In today’s society, taking care of our mental health and acknowledging disabilities both mental and physical is an important pillar and is taken very seriously and without judgment. In the DSM-5, Autism Spectrum Disorder is objectively defined as persistent deficits in social interaction and communication and restricted and repetitive behavior (DSM-5). Since the spectrum itself is very broad, ASD is more common than you would think, 1 in every 44 people in the US. In fact, a small percentage of those diagnosed don’t find out until they're in adulthood. Although it is a widely accepted neurodevelopmental condition, there isn’t a lot of research on improving learning strategies for those diagnosed. Since most people are diagnosed as children, it would be essential to assemble strategies that can be used throughout development as well as in an educational setting.
Dr. Hueng and colleagues have spent some time finding easier ways for those diagnosed with ASD to learn better in both social settings as well as educational settings. It was previously found that without any training, those diagnosed with ASD have a deficit in imitation ability. It was therefore concluded that imitation is a key factor in gestural learning. In their paper titled “What affects gestural learning in children with and without Autism? The role of prior knowledge and imitation”, the researchers decided that they would be teaching both typical development and ASD children gestures to determine whether imitation of a movement learned during a training session help recreate the gesture in the correct context later on. In addition to imitation, they were also looking at how consistent their prior knowledge is in accordance with the gestures used and their previously known meaning. An example of this was given in the article stating that if the gesture is clapping with flat palms to indicate the word AWESOME the consistent prior knowledge would be knowing they are associated. However, an inconsistent prior knowledge would be to put a thumbs up to signal AWESOME. After being told stories that incorporated gestures within the correct context, both groups were tested before the training, immediately after training, and 2 weeks later for the delayed posttest. They found that after the training, ASD children (85%) were able to reproduce the correct gesture at just about the same rate as the TD children (87%) during the delayed posttest (Hueng 7). This means that there is significant effectiveness in structured learning to increase comprehension in children with ASD. This finding also shows that gestures when given comprehensible context would be invaluable to supporting ASD learning.
This conclusion ties in with the conclusions found in Dr. Wakefield’s study titled “Gestures help learners learn, but not merely by guiding their visual attention” which proves that the incorporation of gestures in school-based settings helps students learn by imitating the gestures seen. The gestures in Dr. Wakefield's study were there to guide the children visually as well as contextually for mathematics. Dr. Wakefield’s study was done to determine how visual attention being guided during instruction supported overall learning of the mathematical topic. They found that gestures when used in school settings require contextual meaning as well as an understanding for the guide to work. Overall the study concluded that the gestures used during instruction helped significantly when the skill needed transferring to different types of questions(Wakefield 5).
This research finding is a stepping stone for Dr. Hueng and their search for explaining how imitation and prior knowledge assist in gestural learning as it supports the idea that imitation requires understanding and context to be completed without cues. It expresses as well that prior knowledge in addition to context spreads a better understanding of a topic for ASD children. Implicating this strategy into a school setting would be vital to ASD children as it can boost understanding as well as increase their learning quality and inevitably help them throughout their education and beyond. The ability to extend their gestural skills into differing topics can be a considerable stepping stone in their journey to success.
References
Hueng, Ying, et al. “What Affects Gestural Learning in Children with and without Autism? The Role of Prior Knowledge and Imitation.” Research in Developmental Disabilities, vol. 129, Oct. 2022,https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891422222001354?ref=cra_js_challenge&fr=RR-1. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.
Wakefield, Elizabeth, et al. “Gestures Help Learners Learn, but Not Merely by Guiding Their Visual Attention.” Developmental Science, 2018, wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/desc.12664. Accessed 14 Oct. 2022.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th, ed. American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013. DSM-V, doi-org.db29.linccweb.org/10.1176/ appi.
No comments:
Post a Comment