Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe

 

The project titled „I Have a Child with Autism in My Class” EOG/21/K4/W/0041 is implemented under the Education Program and benefits from a grant of EUR 60,749.50 received from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA funds, and EUR 10,720.50 as a targeted grant from the national budget.

 

The primary objective is the professional development of staff working in both formal and non-formal education at various levels, as well as the development of knowledge capital through institutional cooperation among licensed therapists (Applicant and Partner Child Psychologist), specialized institutions (Association and Special School), and general education schools.

 

Specific objectives include:

·       Focusing on the development of inclusive education and social care systems through implemented pedagogical support;

·       Providing teachers with the knowledge to interpret the behaviors of individuals with ASD, enabling the realization of their potential and social inclusion;

·       Equipping teachers with the knowledge of how individuals with autism perceive, feel, and understand their world, and teaching them how to successfully communicate with individuals with ASD.

 

Outcome:

·       The development of a pedagogical innovation – a new training program for non-therapists focusing on equipping teachers and caregivers with the knowledge required for optimal fulfillment of the specific educational needs of students on the autism spectrum within schools, including insights into how individuals with autism perceive, feel, and understand their world, and teaching methods for successful communication with individuals with ASD.

·       Accurate identification of the needs and limitations of neurodivergent individuals, which will facilitate further education and career development of students with ASD (career counseling) aimed at full social integration.

·       The instrument developed in the project will help determine the type of support needed for autistic students, and concurrently indicate the therapeutic needs of the educational institution (education sector management).

 

Project start date: 2023-03-01

Project end date: 2024-04-30

 

Project leader: Pomorski Institute of Neurodevelopment, Elżbieta Góźdź

 

Partners:

• Child Psychologist Jolanta Sosińska-Macholl
• Stowarzyszenie Rodziców i Przyjaciół Na Rzecz Osób z Autyzmem „Nasz Autyzm” w Straszynie
• Szkoła Podstawowa w Przywidzu im. Unii Europejskiej w Przywidzu
• Niepubliczna Specjalna Szkoła Podstawowa „Szczęśliwa Przystań” w Lęborku

 

SUMMARY OF DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH RESULTS

Across all partners, the ratio of boys to girls with autism was approximately 3:1, confirming literature reports that boys are more susceptible to developmental disorders.

The behaviors displayed by students are similarly intense across the studied schools. Exceptions include social relationship difficulties (most visible among children of parents from the „Our Autism” Association) and self-stimulation behaviors (most intense among children from the school in Przywidz).

The largest number of children in the surveyed schools showed difficulties with concentration and maintaining attention. Children from the school in Przywidz more frequently exhibited specific learning difficulties than children from the school in Lębork and from the „Our Autism” Association.

There are significant discrepancies in the assessment of factors disrupting the educational process. In the school in Przywidz, these include self-stimulation behaviors. However, specific learning difficulties do not affect the teaching process there. Conversely, the school in Lębork and the Association do not feel such a significant impact of self-stimulation on their teaching. All partners seem to manage undesirable behaviors and memory difficulties effectively. Difficulties in social relationships and communication adversely affect the educational process proportionally at all partner institutions.

There are discrepancies between teachers’ and parents’ evaluations. All teachers rated their preparedness to work with children with autism spectrum as satisfactory, whereas half of the parents viewed this level as low. Most parents also believe that teachers working with their children do not understand the neurodevelopmental reasons for disorders occurring in children with the spectrum, nor do they know procedures to reduce difficult behaviors and exercises/neurodevelopmental stimulations that enhance perception and lower frustration thresholds, despite 100% of teachers claiming such knowledge.

Conclusions:

A) The fact that not all children with autism spectrum had a supporting teacher and existing discrepancies in the assessment of methodological preparedness of teachers justify the need to develop training for teachers in mass schools that accommodate children on the spectrum.

B) Considering the factors particularly complicating the educational process, the training program should specifically address issues of attention concentration disorders, self-stimulation, and managing difficult behaviors.

 

Below, we present the detailed results of the studies conducted in individual institutions:

RESULTS FROM THE SCHOOL IN LĘBORK

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PW9LQqY4eDMfUhPO48zm1Wz7s-a-J_6O/view?usp=sharing

 

RESULTS FROM THE SCHOOL IN PRZYWIDZ

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IfATopSDHQv2kxkFBVyqdXisbrpPH138/view?usp=sharing

 

RESULTS FROM „NASZ AUTYZM” IN STRASZYN

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lsYMpKTXS0TRNmqKomWeHHsgn0yknnmG/view?usp=sharing

 

 

Theoretical part of the training:

I HAVE A CHILD WITH AUTISM IN MY CLASS

Pomeranian Institute of Neurodevelopment

Through the Eyes of a Psychologist and Sensory Integration Therapist

ü  Approximately 60-96% of children with ASD exhibit atypical responses to sensory stimuli. The DSM-V includes atypical responses to sensory stimuli as one of the potential symptoms of ASD within the area of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities.

ü  According to Olga Bogdashina, sensory processing disorders are primary in autism.

ü  Studies (Ben-Sasson, Wiggins) on children up to 3 years old indicate that hypersensitivity is the behavioral pattern that best distinguishes children with ASD from those developing typically. This may involve all sensory systems.

ü  Other research (Baranek, Germani) shows that children with ASD more often experience difficulties characterized by hyposensitivity.

ü  Insufficient research on early ASD symptoms in sensory processing and inconsistent results mean that we cannot speak of „sensory warning signals.” In older children, hypersensitivity symptoms are more common (especially in smell, taste, and hearing).

ü  Disruptions in the registration and modulation of stimuli appear primary in children with autism. According to Ayres – there are three types of problems.

ü  In autism, the area of modulation disorders is of primary importance. There is a frequent variable pattern of responses to individual types of sensory inputs – an intense need for self-stimulation of a particular type while simultaneously having an excessive reaction to the same type of sensations when imposed on the child.

ü  Impact of modulation dysfunction on the child’s functioning:

o   Inadequate arousal state, high need for movement,

o   Disrupted attention,

o   Excessive need to control the surrounding situation, scenario, task,

o   Weakened self-soothing skills, emotional instability, sleep disorders,

o   Fatigue,

o   Avoidance of physical contact with a stranger, avoiding touching textures, unfamiliar objects, toys,

o   Seeking stronger sensory experiences from people, objects,

• • Excessive shifting of attention to successive elements of the environment, excessive reactions to light or seeking intense visual sensations.

Through the Eyes of a Neurodevelopment Therapist

ü  The nervous system operates on a reflex basis.

ü  A reflex in physiology is an automatic, stereotypical response to an external or internal stimulus occurring with the involvement of the central nervous system without the participation of the conscious part of the brain.

ü  The MORO reflex triggers an immediate reaction to a stimulus before the conscious part of the brain has time to assess the situation and respond appropriately.

ü  Children exhibiting the MORO reflex:

 

 

 

o   Show excessive reactions to stimuli (visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory, vestibular) of minor intensity,

o   Display immature behavior,

o   Have difficulty ignoring unnecessary stimuli from the environment, easily distracted,

o   Exhibit „sensory overload” which affects behavior, causes hyperactivity, aggressive and self-aggressive reactions,

o   Present disorders from the vestibular system (e.g., motion sickness), hypersensitivity of one or several senses, most often tactile and auditory,

o   Are hyperactive, have mood swings, difficulty accepting criticism, low self-esteem, insecurity, aversion to change, anxiety states, phobias,

• • Have disturbed visual perception, eye movements, fixation, and impaired central vision.

Through the Eyes of an Educator

ü  Classical and instrumental conditioning as a fundamental form of learning and working on difficult behaviors in children with autism spectrum.

ü  Similarities and differences between classical and instrumental conditioning:

• • Common feature is rewarding,
  • The difference is that classical conditioning induces a reflexive, unconditional response on the stimulus -> response principle,
  • Instrumental conditioning is a more complex process where responses are not reflexive but learned on the stimulus -> response -> reinforcement (reward or punishment) principle,
  • Classical conditioning teaches us what co-occurs,
  • Instrumental conditioning informs us what to do to achieve a desired effect.

ü  Positive reinforcement: occurs immediately after the stimulus. As a result, such behavior will occur more frequently in the future. Example: A child points to a teddy bear and, as a result of the gesture, receives it.

ü  Negative reinforcement: involves the elimination of an aversive stimulus. Example: It is freezing. We don’t have gloves. Our hands are very cold. Next time it is freezing outside, we will wear gloves before leaving the house.

ü  Positive punishment: involves the conditional application of a punitive/aversive stimulus. Example: A note in the diary for bad behavior.

ü  Negative punishment: involves the removal of a positive stimulus as a consequence of undesirable behaviors.

Ole Ivar Lovaas – Norwegian-American clinical psychologist

üIn 1987, he published results of his experiment which showed that after about 2-3 years of intensive behavioral therapy (40 hours of individual sessions per week), 47% of children achieved a normal level of functioning.

üThe effects of the therapy proved to be lasting – the studies were conducted by independent experts several years after the experiment concluded.

 

Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe