Academic: DRAFT 2

I led the second workshop for Resources for Autism at the building where I normally work. It was the same workshop as Pinocchio. The day was arranged so that the workshop fell in between other activities, which took the pressure off me.

There were five high functioning autistic children in the workshop. High functioning autism (HFA) is where the Child’s intelligence is normal or in some cases above average, however they have difficulties with listening and communication. Sandi Busch expands on HFA in her essay ‘Definition of high functioning Autism’;

‘On the opposite end of the spectrum, high functioning autism describes individuals whose language develops normally and who have average to above average IQs. HFA is often used interchangeably with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) […] some differentiate HFA by saying that these children have an early language delay while those with AS hit all the developmental milestones.’


In my previous experience, I have found that HFA children find it challenging to express themselves. I thought that it would be a good idea to begin with music and copying of movement, so that they could express themselves artistically, without feeling uncomfortable, which worked well, as the children were very enthusiastic and enjoyed making up their own movements. Dawson has argued that ‘Drama clubs can also be very helpful for children with AS-HFA. Your child may initially be self-conscious or otherwise reluctant to try such a group but the benefits can be substantial.’ Two of the major benefits of the workshop, was firstly teaching the HFA child to work in a group environment and secondly to follow instructions to the best of their ability, in their own time, without pressure. Dawson expresses that HFA children ‘prosper in drama groups.’ This individual child’s development was present within the workshop as the children gained confidence, became creative and where able to explore themselves.

Busch further explains ‘they may have a great vocabulary and can talk, but they can't truly share experiences through give-and-take conversation. They tend to interrupt and, oblivious to what others were chatting about, dominate the conversation by talking non-stop about the one topic that interests them.’ I found that I needed to explain, when I felt the focus was being lost that I would signal by putting up my hand, meaning that we all had to stop and regroup. This was an effective technique, as the children where able to identify that the hand signal meant stop and quieten down.
This was very useful to me during the workshop as the children responded well to this and it enabled me to manage the situation well.

When I started talking about the characters in the story they knew about them already and they knew what these characters looked like and how they would move, as they had all seen the Disney version. Then I played more music and had them role-play the various characters around the space. This was a great success and the children and myself all became very excited. I then found myself talking too fast for them and so I had to curb my enthusiasm and calm the workshop down a bit, by putting my hand in the air, to bring back the focus.

I then went on to do the sign language activity. The children managed to pick this up really quickly and were so engaged with this. I felt so pleased for them that it made me quite emotional and my heart quickened. I know how difficult it is to engage autistic children for very long and the fact that they stayed with me all the time and really enjoyed themselves, made me very satisfied indeed.

Then I sat the children down and asked them to tell me what they knew of the story. They all reflected the Disney version so I stayed within those boundaries so as not to alienate the children. This was section of the workshop was most challenging as the children didn’t listen to each other very well and talked over each other. I had to use my focus signal several time to restore order and this worked very well. In the end I manage to achieve a little simply story of how the children saw the story of Pinocchio.

The second part of the workshop took place after the walk and involved the children dressing up as the characters they wanted to be. They were all so enthusiastic it was hard to maintain the focus but it still went very well and I managed to narrate the story and direct the children in the characters and produce the performance.

Sources:

Sandi Busch ‘Definition of high functioning autism’ http://www.ehow.com/about_5260655_definition-high-functioning-autism.html

Ozonoff, Sally Geraldine Dawson and James McPartland, ‘A parent’s guide to Asperger Syndrome and high-functioning autism: how to meet the challenges and help your child thrive.’ (New York; The Guildford Press, 2002) Chapter 8