The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of teachers who teach students with autism about their own emotional well-being. These schools focus on students with autism and the participants work in a practice-oriented manner with students with autism.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of emotional well-being of educators who teach students with autism. This makes it appropriate to explore the emotional well-being of educators who also work with students with autism.
THEORETICAL LOCATION OF THE STUDY
All of the above and many more characteristics of autism contribute to the physical and emotional demands on the educator (Marshall, 2004). The physical and emotional demands of the job cause some special education educators to leave the profession."
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
- Primary research questions
- Secondary research questions
AIMS OF INVESTIGATION
- Primary aim
- Secondary aim
In addition, based on the results, guidelines will be developed to improve the emotional well-being of these teachers in the classroom.
CLARIFICATION OF TERMINOLOGY
- Autism
- Emotional well-being
34; A pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in social interaction and communication, an extremely limited range of activities and interests, and the frequent presence of repetitive stereotyped behaviors." (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2007) For the purposes of this research, "emotional well-being' refers to all positive or negative emotions experienced by a teacher working with students with autism.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
- Research Methodology
- Sample
- Data collection
- Data analysis
- Ethical considerations
This is expected to increase data richness and contribute to reliability. I will begin the data analysis by getting a feel for the entire data set and making sense of the interviews as a whole.
COURSE OF STUDY
The study falls within the specialization of Educational Psychology, a field that focuses on the development of the learner, as well as teaching and learning. The educator plays a key role in the above, and his/her emotional well-being is affected by the teaching of special needs learners, as well as an impact on the learners and colleagues in the school context.
CONCLUSION
INTRODUCTION
In the early 1940s, two pioneers in the field of autism, Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger (discussed later) used these terms autism and autistic independently of each other to describe children with characteristics we recognize today as autistic (Furneaux and Roberts , 1977; Sicile-Kira, 2003; Frith, 2003; Grinker, 2007). Anxious obsessive desire for the maintenance of sameness, which leads to III a marked limitation in the variety of spontaneous activity.
CLASSIFICATION OF AUTISM
- Autistic Disorder (AD)
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (pDD-NOS)
The following section provides a brief description of the five disorders included in PDD according to the APA (2000), and the diagnosis for these five disorders according to the APA (2000) and WHO (1992). According to the APA (2000), PDD-NOS includes 'atypical autism' which does not meet the same criteria as any PDD because it has a relatively late onset.
AETIOLOGY OF AUTISM
- Heredity
- Biochemical factors
- Other studies in progress
Based on the history of autism and current diagnostic criteria, it is encouraging that there has been an increase in knowledge in the field of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). In the past, almost 1 in 20 (5%) siblings of individuals with autism had autism themselves, with a risk of various developmental difficulties (peeters and Gillberg, 1999; APA, 2000), but currently it is estimated at only about 10 % (Wallis, 2006).
THE PREVALENCE OF AUTISM
- Introduction
- Gender prevalence
- Prevalence in race, ethnic and socio-economic groups
The prevalence of autism could be underestimated, as children with milder or high-functioning autism are likely to be overlooked; an exaggeration, as the increase in autism could be due to the expansion of diagnostic criteria, public awareness, the worldwide implementation of the WHO (1992) and APA (2000) diagnostic criteria since the early 1990s, or due to a. The prevalence of autism has increased dramatically, making it necessary to investigate the possible causative factors of autism to facilitate prevention and support.
DIAGNOSIS
This may be due to the fact that some families from minority cultures do not want to participate due to language barriers, mistrust, fear or misunderstanding. Some cultures do not consider certain behaviors of children with autism as problematic but rather as part of their culture e.g.
ONSET AND COURSE OF AUTISM
Mildly affected individuals may behave relatively well, although they may also become sad, anxious, or even depressed when they do not know how to cope with their problems (Wing, 1980; APA, 1998; Sicile-Kira, 2003). Therefore, it is important to understand the problem areas or the triad of impairment.
TRIAD OF AUTISM
- Socially embarrassing behaviours
- Inability to play
- Social impairment from birth to adulthood
- Language and communication
- Introduction
- Thinking in pictures
- Detail thinking
- Echolalia
- Imagination and behaviour
- Introduction
- Imagination and behaviour impairment from birth to adulthood in autistic disorder
A person with autism is particularly dependent on visual cues (images) to help him understand communication, or to convey his needs (Peeters and Gilberg, 1999; Blackburn, 2007a; Jordan, 2007b). However, children with autism do not always understand the fantasy world (Peeters and Gillberg, 1999; Beyer and Gammeltoft, 2000).
AUTISM AND RELATED CONDITIONS
- Mental Retardation (MR)
- Attention DeficitlHyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Sensory difficulties
- Behavioural difficulties
- Epilepsy
- Depression and anxiety
This requires cognitive effort, which is better understood by higher-functioning children with autism (Peeters and Gillberg, 1999). According to Peeters and Gillberg (1999), a further 20%, and according to Lainhart (1999) approximately 25% - 30% of individuals with autism may develop seizure disorders in adulthood.
AUTISM AND INCLUSION
Stereotypical behavior, such as hand flapping, is common among students with autism and unfortunately hinders the student's ability to learn. The teacher must prepare the work according to the needs and academic abilities of each student (Sicile-Kira, 2003; Corsello, 2005; Roa and Gagie, 2006), and find the most appropriate way to teach the student with autism.
CONCLUSION
Being knowledgeable about students with autism, as well as accepting the notion of multiple intelligences, can ease the burden on the educator. This leads researchers to question the future of these students with autism, as they will eventually become adults who will also contribute to society. Therefore, we need to consider how the demands of the individual with autism affect the possibility of teaching and learning and how this affects the emotional well-being of the educator.
INTRODUCTION
INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING LEARNERS WITH AUTISM
- Individual therapy
- Medical treatment
- Dietary Interventions
- Support therapies
- Family therapy
- Educational intervention
- Picture exchange communication system (PECS)
- The Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children (TEACCH)
Different methods are used to help the student learn, such as guiding the student and rewarding correct answers. The student will be able to learn new concepts such as numbers, colors and reading. This strategy is about teaching functional skills and adapting the environment to the needs of the learner.
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND WORKPLACE WELLNESS
- What are emotions?
- Emotional intelligence
- Cognitive intelligence
- Well-being
- Subjective well-being
- Emotional well-being
- Personalities
- Introduction
- EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING AND STRESS IN THE WORKPLACE
- Emotional intelligence and emotional well-being in the workplace
- Stress in the workplace
- Enhancing wellness in the workplace
Research shows that emotional and social skills are related to subjective well-being (Bar-on, 2005) and that emotional and social skills help improve cognitive functioning (Singh, 2001). This implies that high emotional intelligence leads to a greater sense of well-being (Schutte, Malouff, Simunek, McKenley, & Hollander, 2002). According to Schutteet al. (2002), mood and self-esteem are two aspects of emotional well-being.
CONCLUSION
A study in England reported that educators top the list for stress absenteeism, and that this can be due to poor workplace environments, excessive working time and workload, lack of personal fulfillment, poor career prospects, internal politics, difficult parents and learners, and ' a lack of control over their careers (Bubb and Earley, 2004). Management should concentrate on improving individuals' self-esteem, self-confidence and respect, and be aware of inappropriate expectations, harsh criticism, neglect, over-control, lack of emotional support, lack of proper modeling (Singh, 2001). Since autism is such a complex neurological condition, the educator often has to deal with difficult situations that can affect the educators' well-being, which can equally affect workplace well-being.
INTRODUCTION
PROBLEM STATEMENT
RESEARCH AIMS
In addition, based on the results, guidelines will be generated to improve educators' emotional well-being in the classroom.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
- Research Design
- Methodology
- The sample
- Data collection process
- Interviews
- Data analysis
- Ethical considerations
- Trustworthiness
- Truth value
- Applicability
- Consistency
- Neutrality
I had to be sensitive to the context being researched, and be aware of the participants' ethnographic background and culture. The researcher must understand and accurately represent the situated nature of the participants' interpretations and meanings. These aspects should be used by the researcher to assess the value of the findings of their qualitative studies (Krefting, 1991).
Limitations of the study
According to Lincoln and Guba (1985, in Krefting, 1991; De Vos,2002) it is valid if the findings of the research study can be confirmed by another.
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
FINDINGS
- Theme 1: Everyday Challenges working with learners with Autism Challenges of working with learners with autism
- Theme 2: Educators' perceptions of the support of other role players Educator's perceptions of colleagues
- Theme 3: The impact that teaching learners with autism has on the workplace wellness of the educator
Requests made to the educator regarding students' response to reality Requests made to the educator regarding student behavior. Educators' perceptions of colleagues who do not work with students with autism Educators' perceptions of other professionals. Contributing to the experience of high levels of stress Impact on the emotional well-being of the educator Concern for the future of students with autism Impacting family life.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
- Challenges regarding the Curriculum
- Challenges regarding classroom management
- Challenges regarding professional development
- Theme 2: Educators' perceptions of the support of other role players
- Educator's perceptions of colleagues
- Educator's perceptions of other professionals
- Educator's perceptions of parents
- Theme 3: The impact that teaching learners with autism has on" the workplace wellness of the educator
- Affecting the professional self
- Contributing to experiencing high levels of stress
- Influencing the emotional well-being of the educator
- Showing concern about the future of learners with autism
- Affecting the family life
From the above, it is clear that students with autism often experience difficulties with socialization. The teacher should therefore be knowledgeable about different teaching interventions that are suitable for students with autism. It is known that educators who work with students with autism are all at risk of burnout (Jennett et al., 2003).
On the other hand, educators cannot rely on training alone to help them teach students with autism. Educators with little or no contact with students with autism lack knowledge and understanding of the disability.
CONCLUSION
However, it is imperative that students with autism receive individualized education and guidance based on their specific needs, as supported by the above findings, as well as by the findings of other researchers (Peeters and Gillberg, 1999). Knowing from personal experience that teaching students with autism is complex and demanding, and that such students are each unique in the way their autism manifests, makes teaching students with autism exceptionally challenging. All of the above and more contribute to the physical and emotional demands placed on the teacher (Marshall,2004).
INTRODUCTION
CONCLUSIONS
It is important that the teacher teaches functional skills and adapts the environment to the needs of the student. Little or no training in the field of autism has an effect on the professional development of the trainer. This theme relates to the impact that teaching students with autism has on the teacher's well-being in the workplace.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Due to the intensity and difficulty of dealing with the complexities of students with autism, educating these students can create high levels of stress and exhaustion for the educator, thus negatively affecting her emotional well-being. Since educating students with autism is a stressful and exhausting profession, a supportive family can positively affect the educator's well-being, while an unsupportive family can cause her more stress. Educators of students with autism should be part of this training program to promote open communication between them and their colleagues, other professionals and parents.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
School management should take into account the stress levels and emotional well-being of teachers, support them when necessary, and seek to reduce the demands placed on teachers, ensuring that they have sufficient resources to meet the increasing demands comply. For teachers who teach students with autism in regular schools, it is advisable that they can receive support from experienced teachers with special needs, who themselves teach students with autism. The special education teacher could assist with academic work programs, communication techniques, and behavior management techniques, thus restoring the teacher's confidence.
FINAL CONCLUSION
2006). Including Parent Training in the Early Childhood Special Education Curriculum for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Child behavior problems and partner mental health as correlates of stress in mothers and fathers of children with autism.Journal of Intellectual DisabilityResearch. The role of the school psychologist in the inclusive education of school-aged children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of School Psychology,43:117-136.
DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR AUTISTIC DISORDER
