1. The affordances of activity-centred interviews for facilitating communication with students on the autism spectrum
Harriet Hummerstone
Southampton Education School
@hhummerstone

2. Introduction Personal Context:
PhD Education – Professor Sarah Parsons & Dr Kyriaki Messiou
National Context:
Teaching and learning in secondary mainstream schools
Special Educational Needs Code of Practice (2015)
Conceptual Context:
Student voices & communication
Perceived expertise (Tangen, 2008; Irwin, 1996)
Innate hierarchies (Meloni, Vantheuyne & Rousseau, 2015)
Multiplicity (Mazzei & Jackson, 2009)
Engagement (Rudduck & Fielding, 2006)

3. Conceptual review of the literature
Focus on existing communications from individuals on the autism spectrum about their educational experiences (81 studies included)
Summary:
Autism understanding is crucial (and limited)
 Milton (2012): the double-empathy problem
Individual differences cannot be underestimated
Engaging, qualitative research methods facilitate communication

4. Participants 2 secondary mainstream schools in Hampshire
Six 11-13yo students (1F, 5M)
Eight members of school staff
Autism Advocacy Group in Sussex
Seven autistic adults (30-70yo)

5. Research Questions: 1st Phase Study
From the perspectives of autistic adults, what factors might need to be considered when communicating with individuals on the autism spectrum?
What is the nature of support being offered to (and by) students on the autism spectrum in a classroom environment?
What is the nature of the communication between students on the autism spectrum and the others (e.g. teachers, LSAs, peers) they work with?
What might be the factors that contribute to the nature of these communications?
How aware are students on the autism spectrum regarding strategies they already use to support their learning?

6. Research methods from the 1st phase study
Advice from autistic adults regarding interviewing techniques (RQ1)
Staff semi-structured interviews
Student photo-trails around the school to represent each lesson
Student semi-structured interviews using photo-elicitation
(RQs 2, 3, 4 & 5)

7. Adapting the diamond-ranking method
(Thomas & O’Kane, 1999)

8. Adapting the diamond-ranking method
(Thomas & O’Kane, 1999)

9. Findings from the first phase study
Individual Differences in Perspectives (between students)
Communication and support preferences
Levels of self-awareness
Group Differences in Perspectives (between staff and students)
Improving staff understanding of students
Effective staff availability
Effective classroom support
Awareness of sensory experiences

10. The 2nd phase study:
resolving the “double-empathy problem” (Milton, 2012)
Improve students’ understanding of themselves
Evaluate & re-design four activity-centred interviews
Complete four activity-centred interviews
Create personalised information sheet
Improve staff’s understanding of students
Semi-structured interviews and responses evaluating information sheets (familiar & unfamiliar)

11. Research Questions: 2nd Phase Study
From the perspectives of students on the autism spectrum and autistic adults, in what ways could the four activities proposed facilitate communication and support between staff and students?
From the perspectives of educational practitioners, in what ways could the information sheet proposed facilitate communication and support between staff and students?

12. Research methods from the 2nd phase study
The Motivation Mixer (awareness of sensory experiences)
Complete The Comics (increasing staff understanding of students)
Helping Hands (identify effective support)
Support Sorts (explore frequency and importance of support)
Personalised Information Sheets
© 2017 HKM Hummerstone. All rights reserved

13. The Motivation Mixer (sensory experiences)
© 2017 HKM Hummerstone. All rights reserved

14. Complete the Comics (staff understanding)
“So if someone is talking during class and I can’t then I get annoyed because they can and I can’t”
“But autism means you can’t talk!”
“No it doesn’t!”
© 2017 HKM Hummerstone. All rights reserved

15. Helping Hands ([in]effective support)
Rough People: if you want to join in you have to be rough
They push around and distract me
It can hurt
They don’t realise it hurts
It’s annoying
Mrs ___
Understands my feelings
Helps me in school
Bullying help
Helps with work
© 2017 HKM Hummerstone. All rights reserved

16. Support Sorts (support and availability)
© 2017 HKM Hummerstone. All rights reserved

17. Personalised Information Sheets (summary)
© 2017 HKM Hummerstone. All rights reserved

18. Affordances of these methods:
Flexible/easily personalised
Little technical knowledge/skill required
Engaging by design - expertise is valued
Builds familiarity with analysing/discussing educational experiences
Multiplicity of communication and engagement

19. Key messages for practice
Activity-centred interviews are a very useful method for facilitating educational discussions
Emergent findings from educational practitioners are generally positive regarding the personalised nature of the information sheets
Supporting students on the autism spectrum in the classroom involves ongoing discussions to promote understanding:
Professional expertise of educational practitioners
Personal expertise of individual students

20. Key messages for research
Adolescent mainstream students are capable of insightful, detailed, and amusing(!) communication
Engaging and activity-based methods are very useful in supporting detailed discussions
The nature of individual differences cannot be underestimated

21. References
Bennett Woodhouse, B. (2003). Enhancing children’s participation in policy making. Arizona Law Review, 45, Department for Education and Skills (2001) Special Education Needs: Code of Practice [online]. Available from: detail/page1/dfes%200581% [Accessed ] Irwin, J.W. (1996) Empowering Ourselves and Transforming Schools: Educators Making A Difference. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Mazzei, L.A. and Jackson, A.Y. (2009) Introduction. In: A.Y. Jackson and L.A. Mazzei (Eds.) Voice in Qualitative Inquiry – challenging conventional, interpretive and critical conceptions in qualitative research. Oxon: Routledge. Meloni, F., Vantheuyne, K. and Rousseau, C. (2015) Towards a relational ethics: rethinking ethics, agency, and dependency in research with children and youth. Anthropological Theory, 15 (1), Milton, D.E.M. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double-empathy problem’. Disability & Society, 27 (6), Rudduck, J. and Fielding, M. (2006). Student voice and the perils of popularity. Educational Review, 58 (2), Tangen, R. (2008). Listening to children’s voices in educational research: some theoretical and methodological problems. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23 (2), Thomas, N. and O’Kane, C. (1999) Children’s participation in reviews and planning meetings when they are ‘looked after’ in middle childhood. Child & Family Social Work, 4, 221–230.