Difficulties with figurative language have been highlighted by many researchers and people with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) as a core problem of the condition. However, few tests exist which describe and assess the responses of children with autism to figurative language. This paper reports a study which evaluated figurative language skills in able children with ASD. A group of children with ASD and a group of age-matched peers with no ASD were compared using a test of figurative language devised for the investigation. The test focused on understanding the meaning of an utterance and understanding the intentionality behind an utterance. Six categories of figurative language were examined. In all six, the controls with no ASD performed more successfully than the group with ASD, at statistically significant levels in most cases. The study also showed qualitative idiosyncrasies among those with ASD. The results are discussed in terms of their clinical and theoretical importance
This article reports a study of support for pupils with autism in a Scottish education authority. The pupils attend mainstream classes in primary schools but receive additional support from an outreach service. The study aimed to understand the nature of outreach support from a mainstream teacher’s point of view. The principal data of the project were interview transcripts from a critical-case sample of five schools. The data were subjected to two levels of analysis. First, they were grouped under five themes concerning teachers’ perceptions of support: speech and language therapy; parents, special assistants, communications, and the existing generic learning support team. Second, these five themes were reassembled as a textural and structural analysis which identified areas which influenced teachers’ perception of their own competence and the support of others. Among these areas, other professionals’ experience of working with pupils who are autistic was valued highly as a source of support.
Gilbert MacKay was appointed professor of special education at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in September 2000. With a background in teaching and educational psychology, Professor MacKay has research interests in early communication and people with intellectual disabilities. Recently, the Scottish Executive awarded him grants totalling £250,000 for the development of a service for young children with autism and for the professional education of experienced teachers in developmental difficulties such as dyspraxia.
This paper, originally given as a keynote address at the Scottish NASEN conference in Glasgow, challenges many of the prevailing trends in relation to disability and special educational needs. Taking a broad view of developments since Warnock, and providing a fascinating insight into recent initiatives in Scotland, Gilbert MacKay offers an analysis of five ways in which the notion of disability, and the practical reality of our responses to it, are being unhelpfully removed from the educational arena. While we can all strive to promote forms of inclusion that encompass ever–widening parameters of diversity, no one’s interests are served if the implications of individuals’ difficulties are simply ignored or wished away. Gilbert MacKay highlights the dangers in some recent trends but also points the way towards a much more responsive and productive future.
The adaptation and application of a systems analysis model devised for educational evaluation is discussed in the context of educational evaluation of a small specialist centre and the benefits of the adaptation explained. The ways in which the adapted model was used to gain a realistic picture of the centre are outlined and the potential usefulness of the framework discussed.
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