SeNSS Collaborative Studentship Competition Project 2: Understanding learning experiences of autistic children in special needs schools through better

SeNSS 合作学生竞赛项目 2：通过更好的方式了解特殊需要学校自闭症儿童的学习经历

• 批准号: 2449672
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Reading
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2449672
• 关键词: SeNSS; Collaborative; Studentship; Competition; Project

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, that begins in early childhood and follows a persistent course over the lifetime. The most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) now lists sensory reactivity symptoms as part of the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder (APA, 2013). Children with ASD are known to be at increased risk for academic difficulty and are often under-achieving academically, relative to their level of ability (Griswold, Barnhill, Myles, Hagiwara & Simpson, 2002). Previous work has suggested that the difficulties children with ASD experience in education could be a result of the fact that they are struggling to maintain their attention and regulate their emotions and behaviours within the classroom (Ashburner, Ziviani & Rodger, 2010). My MSc project investigated the relationship between sensory reactivity symptoms and the classroom behaviour of children with ASD. This was done using methods of direct observation, rather than relying on parent and/or teacher report of symptoms and behaviour. The Sensory Assessment for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (SAND; Siper, Kolevzon, Wang, Buxbaum & Tavassoli, 2017) was used to measure sensory reactivity symptoms. The SAND is direct observation of an individual's response to a range of sensory stimuli. The researcher scores the individuals' reactions to the stimuli so the measure does not require a verbal response from the individual, therefore it is suitable for use with individuals with minimal language ability. The Student Observation System, SOS, from the Behaviour Assessment for Children-Second Edition (BASC-2, Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004) was used to measure classroom behaviour. The measure assesses a wide range of behaviours, including positive as well as problem behaviours. Furthermore, it is a measure that was designed specifically for the use with children whose emotional or behavioural problems are significant enough to impede academic progress. The project found that auditory, tactile and visual sensory reactivity symptoms were all independently significantly correlated with maladaptive classroom behaviour. Modern day classrooms can be complex sensory environments with high levels of visual clutter, excessive noise and unpredictable tactile input (Ashburner, Ziviani & Rodger, 2008; Anderson, 2001). Given that we know that the environment can deeply affect children with ASD, and that children with ASD struggle academically, there has been little empirical research into the role that the indoor environment plays in affecting the learning experiences of these children. This is a gap in our knowledge that has been repeatedly highlighted by researchers (Martin 2016; Vázquez & Torres, 2013). By expanding on my previous project to include the measurement of indoor environmental aspects (such as lighting, noise, layout/space) and analysing the role they play on sensory reactivity symptoms and classroom behaviour we would be able to start providing evidence based recommendations for the design of special education classrooms. Allowing us to give children with ASD an even better chance of reaching their full learning potential.

自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种神经发育障碍，始于儿童早期，并持续一生。最新版本的《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》（第5版；DSM-5）现在将感觉反应症状列为自闭症谱系障碍诊断标准的一部分（APA, 2013）。众所周知，患有自闭症谱系障碍的儿童在学习困难方面的风险更高，而且相对于他们的能力水平，他们在学业上往往表现不佳（Griswold, Barnhill, Myles, Hagiwara & Simpson, 2002）。先前的研究表明，自闭症儿童在教育方面的困难可能是由于他们在课堂上努力保持注意力，调节自己的情绪和行为（Ashburner, Ziviani & Rodger, 2010）。我的硕士项目是研究ASD儿童的感觉反应症状和课堂行为之间的关系。这是通过直接观察的方法完成的，而不是依靠家长和/或老师对症状和行为的报告。神经发育障碍感觉评估（SAND; Siper, Kolevzon, Wang, Buxbaum & Tavassoli, 2017）用于测量感觉反应性症状。SAND是对个体对一系列感官刺激的反应的直接观察。研究人员对个体对刺激的反应进行评分，因此该测量不需要个体的口头反应，因此它适用于语言能力最低的个体。学生观察系统，SOS，来自儿童行为评估第二版（BASC-2, Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2004），用于测量课堂行为。该措施评估了广泛的行为，包括积极的和有问题的行为。此外，这是一项专门为那些情绪或行为问题严重到足以阻碍学业进步的儿童设计的措施。该研究发现，听觉、触觉和视觉感觉反应症状都与课堂适应不良行为有独立的显著相关。现代教室可能是复杂的感官环境，具有高水平的视觉杂乱，过度的噪音和不可预测的触觉输入（Ashburner, Ziviani & Rodger, 2008; Anderson, 2001）。考虑到我们知道环境可以深刻地影响自闭症儿童，而且自闭症儿童在学业上很挣扎，很少有关于室内环境在影响这些儿童学习经历方面所起作用的实证研究。这是研究人员反复强调的我们知识的空白（Martin 2016; Vázquez & Torres, 2013）。通过扩展我之前的项目，包括室内环境方面（如照明、噪音、布局/空间）的测量，并分析它们对感官反应症状和课堂行为的影响，我们将能够开始为特殊教育教室的设计提供基于证据的建议。让我们给自闭症儿童一个更好的机会来充分发挥他们的学习潜力。