Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Educational Quality of Life and Autistic Students Quality of Life (QoL)…
Educational Quality of Life and Autistic Students
Quality of Life (QoL) refers to the feeling of satisfaction or happiness an individual has towards various domains of their life (Erez et al., 2020). Education is a critical aspect of life and Educational Quality of Life (EQoL) is a specific area of study related to the factors which contribute to a positive experience of schooling. Both QoL and EQoL have been found to be lower in autistic students than their non-autistic peers (Dijkhuis et al., 2017) therefore it is vital stakeholders are aware of how to increase the EQoL for autistic students.
Challenging Behaviour as a Barrier to EQOL
Engaging in problem behaviour is a significant challenge for autistic students (Prykanowski et al., 2021) and the a more severe disability is usually associated with more challenging behaviour (Evers & Pilling, 2012).
Challenging behaviour threatens quality of life (Evers & Pilling, 2012).
Teacher student relationships are challenged by problem behaviour (Caldarella et al., 2020). Therefore, strategies to support teacher-student relationships are valuable.
Positive greetings at the classroom door (PGD) are one of many ways improved teacher-student relationships can be achieved (Allday & Pakurar, 2017).
Unaddressed or poorly dealt with challenging behaviour can lead to a persistence of the behaviour and negative flow on effects (Prykanowski et al., 2021).
Examples
Aggression at play time, yelling or screaming as a form of communication, throwing objects at people, crying, breaking, slamming (Prykanowski et al., 2021; Davis et al., 2012).
Examples
.
Affects an individual's ability to engage in educational and social activities (Prykanowski, 2021).
Being excluded from these domains can have damaging effects on one's QoL. For instance, if an individual is aggressive, they present a safety concern and will likely be excluded from group activities or, later in life, community services (Evers & Pilling, 2012).
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
PBS is a way of dealing with challenging behaviour which seeks to determine the function of inappropriate behaviour and then teach an individual more positive behaviours which serve the same function (Gore et al., 2013).
Both proactive and reaction interventions are used (Gore et al., 2013).
Proactive = preventative actions taken before the behaviour occurs
Reactive = intervening actions for after (or during) the problematic behaviour.
PBS rejects the idea that problem behaviour is a result of a child being intentionally difficult or deviant (Gore et al., 2013).
PBS is more effective than other behaviour management techniques such as reprimanding. Caldarella et al (2020) describe that although teacher reprimands may momentarily stop a behaviour, they do not boost engagement or decrease rates of disruptive behaviour. Therefore, teachers need the skills to deal with challenging behaviour effectively. PBS presents a valuable alternative to reprimanding.
Functional Communication Training
(FCT)
Some challenging behaviour is a result of communication issues, therefore functional communication training (FCT) is effective in supporting students to communicate their wants and needs appropriately (Prykanowksi et al., 2021; Davis et al, 2012).
The aim of FCT is for appropriate communication - be that vocal, gestural or pictorial - to replace problem behaviour which, for autistic children can be throwing, hitting, or screaming (Prykanowski et al., 2021).
For instance, a non-verbal autistic student who using screaming as a way to communicate that they want a toy might be taught to sign instead.
The aim of behaviour support is to describe the rate of occurence of challenging beheviour and concurrently increase the occurrence of positive behaviour - such as appropriate communication and behaviour regulation - and thus a student's quality of life
(Davis et al., 2012; Gore et al., 2013).
Positive behaviour is that which increases the likelihood of success in different aspects of life, including school. When an individual can behave more appropriately, quality of life is also improved for stakeholders such as teachers, peers, and parents (Carr et al., 2002).
Challenging behaviour is that which is "disruptive, dangerous, life-threatening, inappropriate, and [or] socially undesirable" (Harvey et al., 2018).
Social Challenges as a Barrier to EQOL
Peer attitudes can also be a barrier to social inclusion therefore there is a need for awareness of neurodiversity (Kapp, 2018).
Autistic students are vulnerable to bullying from their peers who may perceive their communication to be "odd" (Kapp, 2018).
Girls with ASD are more likely to experience friendship challenges and bullying (Krumpelman & Hord, 2021).
Increased awareness of non-autistic people needed for genuine inclusion and normalisation of difference (Kapp, 2018).
Many autistic students struggle with the social aspects of schooling and general life (Gengoux, 2014; Helbig et al., 2023). Social interactions have an important influence on one's perception of school and thus QoL (Zurbriggen et al., 2018), therefore support in this area is vital to increase EQoL.
Therefore, to meet the needs of these students, schools must provide education of social skills (Helbig et al., 2023).
Behaviour skills training (BST)
is a type of training comprised of four steps - instruction, modelling, rehearsal, and feedback - which promotes the generalisation of positive communication and interactions (Helbig et al., 2023).
Can include social narratives, video modelling, and structured play groups (Helbig et al., 2023).
Social narratives = stories written to explain a social situation to the reader
This also means that teachers require time and support to effectively support these students (Helbig et al., 2023).
For example, initiating conversations with peers is an important but often challenging skill for autistic students (Gengoux, 2014).
Priming
can support students to initiate interactions with peers (Gengoux, 2014).
Greater frequency of initiations is associated with more positive outcomes (Gengoux, 2014).
Priming = previewing an activity or new location ahead of time).
Gengoux (2014) also found that the skill of social initiation was also generalised
;
the students were more likely to initiate in un-primed situations.
Educational Quality of Life
Problem behaviour interferes with quality of life (Carr et al., 2002).
Higher quality of life is associated with factors such as social connection, self-confidence, a feeling of productivity, and sense of control over one's life and education (Carr et al., 2002; Faragher & van Ommen, 2016).
These factors are relevant to all students, regardless of disability or not (Faragher & van Ommen, 2016).
When investigating EQoL, it is vital to include student voice because it is an individual's perception of their quality of life that is important (Faragher & van Ommen, 2016).
The needs of many students with disabilities are not currently being met which affects their quality of life (Farargher & van Ommen, 2016).
Teachers have an immense influence on the relationship students have with their education (Faragher & van Ommen, 2016). Therefore, it is important that teachers are aware of how to improve autistic student's EQoL.
Time and resources are needed to support teachers to do this (Helbig et al., 2023).
Autistic Students and Education
The needs of autistic students who do not also have an intellectual disability (ID) are often overlooked which may be because their needs are not always immediately obvious (Krumpelman & Hord, 2021).
The inclusion movement seeks to support the needs of diverse learners and include them in mainstream classrooms (Evers & Pilling, 2012), however this does not mean their individual needs go away. Educators must remain aware of and responsive to the needs of students with disabilities.
It is important to remember that autism can present in various ways and some autistic students do enjoy high EQoL (Kapp, 2018).
Decreased QoL at the start of high school. Many students struggle with the significant change in structure that occurs when moving from primary to secondary school (Krumpelman & Hord, 2021).
Attending a smaller high school can assist in making the transition from primary to secondary school smoother (Krumpelman & Hord, 2021).
The ability to socialise appropriately and form connections with others is a vital component of not just education but QoL more broadly.
.
.
For students with or without autism, having positive social time makes school more enjoyable (Zurbriggen et al., 2018). Therefore, social skill development is important for all students but particularly autistic students who usually struggle in this area.