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Educators Describe the "Best Things" About Students with Autism at School
Pat Mirenda1, Anat Zaidman-Zait2, Katherine Tombeau Cost3
1University of British Columbia, 2125 Main Mall, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada. pat.mirenda@ubc.ca.
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
|October 31, 2022
Summary
Educators identified kindness, self-regulation, and perseverance as key strengths in autistic students. Challenging behaviors and autism symptom severity were linked to fewer endorsements of happiness and courage traits.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Education
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by differences in social communication and restricted interests.
- Understanding the strengths of students with ASD is crucial for effective educational and therapeutic interventions.
- The Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths provides a framework for identifying positive character traits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine educators' perceptions of positive character strengths in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 7-8 and 10-11.
- To investigate the relationship between challenging behaviors, autism symptom severity, and the endorsement of specific character strengths.
- To explore how educational placement and curriculum type influence the identification of these strengths.
Main Methods:
- An adapted version of the Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths was used.
- Educators described the character traits of students diagnosed with ASD.
- Data were analyzed in relation to student age, challenging behavior scores, autism symptom severity, educational placement, and curriculum type.
Main Results:
- Kindness, specific skills, self-regulation, and perseverance were the most frequently endorsed strengths for both age groups.
- Higher challenging behavior scores correlated with lower endorsement of Happiness and Courage traits.
- Increased autism symptom severity was associated with a reduced likelihood of endorsing Courage traits.
- Educational placement and curriculum type showed minimal impact on trait endorsement.
Conclusions:
- Educators recognize significant strengths in students with ASD, particularly in areas like kindness and perseverance.
- Interventions should consider the interplay between behavioral challenges and the expression of certain character strengths.
- These findings can inform strategies to foster positive student-teacher relationships, improve assessments, and enhance resilience-focused school programs for students with ASD.
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