryo performs. The heartbeat also produces a primal symbiotic interdependency inmother and child. It is a pure connection. The author posits that the replication of this pure function cancomfort, reassure and foster communication. There is no empirical evidence, but research is currently takingplace at the Nisonger Centre at the Ohio State University, where, under the leadership of Dr Marc J. Tasse,pilot workshops have taken place. The author also have no empirical evidence as to why the heartbeat isinstrumental in helping the autistic learner to communicate. The author gives the conjecture in the paper.

Keywords Reciprocity, Autism spectrum condition, Communication skills, Heartbeat, Iambic pentameter,Interoception

Paper type Viewpoint

All children have the right to live in a world where they can communicate their most basic needs andwants. (Potter and Whittaker, 2001, p. 170)

As a teacher of Drama in a mainstream school one of my main aims is to facilitate a greaterunderstanding of verbal and non-verbal communication. In this paper I will be exploring the

Received 9 February 2018Revised 24 July 2018Accepted 27 July 2018

Jane Elizabeth Gurnett isStudent at the University ofBirmingham, Birmingham, UK;and Teacher/Facilitator andMentor at Act for Autism, UK.


premise that by using Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter as a scaffolding for learners on theautism spectrum, a “safe place” can be accessed. The heartbeat rhythm of the iambicpentameter (according to Kelly Hunter, 2015 pioneer of this theory) nurtures the learner andprovides a safe place from which the learner can explore burgeoning communication skills.

I will explore the possibility of sensory overload being in direct correlation with the difficulties oflearners on the autism spectrum to successfully negotiate the “Open Space Learning” (OSL) of adrama class which subsequently further thwarts social/communication.

I will also aspire to gain a greater perception of the derivation of the problems encountered whencommunication skills are impaired. That said, it is my firm belief that, (as posited by Potter andWhittaker, 2001) focussing on capacity rather than deficit, ( fixated interests, repetitive behavioursand sensory sensitivity) one can try to eradicate the idea that the deficit is within the learner andconcentrate on unlocking the ability to express, label and communicate in a way that neurotypicallearners can recognise, thus helping the autistic learner to be more readily accepted within theclassroom environment.

It is with this in mind that assessing communication skills becomes a question of attempting toclose the gulf between neurotypical learners and autistic learners, by trying to find a commonground where the autistic learners can realise their full capacity.

As Hunter (2015) espouses, the heartbeat is a nurturing instrument. I advocate that the heartbeatis also a unilateral marker that unifies a class/the environment at the same time as comforting theautistic learner. A unifying environment, I believe, is fundamental for the confidence of the autisticlearner. Potter and Whittaker (2001) argue this point, they question if the learners lack ofspontaneous communication can be due to a disabling environment.

Autism and communication in a mainstream classroom

Within the mainstream classroom I will be focussing on two Year 7 boys, Tommy (alias) who hasbeen diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Asperger’s Syndrome, andSimon (alias) who does not have a diagnosis. I will also, as a control, focus on two neurotypicalboys Dan (alias) and Luke (alias).

Both Simon and Tommy exhibit the overriding marker of “extreme autistic aloneness”, forexample, Tommy will calmly ask an unrelated question in the middle of an instruction for a task,such as “What direction is west?”. If his question goes unanswered he will calmly pursue it until heis satisfied with the outcome which occurs when he is, calmly and with assertion, guided back ontask through an active negotiation where he is allowed to continue with his pursuit in a quietcorner, for a finite amount of time (Attwood, 1998).

Simon conversely exhibits with anger and frustration, for instance, if his bag is moved or tasks arenot executed exactly as he perceives them to have been instructed, he then shows a “desire forthe preservation of sameness”. His lack of spontaneity and slavish adherence to detail can resultin the same pursuit of goal as Tommy, with repetitive instruction to those in his group (Kanner,1943 as cited in Blancher and Christensen, 2011). It is also evident that Simon sees and hearsthings without interpretation, he sees the world exactly as it is presented and has little ability touse his imagination to “fill the gaps” (Bogdashina, 2003). Both Dan and Luke can find thesediversions irritating which can escalate into “banter” (teasing and micky taking).

Working from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V’s) combineddomain of social and communication deficits, I have observed these incidents as demonstrating alack of social skills (receiving and processing and receiving and relating to other) that then inhibitscommunication.

The autistic learner may experience a conceptual engagement with his/her world but not be ableto interpret it. Hobson (2002) defines the autistic learner as lacking in an understanding of self andother, engagement is inhibited and emotional interchange where person to person subjectivitycan be grappled with, is not experienced. A shared world is not in existence, and consequently,amongst other disadvantages, the act of making friends through social communication canbecome problematic.


Contextualising the “hunter heartbeat” and its relevance to the research question

In her book “Shakespeare’s Heartbeat” Kelly Hunter expounds on the importance of play:

I’ve tried to convey the significance of playfulness within the games, but I’m not sure I’m any thewiser as to how to teach an actor, teacher or parent to be playful. It’s a feeling born of personalexperience, intimately related to growing up and deeply entrenched in our own unique personalities.(Hunter, 2015, p. 238)

I utterly concur with this sentiment, as do many exponents of working with games and play(Vermeulen, 2013) to promote social/communication skills in autistic learners, but I posit thatHunter’s most original and important concept is the use of the heartbeat as a tool for accessingcommunication skills, this I will debate next.

Like the “squeeze machine” (Grandin, 1995) “holding therapy” (Bogdashina, 2003) and the workof Phoebe Caldwell and Horwood (2008) there is a physicality involved in “Hunter’s Heartbeat”.

Attwood also alludes to a boy with Asperger’s who having learnt to conduct a piece of music, thathe had found impossible to access emotionally, he was ultimately not only able to interpret theemotions of the piece, but the physical exercise of conducting gave him a transferable skill. It isthis non-cerebral approach to communication that interests me. However it is important toanalyse why the use of the heartbeat promotes and supports communication in autistic learners.To date there is no empirical evidence, but research is currently taking place at the NisongerCentre at the Ohio State University, where, under the leadership of Dr Marc J. Tasse, pilotworkshops have taken place. In their subsequent paper “Shakespeare and autism: anexploratory evaluation of the Hunter Heartbeat Method”, a study designed to improve socialinteraction, pragmatic language and facial recognition, Mehling, Tasse and Post state that thecommunication skills of the participants improved significantly, whilst the facial emotionrecognition skills did not improve significantly. Although I have no empirical evidence as to whythe heartbeat is instrumental in helping the autistic learner to communicate, I suggest that thesignificant improvements in communication were due to the rhythmic nature of the language(iambic pentameter or heartbeat) whilst facial recognition is not influenced by rhythm. Next I willoutline my conjecture.

Sources of difference in the classroom (sensory perceptual issues)

Learners on the autism spectrum can often experience a debilitating sensory overload. One canonly imagine how difficult it must be to encounter the world in infinite, indeterminable detail,being bombarded with information from the senses, (hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting andtouching) resulting in the daunting prospect of vast amounts of perceived unprocessedinformation. It appears that in a learner with autism that “filter” that processes information, that aneurotypical learner takes for granted, is in varying degrees absent. This lack of a filteringsystem can also be defective in the event that it mutes the senses. Both these conditionsaccording to (Delacato, 1974 cited in Bogdashina, 2003) are the root cause of withdrawal fromsocial communication. This sensory condition may be due to cognitive problems, weak centralcoherence, or a lack of schemas, (the hierarchical system of organising information)(Bogdashina).

The mind of a neurotypical learner “fills the gaps” using imagination through a controlled/controlling filter, sense and emotional memory, where the understanding of the world throughthe experience and the perception of the experience, gives the neurotypical learner a chance toanalyse and understand self in the world (Ungerer and Schmid, 1996) (Wing, 1996) andconsequently sequence this understanding and develop his/her social/communication skills.

In the autistic learner, overload, caused by hypersensitivity/hyposensitivity, can also affect and beeffected by environmental issues in OSL. The autistic learner can be deeply affected by thephysical (sights, sounds, smells and touch) and emotional (social interaction) environment.Unlike a desk-based class there is nowhere to hide, no place of safety.

In order to try to facilitate a positive learning experience I maintain a strict entry routinewhich culminates in a standing circle where each learner plus the “uncrowned teacher” are equal.


This OSL is intended to metaphorically open the mind. The challenge of this unconventionalspace creates a zone ripe for experimentation and “play”. This space can transcend the auditorylearning methodology, which can for neurotypical learners facilitate a fast track to learning as theyencounter active strategies and mind and body synthesis (Monk et al., 2011).

Conversely, for the autistic learner it can be a terrifying and confusing experience as they areasked to engage in imaginative play and interpersonal communication. In this scenario, the fusionof examination of other and exploration of self, in an uncomfortable arena, can leave the autisticlearner, in the case of both Tommy and Simon displaying traits of (as defined by Wing, 1996)“active but odd” behaviour. This can have the effect of further alienating them from the rest of theclass and thus further exacerbating the already tenuous social dynamic and possibledevelopment of communication skills.

The derivation of a lack of intersubjectivity in the autistic learner and itsconsequences

If a baby is born with the specific ability to respond to the feelings of others, and specifically in thefirst 2–6 months this response will be to the mother, what would happen if this sense/ability is, inthe autistic child, as heightened as the senses of touch, hearing, sight, smell and taste. What ifthis (Hobson citing Trevarthen’s theory) “emotional link” is just too intense and consequentlyphysically painful for the infant?

‘In “The Cradle of Thought” Hobson quotes Murray:

The mother’s success in sustaining the infant’s attention and involvement in face to face interactions,repeated over a period of some months, may, by four or five months, have influenced the infant’scapacity to attend and process information in wider social and non-social environment. (Hobson,2002, p. 136)

Reciprocity with neurotypical babies becomes mutually beneficial and the mutuality feedsthe mothers’ feeling of well-being and the cycle of positivity continues (Trevarthen andAitken, 2001).

Although the following hypothesis is almost impossible to prove scientifically, in their paper oneye contact and developing deficit of eye contact, Jones and Klin (2013) state that normativelevels of eye contact are present in most babies at birth, but that a decline is seen from the ageof two months (and continues up to the age of six months) in those babies who are laterdiagnosed with autism. Could it be possible that in the case of the relationship between theautistic child and the mother, that the mothers desire for connection is felt to be overbearing forthe autistic baby. With a lack of filter the autistic baby sees the vision of the mothers mobile faceand the myriad of intonations of voice, which instead of eliciting the desired effect of mimicking,causes an overload for the baby, which the baby reacts to with the most primal emotion, fear,manifesting in flight (emotional shut down and lack of reciprocity) or fight (screaming andtantrum) (Cannon, 1929).

Wittgenstein (cited in Hobson) states that we do not infer from facial contortions that the person isfeeling joy, boredom, grief “we see the emotion” and describe the face as radiant, bored, sad,there is an articulation of the effect of the emotion on self. This “seeing emotion” through the lensof hypersensitivity/hyposensitivity could be the source of the overload that negatescommunication in the autistic learner.

I propose that this is where the difference lies, and the lack of communication is a reactivemeasure in the infant. I also suggest that everything after those initial forays into communicationare laced with fear, manifesting in the central symptom of “extreme autistic aloneness”where systems, pattern sequencing and objects then take centre stage due to theircontrollability. Hobson goes on to ask the reader to imagine being born without responsivenessto other people, suggesting that for the autistic person an object is consequently just asinteresting as another being and that conversely the neurotypical being has a greaterattachment to a being, and an inquisitiveness about other beings as mirrors, teachers, carers,advocates, enemies, friends and partners. Could it be that the autistic baby is born withextreme responsiveness to other?


The healing iambic heartbeat

There is an element in every being that has to be present from inception, the heartbeat, it is thefirst function an embryo performs; the mother is thrilled when she hears the heartbeat of herunborn child for the first time. The heartbeat also produces a primal symbiotic interdependencyin mother and child; mother’s heartbeat for the child and child’s heartbeat for the mother. It is apure connection, there is no eliciting transpiring, no subliminal agenda. I posit that thereplication of this pure function can comfort, reassure and foster communication through itssimplicity and universal existence.

Shakespeare’s verse is written in a rhythm (iambic pentameter) ten beats to a line. There are fivesoft and five strong, just like the beating/pulsing of a heart. The meaning of the lines is indicatedby the strength of the beats and where they fall, the beats also inform the emotionaltemperature of the line. So it is this pure impulse, function and “music” that inform theparticipant (Berry, 2008). This purity, as Robin Post (in the foreword of “Shakespeare’sHeartbeat”) endorses, is the essence of the work Hunter has pioneered. Post elucidates byclaiming that autistic learners, who participated in the pilot workshops have shown throughtheir work on Shakespeare marked improvement in social/communication skills and ultimatelylanguage skills:

In a way, it is not just understanding minds that presents a problem for individuals with autism. Theproblem is understanding people and the expressions of people as expressive of their inner,subjective, mental and emotional life. And in my view it is in autistic children’s deficient experience ofmutual relations with people that the source of their difficulties is to be found. (Hobson, 2002, p. 250)

I submit that the universal heartbeat can ultimately, as well as provide comfort, help to eradicatefear in the autistic learner. This pervasive fear can, amongst other cognitive and biological traits,cause agitation, withdrawal and a lack of sense of self and other.

Execution of the workshop and assessment of the outcomes

This workshop is the first lesson of a scheme of work (SOW) the central tenet based on a speechfrom Shakespeare’s “As you Like it” – “All the world’s a stage” (see Table AI for this lesson plan).This part of the SOW has already been executed but the rest of the SOWwill be executed shortly.

Table AII sets out the pupil self-assessment sheet.

Following government guidelines and using common assessment framework I have set out toanalyse the findings using Warwick School’s assessment criteria, a simple but effective modelthat is used for single exercises through to whole SOW: making–performing–evaluating(self-evaluation sheets/peer evaluation sheets/teacher evaluation).

Government guidelines state that autism is recognised as a disability under the Equality Act(2010), at its core autism is defined as a social disability, how children interact with others in turnaffects how they learn to use language to communicate and how they play. The inclusiondevelopment programme states that a formal diagnosis of autism is not needed in order toimplement the ideas and interventions in their booklet. However, as a practitioner I must resist thetemptation to diagnose and instead at all times simply make careful observations, note concernsand share them with the special educational needs department. Through my informalassessment it is possible that a formal assessment may then take place.

Outline of results of the workshop

On execution of the Iambic heart beat both Tommy and Simon appeared to find the heartbeatexhilarating and easy to execute. Both naturally kept their eyes averted at first but beat the rhythmwith strength and absolute regularity, some of the neurotypical learners found the exerciserhythmically challenging and became frustrated, they were also prone to look around the circleand evaluate their progress by observing others. This trend continued as the class progressed tothe execution of “hello” using the iambic beats. Some boys also found it very difficult to executethe strong/weak beats in the syllables hell and o.


Dan and Luke showed varying degrees of competence but neither were able to sustain therhythm as efficiently or effectively as both Tommy and Simon, Dan also became frustrated andthen dismissive of the process ultimately questioning its validity.

Tommy’s generation of the iambic sentences was deemed to be the most successful whenthe class delivered peer assessment, Tommy gave the impression of being exhilarated bythis outcome, he kept his eyes averted but smiled broadly. This led me to feel that a smallstep in communication had been executed and assimilated by the class. Simon was alsosuccessful in his invention, rhythmically accurate and executing his sentence with ease and asense of purpose.

Dan was not able to create a sentence and Luke was rhythmically inaccurate.

I intend to further explore this consequence academically and by using this SOW with otherclasses in this year group.

Findings so far

Interoception, the awareness of one’s internal bodily functions, heartbeat and breathing, hasbeen researched in people with ASD with no empirical evidence emerging, but there has beenhypothesis that people with ASD may be more able to track their heart beats for longer thanneurotypical people. Kimberly et al. (2015) suggest that emphatic abilities and emotionalexperiences in people with ASD can, however, produce negative effects, anxiety can occur andthe interoceptive awareness and the lack of ability to positively relate to self can cause the autisticpupil to dislocate. They also posit that proprioception, the reaction to sensory stimuli, which isdependent on outside forces is weaker in people with ASD. I suggest that Tommy’s and Simon’sability to relate to the heartbeat could be because their psychological attention is increased whenthey are operating interoceptively, and their impaired proprioception and perception is notnecessarily the primary conduit while using the iambic pentameter.

In their research on the use of the heartbeat rhythm as a conduit for intimate connection, Janssenet al. suggest that the heartbeat influences behaviour in a similar fashion to markers of intimacysuch as gaze and interpersonal space.

I posit that although it could be argued that Tommy and Simon felt more at ease using theheartbeat as a tool for communication, due to its unambiguous structure and lack of need forcollaboration, that ultimately the heartbeat is still a powerful non-verbal tool that may be beneficialfor neurotypical and autistic pupils alike.

In conclusion, I suggest it is still something that can be hugely beneficial to autistic pupils asa by-product, if nothing else, due to its prescriptive, structured nature and capacity tohelp the autistic pupil feel more connected to their peers within their class. In this study the sense ofachievement exhibited by Simon and Tommy, in contrast to their peers, can be seen as a positive.

This study has a very small sample and other variables are extensive so further workshops willneed to be executed for there to be any further worthwhile analysis.

My hypotheses on the reciprocity between mother’s and ASD babies will at present remainmerely speculative.

References

Attwood, A. (1998), Asperger’s Syndrome: A Guide for Parents and Professionals, Kingsley, London.

Berry, C. (2008), From Word to Play, Oberon Books, London.

Blacher, J. and Christensen, L. (2011), “Sowing the seeds of the autism field. Leo Kanner (1943)”, Intellectualand Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 172-91, available at: https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-49.3.172

Bogdashina, O. (2003), Sensory Perceptual Issues in Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Jessica KingsleyPublishers, London.


Caldwell, P. and Horwood, J. (2008), Using Intensive Intervention and Sensory Integration. A Handbook forthose who Support People with Severe Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.

Cannon, W. (1929), Bodily Changes in Pain, Hunger, Fear and Rage, McGrath Publishing Co., New York, NY.

Grandin, T. (1995), Thinking in Pictures, Doubleday, available at: www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/on-parenting/autism-andshakespeare-ohio-state-researchers-study-hunter-hrartbeat-method/2013/04/09/843cc67e-9003-11e2-9abd-e4c5/c9dc5e90_story.html

Hobson, P. (2002), The Cradle of Thought, 1st ed., Macmillan, London.

Hunter, K. (2015), Shakespeare’s Heartbeat, Routledge, Oxon.

Jones, W. and Klin, A. (2013), “Attention to eyes is present but in decline in 2-6 – month-old infants laterdiagnosed with autism”, Nature, Vol. 504, December, pp. 427-45, doi: 10.1038/nature 12715.

Kimberly, B.S., Marsh, L.E., Bryant, L.K. and Cascio, C.J. (2015), “Interoceptive ability and body awareness inautism spectrum disorder”, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Vol. 131, pp. 193-200.

Monk, N., Chilington, C., Neelands, J. and Heron, J. (2011), Open Space Learning: A Study inTransdisciplinary Pedagogy, Bloomsbury Academic, London.

Potter, C. and Whittaker, C. (2001), Enabling Communication Skills in Children with Autism, 2nd ed., JessicaKingsley Publishers, London, available at: www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies00266-2008BKT_EN; www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications

Trevarthen, C. and Aitken, K.J. (2001), “Infant intersubjectivity: research, theory, and clinical applications”,Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 42 No. 1, pp. 3-48.

Ungerer, F. and Schmid, H.J. (1996), An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics, Addison Wesley Longman,Harlow.

Vermeulen, P. (2013), I am Special, 2nd ed., Kingsley.

Wing, L. (1996), The Autistic Spectrum, Constable & Company, London.

Further reading

Janssen, J.H., Bailenson, J.N., Ijsseelsteijn, W.A. and Westerink, J.H.D.M. (2010), “Intimate heartbeats:opportunities for affective communication technology”, IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, Vol. 1No. 2, pp. 71-9.

Mehling, M.H., Tasse, M.J. and Root, R. (2017), “Shakespeare and autism: an exploratory evaluation of thehunter heartbeat method”, Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Vol. 4 No. 2,pp. 107-20.


Appendix 1

Table AI Workshop

Sample exercises for the exploration of a“Sense of Self” Facilitator activity Learner activity

1. Heartbeat Circle (adapted from Hunter’s“Shakespeare’s Heartbeat”)

Group activity: facilitator creates circle, learners sitaround a cross in the centre, use gaffer tape todefine the centre crossAdd “Hello” in the iambic rhythm Hel-lo, Hel-lo,Hel-lo, Hel-lo, Hel-loTry to make eye contact with learners to evaluatethe mood of the day, assess willingness toparticipate, measure discomfort/comfort.Facilitator ends exercise by clapping (this round ofapplause is to be used as an indicator that anexercise has been concluded)

Everyone places their right hand on their heart( facilitator models the gesture). Facilitator beatsout the rhythm of the heartbeat creating acollective pulsing soundLearners join inLearners clap

2. One at a time Group activity: same exercise one at a time.Applause

Do not expect every learner to take part: Applause

3. Iambic name game4. Facial Gestures5. Take the circle6. Iambic sentences7. Gestures for words8. Verbalisation of the iambic sentenceExtension9. Invention of sentences10. PlenaryWorkshop aimsMaking eye contactImproving facial expressivenessImproving spatial awarenessImproving speech and language skillsDemystifying Shakespeare’s verse

Facilitator beats heartbeat and says Hel-lo myname is Jane what’s yours?This exercise can take as long as it takes toengender a response, the ultimate response beingthe learner saying Hel-lo my name is —what’syours? If the name has more than one syllablemake the what’s yours into what is yours.ApplauseFacilitator models a happy face, a sad face and anangry faceFacilitator repeats Iambic Hel-lo using the differentfacesHel- lo circle repeat: access if there are changes inthe sound of the hello, if there is not facilitatoraccentuate/model the sound. Facilitator appraisesthe learner’s involvementThis exercise can take as long as it takes toengender a response. Do not elicit a response …try re-establishing the heartbeat whilst waiting forany responses. ApplauseIf working in a group:Facilitator offers up the chance to the learners tostand on the middle of the cross and say Hel-lowith a facial gesture to one of the other learners ifworking in a groupOne to one:Facilitator leads on facial gestures and learnercopies (with one to one advance to fear, jealousy,timidity, etc.)Facilitator models (with heartbeat) “Today I like tosit amongst my friends”Facilitator walks around the circle and sits down atdifferent points in the circle, next to learners ifappropriate,Facilitator gages the mood in the room. Establish ifanyone is willing to copy facilitator, if not move to“gestures for words”Facilitator models gestures for words and explainsthat the gestures are to be personalised, e.g., theword “Today” may be a big sweep of both arms, it

Learner says name or if not willing to, try Hel-loLearners repeatLearners copyLearners copyLearners feedback (if any)Learners copyLearners participate with facilitatorLearners do heartbeatLearners sculpt gesturesLearners be allowed to scaffold their own journeyIf nothing physical happens that is legitimateLearners experimentLearners guided through the process of gestureinto verbalisation and gesture

(continued)


Appendix 2

Corresponding author

Jane Elizabeth Gurnett can be contacted at: [email protected]; [email protected]

Table AI

Sample exercises for the exploration of a“Sense of Self” Facilitator activity Learner activity

may be a stamp of the foot or a jump, a turn away,etc. If learners unwilling to participate go back tothe Hel-lo heartbeatFacilitator models their own version (verbalizedwith gestures)Experiment with other iambic sentences“Today I love to stand amongst my friends”“Today I hate to walk amongst my friends”Facilitator models a sentence about somethingthey are feeling/thinking, explain to the learnersthat it can be about something they are interestedin, something that is concerning them, etc.Further extension;Use facial gestures to facilitate experimentationwith emotional statesFacilitator assesses the depth of involvementthrough learners showing, facilitator questioning,etc. and pupil assessment sheet

Table AII Feedback data

1¼ strongly agree: 2¼ agree 1 (in per cent) 2 (in per cent) 3 (in per cent) 4 (in per cent) 3¼disagree: 4¼ stronglydisagree

1. I did not understand the point of anyof the exercises 4 6 55 35

2. I was committed to all aspects of the workshop 27 63 5 53. I found the exercises enjoyable 34 56 6 44. I understood why we were using the heat beat 53 45 25. I learnt how to make up an iambic verse 20 60 10 106. I found it hard to concentrate at times 7 10 70 137. I learnt nothing about the rhythm of Shakespeare 4 6 80 10



Autism and dual immersion: sortingthrough the questions

Diana Baker, Audrey Roberson and Hyejung Kim

Abstract

Purpose – The dual immersion (DI) model of bilingual education, which focuses on educatinglanguage-minority and majority students side by side using the two languages in roughly equalproportions, is gaining popularity. And yet, students with disabilities – even those who are alreadymultilingual – are routinely steered away from such programs in favor of English-only special educationoptions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach – This paper explores the potential benefits and challenges associatedwith including multilingual students with autism in DI classrooms, beginning with an exploration of literaturerelated to students with autism who are also multilingual learners (MLLs) (irrespective of educationalplacement), followed by a small body of literature on the inclusion of students with disabilities in general in DIprograms, and finally an analysis of the characteristics of DI classrooms to extrapolate about the ways inwhich this environment might be both supportive of and challenging for students with autism.Findings – The analysis reveals that DI programs are simultaneously well positioned (theoretically) and illequipped (practically) to effectively support MLLs who are also on the autism spectrum.Originality/value – In spite of mounting evidence that being multilingual may advantage children withautism, very little scholarship has even raised the question of whether students with autismmight benefit fromparticipation in bilingual programswhere academic instruction is delivered in two languages (Beauchamp andMacLeod, 2017; Durán et al., 2016; Marinova-Todd et al., 2016; Seung et al., 2006). This paper identifiespractical implications related to including students with autism in DI programs and suggests directions forfuture research.

Keywords Autism, Education, Inclusion, Developmental disability, Dual immersion,English language learners (ELL)

Paper type Conceptual paper

Recent trends indicate a growing openness – among families and educators – to immersingmultilingual children with autism in their families’ home language(s) alongside English. Just adecade ago, such an approach would hardly have been considered a given ( Jegatheesan, 2011;y Garcia et al., 2012). But based on research suggesting that multilingual exposure is not aliability for students with autism, recommendations regarding home language practices havestarted to shift (Baker, 2017; Beauchamp and MacLeod, 2017; Hambly and Fombonne, 2012;Hampton et al., 2017).

In fact, preliminary research suggests that being bilingual may mitigate challenges in executivefunctioning (EF) (Gonzalez-Barrero and Nadig, 2017) and lead to enhanced verbal skills in childrenwith autism (Gonzalez-Barrero and Nadig, 2016; Hambly and Fombonne, 2014). In spite ofmounting evidence that beingmultilingual may advantage children with autism, very little scholarshiphas even raised the question of whether students with autism might benefit from participation inbilingual programs where academic instruction is delivered in two languages (Beauchamp andMacLeod, 2017; Durán et al., 2016; Marinova-Todd et al., 2016; Seung et al., 2006).

The dual immersion (DI) model, which educates language-minority and majority students side byside using the two languages in roughly equal proportions, has become increasingly popular fortypically developing students in the USA (Lindholm-Leary, 2012). Research has shown that theformat fosters bilingualism, biliteracy and multiculturalism while boosting academic performance(Lindholm-Leary, 2005; Potowski, 2004; Steele et al., 2017). However, a common misconception

Received 31 May 2018Revised 31 May 2018Accepted 30 July 2018

Diana Baker andAudrey Roberson are bothAssistant Professor at Hobartand William Smith Colleges,Geneva, New York, USA.Hyejung Kim is based at theTexas A&MUniversity – Commerce,Commerce, Texas, USA.

PAGE 174 j ADVANCES IN AUTISM j VOL. 4 NO. 4 2018, pp. 174-183, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3868 DOI 10.1108/AIA-05-2018-0019

among educators and families still prevails wherein bilingual educational placements – includingDI – are seen as inappropriate for students with disabilities. The pretext is that these students do notpossess the skills needed to effectively navigate an environment in which multiple languages areused for instruction (Cheatham and Hart Barnett, 2017; Scanlan and Palmer, 2009). However,recent scholarship suggests that DI programs may actually be “uniquely poised” to educatemultilingual learners (MLLs)[1] with disabilities because of the fact that these programs can deliverspecial education supports alongside “linguistic supports through the presence of the first language(L1) [the student’s dominant language]” (Kangas, 2017, p. 2). This paper examines the inclusion ofmultilingual students with autism in DI programs. (Note that anecdotal evidence suggests thatEnglish-dominant students with autism are virtually never included in such programs).

This paper opens with an exploration of the challenges that MLLs with autism face irrespective ofthe particular educational setting in which they are enrolled. The following section discussesinclusion of students with disabilities in general (i.e. not autism specifically) in DI programs.The concluding section specifically addresses the ways in which the DI setting might interact withautism-related-learning needs in particular.

Coordination of special education and linguistic services

Among biggest challenges to educating MLLs with disabilities in general – and those with autismin particular – is effective coordination of two sets of educational services: special education andEnglish as a second language (ESL). The United States Department of Justice and Department ofEducation have both noted that schools routinely fail to provide the services to which students arelegally and ethically entitled and in practice, most schools provide just one set of services or theother rather than both (Kangas, 2017). Two fundamental challenges exist: there are not enoughpersonnel who have experience in both ESL and special education (e.g. Ortiz et al., 2011), andcross-departmental (e.g. English language development services, special education)collaboration can be difficult because within school districts, these departments are oftensiloed (Cheatham and Hart Barnett, 2017; Kangas, 2017).

Although scholars contend that MLLs should not “forfeit their right to bilingual education” whenthey are diagnosed with disabilities (e.g. Cheatham and Hart Barnett, 2017), in practice, mostmultilingual students with autism wind up receiving disability-specific services at the expense ofworking with educators who are formally trained in ESL (Baker, 2017). One result of this failure toeffectively coordinate services is that MLLs are consistently misidentified by, inappropriatelyreferred to and disproportionately (both over- and under-) represented in the American specialeducation system (Artiles et al., 2005). They are also far less likely than their peers withoutdisabilities to exit ESL services (Kangas, 2017; Umansky et al., 2017).

Inclusion in the DI setting

The philosophy of inclusive education holds that all children – regardless of disability category orlearning needs – should be fully accepted and should have the opportunity to participate in theentire range of public educational opportunities (e.g. Thomas, 1997). Given this orientation,immersion education programs should open to all students including those with disabilities likeautism. Although no studies have specifically examined the inclusion of students with autism in DIprograms, a few have looked at inclusion of students with other types of disabilities e.g., learningdisabilities (Kangas, 2017; Myers, 2009) and visual impairments (Milian and Pearson, 2005). Inthis section, we draw on these studies as well as other sources to imagine how inclusion mightplay out in the context of DI.

Research regarding MLLs with disabilities in DI settings reveals that schools often wind upmaking less-than-ideal compromises in an effort to serve dually identified students (i.e. learnerswith identified disabilities and language learning needs). In one case, for example, because thespecial educators were not able to provide special education services during the school day theyended up working with students with disabilities outside of regular school hours (Milian andPearson, 2005), a solution that would no doubt be difficult to scale up. In another case, a DIprogram “rostered” their students so that all of the students with disabilities in a particular grade


level were assigned to a particular class while the students classified as MLLs were funneled intotwo other classes (Kangas, 2017, p. 20). This type of sorting and segregation obviously runscounter to the spirit of inclusion.

As mentioned previously, although students with disabilities, generally speaking, are unlikely toattend DI programs, students from multilingual families are more likely than their monolingualpeers with disabilities to enroll. This means that sorting by special education status results in defacto segregation by language status as well. In essence practices like these will eventually createself-contained bilingual special education classrooms stripped of the benefits of a true DI model,which is supposed to be mixed in terms of the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of its students.And yet, in schools where there simply are not enough educators who are qualified to deliverspecial education services, dispersing students with disabilities across all grade-level classes isoften not feasible (Kangas, 2017).

Conflicts in service schedules

Because of the nature of scheduling in DI programs –with a portion of instruction in one languageand the remainder in another – one of the questions that emerge is when special educationservices should be delivered. Some models like co-teaching, and 1:1 paraprofessional supportalong with accommodations and modifications are designed to be provided across the entireschool day. Research, however, suggests that in the DI context, accommodations may not beprovided consistently across languages. Specifically, in one school, observations revealed thatappropriate special education accommodations were provided during English instruction but notduring Spanish instruction (Kangas, 2017) effectively denying MLLs with disabilities access toinstruction in their primary language.

Pullout special education services, which are provided in a resource room or similar setting tostudents who are otherwise included in the general education classrooms, are fraught with theirown set of logistical constraints in the DI context. Although pullout services are falling out of favor,in general (e.g. Flynn, 2010), they are still the norm in some districts and for certain disabilitycategories. In the realm of DI where students only spend a fraction of their academic instructionaltime with each teacher, missing academic instruction might be particularly problematic and itbegs the question of which language the student should miss. Because of the accountabilityattached to English achievement, schools have an incentive to pull students with disabilities out oftheir L1 instruction rather than during English instruction. Like the lack of L1 accommodationprovision, this decision might disadvantage L1 learning for MLLs with disabilities rendering their DIexperience nonoptimal.

Autism and instruction in the DI classroom

The DI model with two alternating languages adds complexity to the linguistic demands of theschool setting: students are required to think both about which language to use with a particularperson or in a given setting on top of how to use that language. On the one hand, the challenge ofnavigating the rich and intricate language environment that DI offers could be overly taxing forsome students with autism. After all, in this setting, both languages are media of instructionthrough which students are learning academic content, and students need to be proficient inswitching from one language to the next as needed. Aside from considerations regarding theprovision of formal special education services for MLLs with autism in DI programs, it is worthconsidering more generally the nature of the bilingual learning environment and how this mightaffect students with autism.

Broadly speaking, students with autism struggle with social language use or pragmatics.Even in a monolingual environment, skills like shifting language use to fit the language partner(e.g. a classmate vs the teacher) and context (e.g. the difference between a “library voice” andplayground banter) or following conversational rules (e.g. turn-taking, staying on topic) requireextra practice and explicit teaching for students with autism (Philofsky et al., 2007). In a duallanguage setting, this array of challenges exists and is complicated by the presence of twolanguages each with its own sets of pragmatic rules.


However, research suggests the process of navigating the pragmatic demands of a bilingualenvironment may, in fact, give the child extra practice to develop important communicative, socialand cognitive skills. For example, Seung et al. (2006) argued that in the case of autism, providingearly intervention services in a student’s home language is critical for foundational languagedevelopment. And not only that, the skills acquired in one language were transferrable to secondlanguage – sometimes without additional training.

Jegatheesan (2011) also found that multilingual environments helped MLLs with autism expandtheir linguistic repertoires and enriched social relationships. And, from a cognitive standpoint,Gonzalez-Barrero and Nadig’s (2017) preliminary research reveals that: “under the rightconditions [bilingualism] may serve as a protective factor for certain EF difficulties in populationswith neurodevelopmental disorders” (p. 15). Studies have also shown that for multilingualstudents with autism having command of multiple languages can be an “interactional asset” thatthey are able to deploy “strateg[ically]” to meet their everyday communication needs (Yu, 2016,p. 25). And so it should follow, the highly structured bi-lingual/literate environment that DIclassrooms offer could represent an opportunity for multilingual students with autism to developand maintain bilingual competencies better than if they were in an English immersion educationalenvironment, which would confer added cognitive and communication benefits. But in order tothink about how students with autism might experience the DI environment, we reviewpedagogical trends in these programs and how these dimensions might facilitate (or impede) theinclusion of MLLs with autism.

Instructional variety, comprehensible input and collaborative learning

A hallmark of the DI setting is that at all times approximately half the students in a class are learningin their non-dominant language. For teachers, this requires keen awareness of the possibility thatnot all students have understood the material and as a result, teachers in DI programs tend to be,out of necessity, particularly reflective on their own teaching practices and adaptive to theirstudents’ learning styles (Milian and Pearson, 2005). In fact, because DI students vary in proficiencylevel, dominant language and culture-bound learning preference, recent guidelines suggest thatteachers should draw on a variety of instructional techniques to meet the needs of all learners(Howard et al., 2018). This pedagogical flexibility may, theoretically, at least, transfer nicely tomeeting the heterogeneous learning needs of students with disabilities like autism.

In terms of lesson planning and delivery, best practices in language teaching include usingdemonstrations, visual and graphic organizers to present material (Moughamian et al., 2009).This orientation is particularly well suited to students with autism for whom visual learning isgenerally a strength (Rao and Gagie, 2006). The visual supports that are provided to support thelanguage learning needs of all students in the class may give a differential boost to students withautism who are especially attuned to visual information.

Language acquisition requires substantial comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985), or targetlanguage in which the gist can be understood, but there may be elements of the content orlanguage that are just beyond students’ proficiency level. Thus, instructional scaffolding iseffective, such as calling on students to be mediators and facilitators, making connections withprior knowledge, and introducing alternative means of assessment such as progress portfolios(Echevarria et al., 2016). In a DI context, it has been suggested that input can be made morecomprehensible by: using slower, simplified and repetitive language focused on the here andnow; highly contextualized language with gestures; frequent comprehension and confirmationchecks; and scaffolding that allows students to negotiate for meaning, or use interactional andcognitive cues to understand language input (Larsen-Freeman and Tedick, 2016).

Effective DI teachers are essentially, if unconsciously, enacting the principles of universal designfor learning (UDL), which holds that in order effectively teach all of their students, educators mustensure that their lessons are accessible in terms of engagement (stimulating interest andmotivation for learning), representation (varied presentation of content) and action andexpression (multiple ways for students to express what they know) (CAST, 2008). The multi-modal teaching associated with UDL is considered to be best practices for students with autism(e.g. Milton et al., 2016).


Another orientation that DI programs have is to approach language acquisition and learningthrough the sociocultural notion that learner–learner interaction is at the heart of languagedevelopment (Vygotsky, 1979) and that, specifically, the type of interaction that best fosterslanguage development occurs when learners pool their linguistic resources to solve languageproblems like how to translate an idea from one language to another, or which grammatical orlexical item is most appropriate for their particular communication needs. One of the benefits ofcollaboration is that it provides opportunities for learners to engage in negotiation for meaning,treating what they have said as an object that they can continue to explore as the dialogueunfolds. Through this exploration, learners are able to co-construct their linguistic knowledge andfurther develop their interlanguage (Swain et al., 2002).

This approach to collaborative learning raises the practical question of which students should begrouped together, and recent research suggests that successful DI teachers tend to use a varietyof heterogenous grouping strategies which vary the first language background, proficiency leveland social dynamics of students (Hamayan et al., 2013). Because navigating social interactions isamong the most challenging tasks for people with autism, participating in group work requiresthoughtful planning and careful scaffolding (MacKay et al., 2007). Research has shown thatcollaborative learning increases the level of social engagement for students with autism (Greyet al., 2007) and structured opportunities for interacting with peers – especially typicallydeveloping peers – is instrumental for students with autism in terms of refining their social andcommunication skills (Laushey and Heflin, 2000). In the same vein, it has been suggested that DIteachers pay careful attention to the design of collaborative tasks and to the training of nativespeakers to work with their peers who are learning (Saunders and O’Brien, 2006). On the otherhand, simply having the opportunity to engage in collaborative tasks often does not translate intoactive academic engagement – in many cases the students need more formal special educationsupports to reap the full benefits (Grey et al., 2007). Research in DI contexts has also suggestedthat merely asking students to work together does not necessarily increase oral languagedevelopment (Saunders and O’Brien, 2006). Overall, although the advantages of carefullyplanned and monitored instruction where learners use language in an authentic way to reachunderstanding or to complete a task are well-established for typically developing children, moreresearch is needed to determine if and how these language learning practices could be fruitfullyimplemented for students with autism.

DI and community inclusion

Aside from teaching and learning characteristics, the DI model is also envisioned as a means ofinterrupting the hierarchical relationships between languages and creating a democratic culture inwhich multilingualism is viewed as an asset rather than a problem to be solved. And one benefit ofthis cultural shift is that families of multilingual students are more likely to actively engaged in theirchildren’s educations (Gerena, 2011).

Family involvement is especially critical in the case of students with autism and other disabilities(Espe-Sherwindt, 2008) and yet, most MLLs who also have autism diagnoses receive English-only special education services from English-speaking providers, creating communicationbarriers for families who are not proficient in English (Baker, 2017). Research has shown that oneof the ancillary benefits of providing L1 special education services to children with autism is thatparental stress levels decrease when the parents can understand the intervention andcommunicate with the educator (Seung et al., 2006). In addition, for students with autism whothrive on consistency, authentic family/educator communication can allow for generalization ofgoals and skills across environments. For MLLs with autism, another important factor indetermining social and language development is the extent to which the child is able to interactwith her extended family and the broader community.

Home language proficiency is associated with “the capacity to communicate effectively withfamily members, to claim cultural membership and to express intimacy” (Yu, 2013, p. 12) andthese opportunities are arguably particularly important for children with autism who rely onrepeated opportunities to practice and develop their social and communication skills. One of theprimary reasons that immersing MLLs with autism in their families’ home languages has gained


popularity in recent years is the realization that home language proficiency creates opportunitiesfor these children to develop relationships with extended family and community members from“the most intimate moments of family life” to participation “in the world at large” (Yu, 2013, p. 21)and it is important to note that family members are better able to initiate emotionally connectedinteractions in the language that is most comfortable for them (y Garcia et al., 2012).

Discussion

Effectively instructing either MLLs or students with disabilities, not to mention dually identifiedstudents, requires teachers to develop competencies in supplementing and modifying curricula( Jones et al., 2013). Research suggests that under the right circumstances teachers who arehighly effective at teaching multilingual students may also hold and advantage in successfullyadapting instruction to meet the needs of students with disabilities (e.g. Milian and Pearson,2005). The analysis in the paper suggests that, at the moment at least, DI programs aresimultaneously well positioned (theoretically) and ill equipped (practically) to support MLLs withautism. Within the DI model, roughly half of instruction is provided in students’ L1, which should,hypothetically, facilitate the provision of culturally and linguistically responsive special educationservices. But the reality is murkier.

Emerging research regarding the actual experiences of students with disabilities in DI programs(Kangas, 2017; Milian and Pearson, 2005; Myers, 2009) reveals that, in fact, MLLs withdisabilities are not receiving special education services in a way that allows them to fully benefitfrom the in-built emphasis on L1 instruction and English-language development. Practicallyspeaking, students end up either being pulled out of their L1 instruction to receive specialeducation services, being “included” in L1 lessons without necessary accommodations andmodifications (Kangas, 2017), or receiving special education services outside school hours(Milian and Pearson, 2005). Thus, in the – fairly rare – instances when students with disabilities areenrolled in DI programs, they are not actually being included in the true sense of the word.

And yet, in spite of this apparent reality, the current paper finds enormous promise for trueinclusion of students with autism in DI programs. Educators, families and researchers are allincreasingly aware that multilingualism offers important advantages to MLLs with autism, fromincreases in EF (Gonzalez-Barrero and Nadig, 2017) to linguistic facility (Gonzalez-Barrero andNadig, 2016; Hambly and Fombonne, 2014) and expanded familial, social (Baker, 2017;Yu, 2016) and religious ( Jegatheesan, 2011) inclusion. Because students with autism struggle toinitiate and sustain social interactions, it is particularly important that they acquire the linguisticskills and cultural knowledge for interacting with their extended families and communities.This paper correspondingly suggests that the DI model is well suited to support multilingualstudents with disabilities in developing these competencies. This is because DI programscelebrate linguistic plurality and are arguably the best educational option for promoting homelanguage and literacy development and maintenance for multilingual students with autism, whoare at risk for social isolation. In this regard, linguistic facility is arguably more critical than fortypically developing MLLs with regard to improvement of social and cognitive skills. As a result,even while including students with autism in DI classrooms in authentic and effective wayspresents a steep challenge, it is well worth persevering and learning to do it well.

Implications for practice

Given the effectiveness of the DI programs for MLLs with autism, special education teams should:ensure that students’ accommodations are provided thoroughly across both languages, includeinformation about students’ English language proficiency in educational documents, and involveboth special educators and ESL teachers in the educational decision-making process.

In terms of the school-wide DI and special education programs, administrators and educatorsshould follow the rule of natural proportions to ensure that neither students with disabilities norMLLs are channeled into particular classes and make sure that all students – including those withdisabilities – are able to spend equal time in L1 and L2 instruction. Therefore, “pullout” servicesshould be evenly distributed across languages.


Effective co-teaching and cross-departmental collaboration are also critical to ensuring thesuccess of dually identified students. Thus, it is essential for ELL teachers and special educatorsboth to have specialized training in supplementing and modifying instruction. Common planningtime and in-service training should be used to allow teachers to share strategies and learn how toleverage their skills to support both English language development and disability-related-learningneeds. Moreover, effective DI programs are undergirded by interaction theory, where throughcollaborative dialogue, students pool their linguistic resources to participate actively in acquiringlanguage. These types of activities can be very valuable for students with autism, who benefitfrom structured opportunities to interact with typically developing peers. However, in order forstudents with autism to benefit, the activities need to be clearly explained and highly structured.Special educators should work with classroom teachers to develop clear expectations ofstudents’ roles within group activities.

Directions for future research

The analysis in this paper challenges the assumption that students with autism should beuniversally excluded from DI programs. However, because research on dual language programs,in general, is still emerging and no studies to date have empirically evaluated the inclusion ofstudents with autism within them, far more questions remain. To start, because autism varies somuch from student to student and because language practices and preferences are so differentfrom one family to the next it would make sense that the decision to enroll a student with autism ina DI program should be made on a case-by-case basis. But what information should familymembers and educators use to make the decision?

Also, many questions remain about best practices in DI for typically developing students: Shouldthere be strict rules about which language students are permitted to use when, or does it makesense to adopt a translanguaging approach to language use, allowing students to strategicallyuse L1 during L2 instruction, for example? What language should students learn to read in (L1first, L2 first, or both simultaneously)? Is the DI model appropriate for English dominant studentswith autism? If so, under what circumstances?

And these are just a handful of examples of the many questions that remain about educationalpractices in DI programs. Much more research is needed to even identify, let alone begin toanswer the questions that are the most salient in terms of including students with autism inbilingual classrooms like dual language programs.

Note

1. We use the term multilingual learner (MLL) throughout this paper to denote US students whose firstlanguage is something other than English. Although English language learner (ELL) and other terms arestill more common in the US context, MLL is gaining traction, and we appreciate the spotlight it casts onthe linguistic strengths possessed by these learners. When discussing personnel and programs forMLLs, we employ the term English as a second language (ESL), which is commonly used in policy andpractice in the USA.

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Kremer-Sadlik, T., Cohen, J., McAlister, K.T., Rolstad, K. and MacSwan, J. (2005), “To be or not to bebilingual: autistic children from multilingual families”, Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium onBilingualism: Cascadilla Press, Somerville, MA, pp. 1225-34.

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Diana Baker can be contacted at: [email protected]



Inclusive school practices supportingthe primary to secondary transition forautistic children: pupil, teacher, andparental perspectives

Keri Hoy, Sarah Parsons and Hanna Kovshoff

Abstract

Purpose – The primary to secondary school transition can have a significant and long-lasting impact onyoung people. Autistic children are particularly vulnerable to negative transition experiences; however, there isa lack of research examining effective practices and provision for these pupils. This case study involves amainstream secondary school in the South of England, which has a dedicated Learning Support base. Thepurpose of this paper is to collect qualitative data on experiences of the primary to secondary schooltransition from multiple stakeholders.Design/methodology/approach – A photovoice activity followed by a semi-structured interview wasconducted with five autistic pupils aged 12–16 years; semi-structured interviews were also carried out withsix parents and four teachers.Findings – Five key themes emerged from the data in relation to effective practices: inclusion, child-centredapproach, familiarisation, visual supports and communication and consistency.Research limitations/implications – As a small-scale case study, there are limitations regardinggeneralisation. However, this research illuminates transition practices that are experienced as effective byautistic children, their families and teachers.Practical implications – Practical implications related to each of these themes are highlighted. Theseimplications are important in the context of the mandatory responsibilities of schools in England to include thevoices of children and young people with special educational needs in decisions about their education.Originality/value – The findings challenge a rights-based approach to inclusion and illustrate the importanceof a needs-based approach which appropriately recognises and understands what autism means forchildren, their families and the teachers who support them.

Keywords Inclusion, Transition, Photovoice, Pupil views, Resourced provision

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

The transition from primary to secondary school, which takes place in the UK around the age of11 years, is one of the most important and challenging educational transitions that pupils gothrough, and can lead to considerable stress and anxiety (Zeedyk et al., 2003). Secondaryschools tend to be large, holding over three times as many pupils on average compared toprimary schools (DfE, 2017a). This can be overwhelming, particularly for pupils on the autismspectrum, who may have heightened sensitivity to sensory stimuli (APA, 2013). Within secondaryschool, pupils typically have subject lessons with different teachers and classrooms; newroutines containing multiple changes and transitions throughout the day can be especiallydifficult for children on autism the autism spectrum (Fortuna, 2014). Further stress and anxietycan arise from expectations of increased independence at secondary school, which autisticchildren may struggle to fulfil (Plimley and Bowen, 2007).

Received 27 May 2018Revised 27 May 2018Accepted 23 July 2018

The authors very gratefullyacknowledge the engagement andinterest of everyone who took partin this study, as well as theACoRNS team more widely forsupporting, and contributing to,the research. ACoRNS wasestablished with funding from theUniversity of Southampton’s PublicEngagement with Researchunit (PERu).

Keri Hoy is based at theUniversity of Southampton,Southampton, UK.Sarah Parsons is Professor ofAutism and Inclusion at theUniversity of Southampton,Southampton, UK.Hanna Kovshoff is based at theUniversity of Southampton,Southampton, UK.

PAGE 184 j ADVANCES IN AUTISM j VOL. 4 NO. 4 2018, pp. 184-196, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3868 DOI 10.1108/AIA-05-2018-0016

Ineffective and unsupported transitions between schools can negatively impact on a child’sdevelopment and academic achievement (Fortuna, 2014). Consequently, transition planning isparticularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND; DfE/DoH, 2015). With autism spectrum diagnoses on the rise (Hansen et al., 2015) and 70 per cent ofpupils on the autism spectrum educated in mainstream schools in the UK (DfE, 2017b), there is asignificant need to identify the school practices that may support more successful transitions tosecondary school.

Tobin et al. (2012) acknowledge that the increased demands on flexibility and socialcommunication during secondary school can be especially challenging for autistic pupils.They discuss how the children’s strong preference for consistency can make adapting tonew routines difficult. Despite this, there is a lack of empirical evidence focusing on thespecific difficulties they face. This conclusion is supported by Makin et al. (2017) who discussedhow although autistic children are known, mainly anecdotally, to be vulnerable during thetransition, little is known about the factors which cause this difficulty. Their longitudinalstudy assessed 15 autistic children in primary school through to secondary school. Thesepupils reported generally negative experiences, involving a lack of support from both theirprimary and secondary schools, as well as concerns about bullying and difficulties making friends(also Topping, 2011; Dann, 2011).

There are also some studies that report less negative transition experiences for autisticchildren. For example, Mandy et al. (2016) explored experiences of transitionthrough standardised questionnaires assessing levels of “psychopathology”, “adaptivefunctioning” and “peer victimisation” in 28 pupils on the autism spectrum, aged 11 years.Parent-, teacher- and self-assessments were conducted during the final year of primary schooland the first term of secondary school. Mandy et al. (2016) found that bullying levels decreasedacross the transition, whilst levels of “psychopathology” and “adaptive functioning” remainedconsistent, i.e. they did not decrease. There are limitations of this study, not least theoverwhelming focus on difficulties and challenges, as well as the fact that the social andeducational processes which occurred during the transition were not directly investigated.Nevertheless, the findings suggest that the transition to secondary school may not always bean unduly negative experience. Other authors also report some positive experienceswithin small samples of children (Neal and Frederickson, 2016; Fortuna, 2014). Crucially,however, Mandy et al. (2016, p. 11) acknowledged that the reduction in bullying is foundbetween primary and secondary school:

[…] could reflect proactive and successful strategies adopted by the secondary schools in this study.This possibility should be specifically investigated, as knowledge about any ecological processes thatreduce bullying of people with ASD would be valuable for informing good educational practice.

This comment clearly highlights the need to examine school-based practices that may supportsuccessful transitions from primary to secondary school. Makin et al. (2017) identify thatadditional planning is key to successful transitioning, and suggest that interventions need to beapplied before, during and after the transition to modify the school environment to best suitpupils’ everyday needs. The question remains about what modifying the environment may looklike in practice in terms of meeting the needs of autistic individuals, and parents (Stoner et al.,2007). The present study is, therefore, interested in illuminating specific practices that areimplemented in the primary to secondary school transition that are identified as enabling andpositive from the perspectives of the key stakeholders involved: parents, teachers and of coursethe pupils themselves. This study was also interested in finding out more about the practices thatcould be developed and improved in the light of feedback from these key stakeholders. Thespecific research questions addressed were:

RQ1. What are the views and experiences of young autistic people about their transition fromprimary to secondary school?

RQ2. What are the views of parents and teachers about the transitions of young autistic peoplefrom primary to secondary school?

RQ3. What do these views and experiences identify as the effective practices that supporttransitions, and the practices that could be developed or improved further?


Context and epistemology

This research was conducted under the umbrella of the Autism Community Research Network atSouthampton (ACoRNS; acornsnetwork.org.uk). This is an education-focused initiative that aimsto understand more about effective practices for supporting children and their families throughtransitions and trajectories. ACoRNS is a collaborative partnership between academics at theUniversity of Southampton, and schools and colleges in the local community that span thestatutory stages of schooling, and includes mainstream and specialist schools. The researchagenda, with the views and voices of children and young people at the core, is co-constructedwith these community partners to ensure that research and practice are mutually informing and ofdirect practical relevance and benefit (Parsons et al., 2013). Fundamentally, the ACoRNSpartnership operates from an epistemological position of knowledge co-construction, rather thanknowledge transfer or exchange (Guldberg et al., 2017). Such an approach seeks to movebeyond traditional assumptions about whose knowledge is prioritised in research and, therefore,how such knowledge should be captured, represented and disseminated in developingevidence-based practices (Milton, 2012). This approach reflects the need for an ethical shift inautism research that is more inclusive and participatory (Pellicano et al., 2014), and in autismeducation research that places schools at the centre of the agenda (Parsons and Kasari, 2013).

Methodology

In line with this collaborative approach, this project adopted a single case study design focusingon one mainstream secondary school in the South of England. By examining data at the microlevel, and drawing on multiple perspectives, case studies help explain complexities which maynot be captured through experimental or survey designs (Thomas, 2015). Data are collectedwithin the context of its use, which is vital if research and practice are to inform each other(Parsons et al., 2013). The school was actively involved in planning the research, and generatingideas for the questions they would like answered. Additionally, this study drew upon the multipleperspectives of stakeholders in line with Fortuna’s (2014, p. 189) recommendation:

Having the viewpoint of all participants in the transition process – parents, pupils and teachers – isquite rare; yet all three play a major role in the transition process, and need to be involved in anyfuture research.

School and participants

This school has a number of pupils with severe and complex needs, including autism, andsupports those needs in a Learning Support (LS) department within the school. The LSdepartment supports pupils in a range of ways, with some spending a majority of their time withinthe dedicated base and others using it on a less frequent basis and spending more time within therest of the school. Purposive sampling was used: the assistant head teacher selected pupils whowere diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum, according to school records, and who he feltwould be willing to participate.

Five pupils chose to participate (four males, one female), aged 12–16 years. Three of thesepupils are in the LS, whilst two are in mainstream lessons but receive additional support from LSstaff, such as weekly one-to-one sessions. Six parents agreed to participate; five mothers, andone pupil’s grandmother who was their legal guardian. Four staff members (two males, twofemales), including teachers, the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) andassistant head teacher were recruited on the basis that they worked closely with these pupilsand knew them well.

Methods and procedure

A photovoice methodology was adopted with pupil participants to provide structure and visualsupport during their interviews. Carnahan (2006, p. 44) defined photovoice as “[…] aneducational action research tool that embraces visual communication through photography”.Asking participants to take photographs themselves can lead to more meaningful participation by


actively engaging them (Povee et al., 2014), and reducing traditional power imbalances withinresearch (Ha and Whittaker, 2016). Four aspects of transitions were also proposed forparticipants to think about with regard to what they liked/disliked, and what support worked well/could be improved, based on the school’s interests and existing research literature:

1. moving between different classrooms: Mandy et al. (2016) argued that this involves amajor ecological shift, increasing demands on the child’s social, intellectual andorganisational capacities;

2. having different teachers for different subjects: this may be difficult for children who findroutine changes challenging (Neal and Frederickson, 2016);

3. break and lunch times: the larger numbers of pupils in secondary school can beoverwhelming for children with autism due to sensory sensitivities (Makin et al., 2017); and

4. friends and other pupils: positive social relationships have been identified as keyfactors in determining the success of a transition (Dillon and Underwood, 2012; Petersand Brooks, 2016).

In the first session, pupils were individually asked to walk around the school with the researcher,and take photographs that showed what they liked/disliked about the school, including objects orpeople who helped/did not help them to settle in during the transition to school. This tookapproximately 15minutes. A second session was conducted on the same or following day.Pupils met individually with the researcher, and were asked to look at their printed photographsand write “like” or “dislike” on each one, and to say more about why they took each picture. Thesephotographs remained in front of participants throughout the interview so they could be used asprompts where necessary. This session lasted between 9 and 19minutes.

Semi-structured interviews were carried out with parents and teachers to explore their views andexperiences about transitions, including the four key areas summarised above. Questionsexplored what had helped, what had hindered, fears and concerns and strategies used toovercome these. Pupil, parent and staff interviews were conducted face-to-face in a quietmeeting room within the school, and were voice recorded (with permission) using a Dictaphone.Parent interviews lasted 12–23minutes, and staff interviews 10–30minutes each.

Ethics

Ethical approval was gained from the relevant Faculty Ethics and Research GovernanceCommittee at the University of Southampton (Ref# 31030). Adult participantsreceived information sheets explaining the research aims and what participation would involve,and a consent form to sign. A simpler, more visual information sheet was designed for pupils,alongside an assent form. Participation risks were low; however, it is possible that someparticipants who may have had particularly negative experiences could have experienced thediscussion as distressing. The researcher reiterated that they were not required to answerquestions they did not want to, and could take a break at any time. She also provided a contactwithin the school that the participants could speak with following the interviews. Data were kept inaccordance with the University’s data protection policy, stored on a password-protectedlaptop and kept confidential.

Data analysis

All interviews were transcribed and analysed following Lichtman’s (2013, p. 251) “three Cs ofanalysis; from coding to categorising to concepts”. First, deductive codes were identifiedbased on previous research including bullying, communication and teacher knowledge.Then the data were coded inductively to find additional recurring categories. These codes werethen combined into five main concepts/themes that emerged frequently throughout the data.Transcripts were then reread and colour coded with each of the five main themes. This enabledkey issues, and similarities and differences both within and between participant groups tobe identified.


Findings and implications for practice

Five key themes emerged from the data, which were seen to contribute to successful transitions:inclusion, child-centred approach, familiarisation, visual supports and communication andconsistency. The notable overview of the data is that every pupil, teacher and parent reported thetransition as a positive experience. One parent stated “it’s been a super positive experience”,whilst another said “it couldn’t have gone any better”. A summary of specific practices identifiedwhich support transitions, as well as implications for practice, is included in Table I.

Inclusion and the value of the Learning Support base

Pupils and parents expressed initial concerns about the structure of a mainstream school. Onepupil was concerned about the schools’ size being “very confusing”. Similarly, a parent felt:

[…] my biggest concern was that he would just be roaming the corridors of the school and be totallylost and no one would look after him with sixteen hundred children.

Other parents expressed concerns about their child being bullied, or “overwhelmed” by otherpupils. Additionally, the SENCo said that the “biggest” question asked by pupils before thetransition is about bullying. Two pupils and two parents discussed incidences of bullying atschool, but said that LS colleagues were very quick to resolve the issues.

All pupils were happy to receive additional support in the LS base, and none expressed desires tobe fully included into mainstream classes. One pupil, who is in mainstream for most lessons, said“LS really does help a lot”. This was also evident in the pupils’ photographs, as every pupil took atleast one photograph of the LS area or staff (Plate 1).

When asked what they disliked about school, four pupils took pictures of communal areas(Plate 2), describing them as “busy” and “noisy”. Some pupils disliked how busy the school getsduring break and lunch times, and preferred stay in LS to eat their lunch as it is quieter. Staff andpupils described “beneficial” and “helpful” provision in which pupils from the LS go for lunch fiveminutes early to avoid the crowds.

However, despite being in LS for most or some of the time, pupils did not express feelingexcluded from the rest of the school. One pupil said “in a school we’re all like a family, you knowworking together”. Three parents expressed desires for their child to fit into mainstream, butall six acknowledged the benefits of LS, with one parent saying “this school’s absolutely out ofthis world when it comes to LS”. Another parent described how LS is essential for their child,saying “he just wouldn’t cope in any other school”. LS was also beneficial for pupils following themainstream curriculum, as one parent discussed:

[…] he just has help every minute of the day, he comes out of class when he has a problem, he goesstraight to LS and they put his mind at rest.

The LS department allows pupils to be in a mainstream school without having to negotiate thestructural components of secondary school, like transitioning between classrooms and teachers.As one staff member described: “the aim is that they don’t have to move very far”, “everything iscatered for up in LS” so “they get to know this part of the school really well”.

Child-centred approach

All staff members described how transition provisions are “flexible” and “very dependent on theindividual needs”, as “what works for one child wouldn’t always work for another”. Staffdiscussed various strategies to help pupils settle into the school, including starting on part-timetimetables. All parents were satisfied with the transition provision their child received, frequentlyhighlighting aspects that were individualised, such as “they arranged for him to take photographsbecause that’s something he enjoys”.

However, one parent and her son felt that their provision was not individualised. This year ninepupil follows the mainstream curriculum, and has little contact with LS unless there is a problem.When talking about his taster day ahead of the transition, he explained “the thing that wasunhelpful was […] I had to do the same thing as everyone else”. Thus, it is important that those


Table I Summary of successful practices identified, areas for improvement and implications for practice

Main themeidentified frominterviews Successful practices for supporting transition Areas for improvement Implications for practice

Inclusion Using the Learning Support base for breakand lunch timesLeaving for lunch 5min ahead of everyone elseAble to come out of class if there is a problem andaccess support from Learning Support staffMinimising the number and distance of transitionsbetween lessons/activitiesHaving teaching assistants available to helptransitions between classroomsOne-to-one sessions with Learning Support staffto discuss how the pupil is getting onStarting with some lessons in mainstreamand adapting access to mainstreamlessons accordingly

Ensuring pupils who are mostly, orcompletely, within mainstreamclasses can access this support andnot just those in Learning Support

Support flexibility for pupils with regardto the ending of lessons and start ofbreak timesBe clear with all pupils and when,where and from whom support can beaccessedPlan the location of lessons carefully tominimise “horizontal” transitions wherepossibleSchedule a place in the timetable whenpupils can communicate their viewsabout the support they receive andwhy/how this has been helpful to them

Child-centredapproach

Starting on part-time timetablesArranging for pupil to take photographsof the school when preparing for the verticaltransition to secondaryGathering personalised information about pupils,including their special interestsHaving patience to allow the pupil to settle in attheir own paceProviding pupils with opportunities tovoice their viewsAsking parents to provide bullet point lists abouttheir child to give to school staff

More differentiation needed withrespect to taster daysIdentify any special interests, orpreferred communication, prior totaster days so that this informationcan be incorporated where possibleEnsuring that parents’ knowledge oftheir child, and own preferences andneeds for communication,are elicited by staff as part of theplanning processEnsuring information is gatheredabout the parents as well as pupils

Using special interests to help to frameand plan transition activities, includingtaster daysUsing special interests to supportengagement with the taster days andthe curriculumProvide time in the timetable for pupilsto meet with staff and be encouragedto share their views about theirindividual needs and preferencesSupport flexibility and have patienceduring the first weeks of the transitionEncourage parents to shareinformation about themselves as wellas the pupil

Familiarisation Having school tours and chances to meet staffmembers during year 6 (final year of primary)Primary school staff coming with pupils to tour thesecondary schoolSecondary school staff going to the primaryschool to meet pupils in their environmentImplementing these familiarisation strategiesbefore the main year 6 taster dayHaving staff names and picturesin pupils’ plannersStarting term with familiar topics that have beencovered in primary school

Ensure that parents haveopportunities to visit/tour the schoolthemselvesDoing more bridging work betweenyears 6 and 7, so there are somefamiliar aspects that pupils alreadyknowProvide pupils with opportunities tomeet other pupils who will be inLearning Support before they start

Providing multiple opportunities forboth parents and pupils to tour theschoolEnsure parents and pupils haveopportunities to meet key members ofstaff before the transitionSchedule a session as part of thetransition planning for pupils comingfrom different schools to meeteach other within the LearningSupport context

Visual supports Arranging for pupils to take photographs of theschool ahead of the main transition to secondarySending photos of the school to primary schoolsto show the pupils in year 6Having photos showing the rooms and staffmembers that the pupil will be working withUsing social stories about transition during thesummer break before the transitionProviding maps of the school layout

Ensuring staff members know howto use visual supports effectivelyEnsuring all pupils who would likethem receive photos of the school –particularly including those inmainstream

Provide visual supports before thetransitionProvide training to staff and parents onhow to best support pupils to use theirvisual supports effectively during thesummer break and then into the newacademic year

Communicationand consistency

Ongoing communication between parentsand school staffHaving an open doors policy so parents cancontact school staff at any timeProviding teachers will booklets containinginformation about the needs of individuals coming

Ensuring teachers are consistent intheir methods of supporting pupils inclassEnsuring teachers arecommunicating between themselvesEncouraging communication

School management should passinformation down to teachers as well asensuring they communicate betweenthemselves about effective/ineffectivestrategies for particular pupilsHaving open, consistent

(continued)


pupils who are fully based in the mainstream are not overlooked when it comes to additionalindividualised support and planning.

Another key idea in this category was the importance of staff having good knowledge of thechild and their needs. Four parents described how “teachers need knowledge of autism”, alongwith knowledge about the individual child in order to “get more out of them”. Parentsappreciated teachers making “a point of getting to know his personality and things that he’sreally good at”, with another parent saying “I think you need to know the child really well”.All staff members discussed the importance of gathering information about pupils. One teacher

Table I

Main themeidentified frominterviews Successful practices for supporting transition Areas for improvement Implications for practice

to their classSchool staff meeting parents before the transition

between parents who havea child with autism goingthrough the transitionProviding teachers withopportunities to speak to thepupils’ primary school teacher tobetter understand how to supportthem in class

communication with parents before,during and after the transitionWork with parents to develop a groupor contact point for peer supportContinue to emphasise a learningculture whereby teachers and otherprofessionals from the different schoolscan learn from each other

Plate 1 Pupil photographs of Learning Support area (liked)

Plate 2 Pupil photographs of communal areas (disliked)


described using an “all about me” unit of work to “try and find out what their interests are”.One parent said: “they incorporate trains into his art projects and stories, and they use what’s ofinterest to him to get more out of him”. Furthermore, pupils’ interests can be used to help aidthe transition process. The SENCo described how they often “work our transition around thoseinterests” to help engage pupils more.

One parent highlighted that it is not just the child that the school needs to have knowledge about:

[…] me as a parent is an outsider, and they need to understand the parent as well, and then once theparent’s understood it’s easier to transfer them into a different school because the parents understandwhat’s happening.

However, none of the staff members described efforts to try and actively get to know parents.Interestingly, the importance of teacher knowledge about individual pupils prior to secondaryschool entry was rarely mentioned by the pupils themselves. One pupil described how he liked histeachers who listened to him, and demonstrated this by taking a photograph of his tutor during thephotovoice activity, whom he said is always there to listen to him. Another pupil took photographsof a room where he has one-to-one talks with a teacher, and said he likes being listened to in there.

Familiarisation

Familiarisation was highlighted as a way to reduce the anxieties that come with the transition tosecondary school. As one pupil described, “that’s what I personally think is vital for autisticchildren, you have to prepare them for the environment”. When discussing effective transitionprovisions, pupils and parents spoke of school tours and chances to meet staff beforehand inorder to familiarise themselves with the school environment. Parents appreciated when theprimary school “would free up a member of staff that [child] was familiar with so they could comewith him” which “helped a lot” as it was not a completely unfamiliar environment. Staff spokeabout occasionally going to meet pupils in their primary school first, so they then had a friendlyface when they toured the secondary school. Furthermore, the SENCo described how transitionwork is done “prior to the main […] taster day” so that on the taster day “those that need it havehad a lot of input already” and are familiar with the environment. These familiarisation strategieswere seen as beneficial by staff members and hence, could be adopted by other schools to helpmanage the transition.

One issue raised by parents was that they did not have enough opportunities to see the schooland LS department themselves, particularly those parents of children in mainstream:

As a mum I would have liked to have had a tour of the school because then that would have beeneasier to have a map and visualise where everything was.

One parent argued that as autism has a strong genetic component, it is important to “cater for theparents as much as the child”, and ensure parents also have that familiarity with the environmentto reduce their own anxieties about their child being there.

Visual supports

Visual supports were emphasised by multiple participants as essential for successful transitionsbetween primary and secondary school. Three staff members described using visual supports toaid autistic children through the transition, including sending photographs of the school toprimary schools, and allowing pupils to come and take photographs themselves. The SENCo feltthat visual supports are “really important and powerful in terms of transitions”. They discussedhow it is very beneficial for pupils on the autism spectrum to have photographs of where they willbe and the staff they will be with. Another staff member discussed using social stories (Gray andGarand, 1993) with pupils before they transition. Five parents also praised the use of social storiesand other visual supports such as photo-booklets. One parent said: “photographic pictures youcannot get better than that […] the more photographic keys you can give them the better”.

Another parent discussed how visual supports were beneficial over the summer holidays beforetheir child started secondary school, as they could “put the social story up in the kitchen so it was


there all the time and he could see it regularly”, to help familiarise them with the new environment.Furthermore, when asked what support would be helpful for future transitions, “more visualsupport” was frequently mentioned.

However, one member of staff described:

[…] a lot of kids carry visual supports with them and don’t necessarily know how to use them becausethey need training and practice, and then the teachers and TAs [teaching assistants] don’t really knowwhat to do with them.

Therefore, simply having visual supports does not necessarily imply that they will be effective.Consequently, schools should provide training to staff and parents on how to use visual supportseffectively, so they can assist pupils in using them in school and at home.

Interestingly, despite staff and parents discussing the usefulness of visual supports, none of thepupils mentioned them in their interviews. This may be because they were not directly asked, andso future research should cue children to discuss visual supports in order to explore their viewsabout using them. Nevertheless, using photovoice as a method was beneficial for pupilinterviews, which reinforces the point about the value of using visual supports in general.

Communication and consistency

All parents were pleased with the communication received from the secondary school, statingthey can always contact staff if they have any concerns, and that this was ongoing throughout thetransition process. Effective communication with school staff appeared to be an essential factorfor a successful transition from parental perspectives, with one parent saying “I did need lots oftime to talk things through and you know just discuss how things were going”. Another parentdescribed “I’ve never come up against a brick wall, they’re always very, very accommodating andhelpful” and went further to say “you’re always made to feel really welcome, that’s anotherimportant thing”. This highlights that effective communication between the school and parentsneeds to make parents feel relaxed and supported so that they feel able to contact the school. Anemphasis on effective and consistent communication was also apparent during staff interviews,as all staff members described parents being able to contact them at any time. One teacher said:

[…] we have that communication right from day 1 so when they arrive there’s lots of phone calls, noteshome and we put on an extra parents evening.

Parents and staff both expressed the importance of ensuring teachers are well informed. Onestaff member said:

[…] we arm teachers with a training strategies booklet to support them, with any information aboutindividuals coming to their class, so the teachers are very aware.

Parents appreciated staff sending e-mails to all of their child’s teachers about particular issues.However, despite staff and parents thinking this is effective, some pupils raised concernsabout the communication between staff, highlighting a lack of consistency in their methods.For example, one pupil described:

[…] with one teacher who had the system of if I couldn’t remember I’d put my thumbs up, and it wasreally good, and I don’t have her anymore so the system went in the end.

For this pupil, that system was beneficial as he did not have to repeatedly put his hand up, as thisled to stigmatisation from peers. Furthermore, lack of consistency between staff was alsodiscussed by a staff member, who discussed how “teachers are not consistently using theresources put out to them”, because “it requires extra preparation”. Hence, it is important forschool management to ensure not only that they pass information to teachers, but that teachersare enabled to communicate between themselves about what strategies they have foundeffective/ineffective with particular pupils.

Discussion

This case study aimed to elicit the views and experiences of children, parents and teachers to provideinsights into effective practices for supporting the transitions of autistic pupils between primary and


secondary school. Many practices were identified including how to enable communication betweenparents and the school; using the child’s special interests to engage and support them; implementingvisual supports in a range of ways; and allowing plenty of time ahead of the transition to allow pupilsand parents to become comfortable and familiar with new staff and the new environment.While manyof these ideas chime with existing literature (e.g. Whitaker, 2007; Peters and Brooks, 2016; Stoneret al., 2007; Gunn and Delafield-Butt, 2016; Mancil and Pearl, 2008; Neal and Frederickson, 2016),what is new here are the details that illustrate these effective practices frommultiple perspectives anddirect experiences, and the focus on the LS base as a site for enabling positive experiences. Indeed,there are many more details about effective practices included here that are not described in theAutism Education Trust’s Transition Toolkit (Stobart, n.d.), for example. In line with Neal andFrederickson (2016), the current findings confirm and extend the evidence base about the strategiesthat can support successful transitions to secondary school.

The LS base, as a particular characteristic of the school (cf. Mandy et al., 2016), is likely to becentral to understanding the overwhelmingly positive experiences reported by the participants.Such positive experiences were surprising given the difficulties and challenges in transitionidentified elsewhere in the literature (noted above). As a resourced provision, the LS departmentat the school reserves places for pupils with a specific type of SEN. Pupils are generally taughtmainly within mainstream classes, but require the support of a base and some specialist facilitiesaround the school, which may vary depending on need. Resourced provisions exist in just over20 per cent of mainstream secondary schools in England (729 schools; DfE, 2017a), and areentitled to additional funding for each place in recognition of the resources required to provideextra support. Thus, this case study illustrates what is possible in the context of this additionalsupport, and the notable differences it can make to individuals and families at the challenging andanxiety-provoking time of transition. Certainly, other literature points to the value of specialistresource bases for supporting children’s outcomes (OfSTED, 2006) and as a type of provisionpreferred by parents (Frederickson et al., 2010; Barnard et al., 2000).

The role of resource bases within the context of debates on inclusive provision is a contentious one;space precludes exploration of the main issues here but readers are referred to Hornby (2015) foran overview. In a nutshell, some critics argue that such resource bases are on a continuum towardsanti-inclusion by maintaining specialist provision rather than enabling all children to be educated inmainstream provision (e.g. see overview by Huefner, 2015). Ravet (2011), discussing children andyoung people on the autism spectrum specifically, characterises this view as a rights-basedapproach to inclusion. By contrast, Ravet (2011) discusses needs-based inclusion, whichacknowledges the heterogeneity of need across the school population and supports thepreservation of a range of provision to meet distinctive learning needs. Ravet (2011) highlights thatan understanding of autism is essential if teachers are to be able to meet children’s needs effectivelyotherwise teachers may rely on general teaching approaches, or neurotypical assumptions, thatwould then act as exclusionary practices for those children.

A needs-based approach to inclusion comes through very clearly in the findings presented here.From the pupils’ perspectives, the understanding and flexibility of the LS base was vital formaking them feel comfortable, included, settled and ready to learn. From parents’ and teachers’perspectives, understanding the child as an individual, with personalities and special interests,was central to the approach taken by the staff in the LS base. What is clear is that this is aboutseeing and knowing the whole child and, therefore, it is about understanding and responding towhat autism means to that child and to the family. Autism cannot be separated out, as a label or adistinctive category of need, from the provision that is made available and to do so wouldpotentially undermine the successful transition practices that are illustrated here.

These findings, and indeed methodology, also have value in relation to the wider policy context forsupporting children with SEND in England, following the implementation of the Children andFamilies Act 2014 and the provisions of the SEND Code of Practice (DfE/DoH, 2015). Therein,schools have mandatory responsibilities to ensure that children and families are included indecision making about education and that their voices are heard. The use of a photovoicemethodology shows that the views of these autistic pupils could be appropriately accessed andcontribute to an understanding of what matters to them, although of course such a methodologywould require adaptation for those who do not communicate verbally.


There are, of course, limitations to the study. As a case study of one school, with a smallnumber of participants, it is not possible to generalise from the data (Yin, 2009). However,generalisation about other contexts is never the point of a case study; instead its value lies inexploring individual pupils or schools and the issues they have in context (Thomas, 2015).By illuminating particular practices it is feasible that at least some of these could beimplemented in other schools, albeit in different (context-sensitive) ways. The focus andsmall-scale nature of the study do not undermine the validity of what has been revealed forthese individuals at this school. The participants could have been selected for inclusion on thebasis that they would give a particularly positive view of their transition experiences. This isunlikely given the discussions had with the assistant head and the impossibility of knowing inadvance what individuals would actually say; indeed, some participants also highlightedaspects of provision that they felt could be improved. However, even if this was the case, thecollation of experiences and practices that highlight positive and successful transitions isimportant, as they provide a basis upon which this school, and others, can reflect on what hasbeen achieved thus far, and what can be achievable in the future.

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Further reading

Kasari, C. and Smith, T. (2013), “Interventions in schools for children with autism spectrum disorder: methodsand recommendations”, Autism, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 254-67.


Sarah Parsons can be contacted at: [email protected]



GUEST EDITORSDamian Elgin Maclean MiltonLondon South Bank University, UK; University of Birmingham, UK; National Autistic Society, UK and University of Kent, UKNicola MartinLondon South Bank University, UK

EDITORSDr Eddie ChaplinLondon South Bank University, London, UKE-mail [email protected] Jane McCarthyEast London NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London, UKE-mail [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORSteve Hardy Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, UK E-mail [email protected]

ISBN 978-1-78973-433-1ISSN 2056-3868© 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

EDITORIAL BOARDDr Marco BertelliCREA (AMG Centre for Research and Evolution), ItalyDr Elspeth A. BradleyUniversity of Toronto, CanadaProfessor Barry CarpenterInternational Educationalist Consultant, UKDr Yona LunskyCentre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), CanadaRichard MillsResearch Autism and University of Bath, UKCarol PoveyNational Autistic Society, UKDr Dene RobertsonSouth London and Maudsley NHS Trust, UKDr Tanja SappokEvangelisches Krankenhaus Königin-Elisabeth-Herzberge, GermanyDebbie SpainKing’s College London, UKAlison StansfieldLeeds Autism Diagnositic Service (LADS), UKPaula SterkenburgVrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The NetherlandsDr Lisa UnderwoodKing’s College London, UK

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Advances in Autism

Advances in Autismis indexed and abstracted in:American Sociological Association Publishing Options Database

ISSN 2056-3868Volume 4 Number 4 2018


www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/aia

Volume 4 Number 4 2018


Number 4

Inclusive educational practice for autistic learnersGuest Editors: Damian Elgin Maclean Milton and Nicola Martin

153 Guest editorial

155 Special interests and inclusive academic learning: an autistic perspectiveFrederik Boven

165 How can Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter enable inclusion of and encourage participation of autistic pupils in a year 7 boy’s mainstream classroom?Jane Elizabeth Gurnett

174 Autism and dual immersion: sorting through the questionsDiana Baker, Audrey Roberson and Hyejung Kim

184 Inclusive school practices supporting the primary to secondary transition for autistic children: pupil, teacher, and parental perspectivesKeri Hoy, Sarah Parsons and Hanna Kovshoff

ISBN 978-1-78973-433-1

Inclusive educational practice for autistic learners

Guest Editors: Damian Elgin Maclean Miltonand Nicola Martin

advances in autism - emerald

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