Page 143 - Šolsko polje, XXIX, 2018, št. 3-4: K paradigmam raziskovanja vzgoje in izobraževanja, ur. Valerija Vendramin
P. 143
vidmar et al. ■ key challenges in addressing autism in preschool education ...
Interviews
Teachers. All 4 interviewed teachers were not very talkative. They an
swered they have a good support in their co-workers, principal and pre
school psychologist. One of the teachers would like to cooperate with the
developmental doctor, where the child with ASD is usually monitored.
They all said they are not trained in recognizing signs of ASD or how to
help a child with ASD but would like to attend a course with these topics.
They do not use any special methods while working with children with
ASD, they try to adapt their daily schedule and activities in the way all
children can participate.
Parents. Parents of two children with ASD were interviewed. Both
agreed teachers are not professionals when it comes to ASD. Teachers
would need a professional support and an assistant who is trained in ASD.
Both mothers said they have some support from other professionals out
side the preschool but have to find the information and pay for the service.
One mother said she would expect professionals to work together to max
imize the outcome.
Children. In preschool 2 there are several children with ASD. Most
of them are nonverbal. Teachers chose two who have some language pres
ent, but both are echolalic. Interviews were not carried out in full, most
questions remained unanswered or we got an echolalic response.
Interpretation and recommendations
Based on the observations and interviews the following strengths and
challenges were observed in the case study of two Slovenian preschools.
Recognized strengths are:
- Physical context (safe, light) and temporal contexts (routine) are
appropriate.
- Teachers are willing to learn and have support from co-workers, es
pecially social pedagogue.
- Some existing knowledge about signs of ASD and strategies of teach
ing child with ASD (especially pictograms and in regard to food sen
sory issues).
- Good cooperation with parents.
- Some understanding of the importance of relationships with a child.
On the other hand, identified recognized challenges (needed com
petences) were:
- Dealing with child acting-out: All teacher mentions they need com
petence on how to deal with acute situations of child acting-out.
141
Interviews
Teachers. All 4 interviewed teachers were not very talkative. They an
swered they have a good support in their co-workers, principal and pre
school psychologist. One of the teachers would like to cooperate with the
developmental doctor, where the child with ASD is usually monitored.
They all said they are not trained in recognizing signs of ASD or how to
help a child with ASD but would like to attend a course with these topics.
They do not use any special methods while working with children with
ASD, they try to adapt their daily schedule and activities in the way all
children can participate.
Parents. Parents of two children with ASD were interviewed. Both
agreed teachers are not professionals when it comes to ASD. Teachers
would need a professional support and an assistant who is trained in ASD.
Both mothers said they have some support from other professionals out
side the preschool but have to find the information and pay for the service.
One mother said she would expect professionals to work together to max
imize the outcome.
Children. In preschool 2 there are several children with ASD. Most
of them are nonverbal. Teachers chose two who have some language pres
ent, but both are echolalic. Interviews were not carried out in full, most
questions remained unanswered or we got an echolalic response.
Interpretation and recommendations
Based on the observations and interviews the following strengths and
challenges were observed in the case study of two Slovenian preschools.
Recognized strengths are:
- Physical context (safe, light) and temporal contexts (routine) are
appropriate.
- Teachers are willing to learn and have support from co-workers, es
pecially social pedagogue.
- Some existing knowledge about signs of ASD and strategies of teach
ing child with ASD (especially pictograms and in regard to food sen
sory issues).
- Good cooperation with parents.
- Some understanding of the importance of relationships with a child.
On the other hand, identified recognized challenges (needed com
petences) were:
- Dealing with child acting-out: All teacher mentions they need com
petence on how to deal with acute situations of child acting-out.
141
