A sequential mixed-methods approach to exploring the experiences of practitioners who have worked in multi-sensory environments with autistic children

Unwin, Katy; Powell, Gavin; Jones, Catherine R. G.

doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104061

Cited by 8 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The experimental manipulation (i.e. provision of control) and the outcomes measured were developed following research interviews and surveys with practitioners working with autistic children in MSEs ( Unwin et al, 2021 ). However, the autistic community was not directly consulted in the development of the study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Outcome measures. In our previous qualitative study, practitioners reported the behavioural and cognitive changes that they regularly observed in autistic children when they were using an MSE (Unwin et al, 2021). We used this data to develop the outcomes for this study, which included core autistic features: RMBs, sensory behaviour, and social interaction and communication (including social behaviour, gestures, mimicry, speech and rapport) and other behaviours: attention, anxiety and positive affect.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Educational practitioners have reported that being in an MSE can facilitate behavioural change for autistic children and this behaviour change can lead to improved opportunities for learning ( Unwin et al, 2021 ). Particularly, practitioners believed that the child being able to have control of the sensory environment was a mechanism through which behaviour change occurred.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In summary, MSEs are widely used with autistic children in the absence of empirical data that could guide their use. However, reports from practitioners ( Unwin et al, 2021 ) suggest that optimal use of the MSE may come from providing autistic children with control over sensory changes. In the first study of its kind, we examined the effect of having control of the MSE on the behaviours, cognition and arousal levels of 41 autistic children aged 4–12 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Active-Change condition, participants had control over the MSE equipment, and in the Passive-Change condition, the MSE equipment changed automatically without their input. We used observational coding methods to record behaviours previously identified by practitioners as outcomes of MSE use for autistic children ( Unwin et al, 2021 ). These included social communication (including, speech, rapport, social behaviours, gestures and mimicry), repetitive motor behaviours (RMBs), sensory behaviours, anxiety, positive affect and attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The use of Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children: Exploring the effect of having control of sensory changes

Unwin

Powell

Jones

2021

Autism

Self Cite

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Multi-Sensory Environments (also called sensory or Snoezelen® rooms) are specialised spaces that contain equipment to modify the environment. They are commonly used in special-needs schools with autistic children, but empirical investigation into how to best use Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children has been limited. Based on converging evidence that autistic children may benefit from having control, we tested 41 autistic children (8 female) aged 4–12 years (mean = 8 years, standard deviation = 2.05 years) who used the Multi-Sensory Environment both with and without control over the sensory changes. Behavioural coding of video data showed that having control was associated with increased attention and reduced repetitive motor behaviours, sensory behaviours, activity levels, stereotyped speech and vocalisations. Social behaviour, anxiety, positive affect and arousal were not significantly affected by condition. Our findings demonstrate that how a Multi-Sensory Environment is used can affect autistic children’s behaviours. They also suggest that providing control of sensory changes to autistic children may help create better conditions for learning. Lay abstract Multi-Sensory Environments (also called sensory or Snoezelen® rooms) are rooms that contain equipment which can create light, sound and touch experiences. Multi-Sensory Environments are often used with autistic children, particularly in schools, but there is no evidence for how best to use them. We investigated whether having control over the sensory equipment in the Multi-Sensory Environment affected how a group of 41 (8 female) autistic children aged 4–12 years behaved. We found that when autistic children could control the sensory equipment, they paid more attention and performed fewer repetitive and sensory behaviours. They also used less stereotyped speech, produced fewer vocalisations and showed lower levels of activity. Other behaviours were not affected. Our findings demonstrate that how a Multi-Sensory Environment is used can impact behaviour and that providing control of sensory changes to autistic children may help create better conditions for learning.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The use of Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children: Exploring the effect of having control of sensory changes

Unwin

Powell

Jones

2021

Autism

Self Cite

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A Systematic Literature Review on Service Composition for People with Disabilities: Taxonomies, Solutions, and Open Research Challenges

Namoun

Tufail

Nawaz

et al. 2023

Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience

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Integrating smart heterogeneous objects, IoT devices, data sources, and software services to produce new business processes and functionalities continues to attract considerable attention from the research community due to its unraveled advantages, including reusability, adaptation, distribution, and pervasiveness. However, the exploitation of service-oriented computing technologies (e.g., SOC, SOA, and microservice architectures) by people with special needs is underexplored and often overlooked. Furthermore, the existing challenges in this area are yet to be identified clearly. This research study presents a rigorous literature survey of the recent advances in service-oriented composition approaches and solutions for disabled people, their domains of application, and the major challenges, covering studies published between January 2010 and October 2022. To this end, we applied the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology to retrieve and collate only the articles presenting and discussing service composition solutions tailored to produce digitally accessible services for consumption by people who suffer from an impairment or loss of some physical or mental functions. We searched six renowned bibliographic databases, particularly IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, Springer Link, ACM Library, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar, to synthesize a final pool of 38 related articles. Our survey contributes a comprehensive taxonomy of service composition solutions, techniques, and practices that are utilized to create assistive technologies and services. The seven-facet taxonomy helps researchers and practitioners to quickly understand and analyze the fundamental conceptualizations and characteristics of accessible service composition for people with disabilities. Key findings showed that services are fused to assist disabled persons to carry out their daily activities, mainly in smart homes and ambient intelligent environments. Despite the emergence of immersive technologies (e.g., wearable computing), user-service interactions are enabled primarily through tactile and speech modalities. Service descriptions mainly incorporate functional features (e.g., performance, latency, and cost) of service quality, largely ignoring accessibility features. Moreover, the outstanding research problems revolve around (1) the unavailability of assistive services datasets, (2) the underspecification of accessibility aspects of disabilities, (3) the weak adoption of accessible and universal design practices, (4) the abstraction of service composition approaches, and (5) the rare experimental testing of composition approaches with disabled users. We conclude our survey with a set of guidelines to realize effective assistive service composition in IoT and cloud environments. Researchers and practitioners are advised to create assistive services that support the social relationships of disabled users and model their accessibility needs as part of the quality of service (QoS). Moreover, they should exploit AI/ML models to address the evolving requirements of disabled users in their unique environments. Furthermore, weaknesses of service composition solutions and research challenges are exposed as notable opportunities for future research.

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Quality Indicators for Mixed-Methods Research in Special Education

Leko

Hitchcock

Love

et al. 2022

Exceptional Children

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Mixed-methods research (MMR) holds promise for investigating several empirical questions within special education, capitalizing on the strengths of quantitative and qualitative traditions. We present an overview of MMR in special education and quality indicators for conducting and reporting such studies. We look to the future for how MMR may advance our understanding of crucial issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Finally, we discuss special considerations for MMR and the open science movement.

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A sequential mixed-methods approach to exploring the experiences of practitioners who have worked in multi-sensory environments with autistic children

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

The use of Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children: Exploring the effect of having control of sensory changes

The use of Multi-Sensory Environments with autistic children: Exploring the effect of having control of sensory changes

A Systematic Literature Review on Service Composition for People with Disabilities: Taxonomies, Solutions, and Open Research Challenges

Quality Indicators for Mixed-Methods Research in Special Education

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