Maida Vang
The group that I will be focusing on is a group of behavioral specialists who work with children that are autistic. They work with children from ages of three to eight-year old. Their job is to assist and tutor the children in school, so they don't fall behind because autistic students require special needs. How this group connects to my current and remote biography is that in the future, I would like to work with children with special needs. The epistemology that I will use is empirical because my goal is to study their shared meaning and experiences as a behavioral specialist. The intend methods that I will to use is content analysis, observation, and a face to face interview with the behavioral specialists. I plan to relate my findings to concepts and theories.
From chapter eight of the reading "Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century", the author discusses of symbolic interactionism, which is the interpretation of meanings, symbols, gestures, and language. This chapter introduces George Herbert Mead as the creditor of symbolic interaction. Mead explains that the self is active, which is an internal conversation within us. We use our self to perceive how we may appear. We are objects and subjects to ourselves. The way we perceive ourselves is by how others may perceive us. Through social interaction and experiences, we eventually develop our sense of self. Charles Horton Cooley use the looking glass self to exemplify the process of one's dynamic interpretive. Socialization allows individuals to make use of symbols and language which teaches us how to make perception of others. Socialization directs us in how to see people and understand our surroundings such as our environment. Moving on, the chapter then introduces behaviorism, which is a human or animal examination and analysis of objectivity visibility and quantifiable behavioral events. Animals, like human beings, has the ability to participate and create social networks. Mead states that when we are communicating, we are giving meaning that results from our consciousness and how we interpret shared meanings. Without the language and symbols, there is no communication in the setting. Within each different social setting, we interact and behave differently based on the expectations and dissimilar meanings. For example, you finish your college degree and land a job in an insurance company and earn commission, you interpret objects diversely. You would interpret your own self perception on how others view you. Erving Goffman uses the theoretical performance to develop the fundamentals that contribute to everyday face to face interactions. For every social performance, he underlines the structure expectations. The roles that we identify ourselves with are pre-established by society which provides structured social interaction for everyday life. It is impossible to have a society without social roles. When identifying your roles, three things are certain. The chapter lists that it is difficult to visualize yourself. Second, you are always acting based on someone else's role. Lastly, we never forget our role performance, we always have a role in place. We are always an audience to other's role performance. How we define a situation is how we can convince others our role performance. We are always engaged in non-verbal and verbal ritual interactions regardless whether we want to communicate or not, we are always sending communication signs.
From the article, "Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice", author Cindy L. Cain uses qualitative method to conduct a two-year observation participation in hospice workers. This study includes forty-one participants interviews who are hospice workers that identifies the differences between the back and front regions. The author identifies the front region as the official meaning of the location where they are expected to behave structurally according to the setting's expectation. The back region is the setting where their identities are not formal where inappropriate behavior may take place. During the author's experiment, she finds that involved in the front region are shown to be caring, serious, compassionate, and professional as the back region are humorous and display disinterests from death. The author's interpretations challenges that the front region is only performing what is appropriate while the back region is displaying their truths and reality. Hospice identity gives workers a strategy to cope with emotional distress. They combine a sense to self and behavior to work life to perform well in their work. They develop commitment and compassion in what they do as the back region releases their true and trouble feelings.
From the reading, "Role Taking, Role Making, and The Coordination of Action", how we define certain situations shapes how we act. Our roles teach us how to act accordingly, each role we identify ourselves with are linked to another role. For example, my role as a daughter is connected to the roles of my mother and father. In role taking, our skills and accuracy are structured by social experiences, conventionality of identities and performances, and the familiarity level with the other individual. In role making, we are always creating the fundamentals that are linked to our role performances as we connect them to the actions of other's behavior. People participate in the role making process to avoid negative roles that can be labeled on to them. Two themes that are mentioned about role making is that roles do not command how we are acting, include guidelines and organization framework. Also, role making involves some sort of improvise to meet its given state. Role making relies on self-consciousness. When we exit one role, we enter the next role. For example, at school your role is being a student but when you leave your school, you exit your role as a student and enter the role as a daughter, or a mother when you return to your home. With adjusting and adaption, a person can become an "ex" by altering their action and behaviors. Through motive talk, we explain why we do the things we do so others do not judge us. The reading mentions motives as a public explanation that we give in for our behavior as the reading defines motivation as internal drives. When we engage in emotional work, we are linking our actions with the feelings that constructs a situation. When we find a role we favor, we become attach to the role. If we do not fit well with a certain way, we disregard it.
From the reading of George Simmel in Cultural Theory, Simmel's sociological theory focuses on interaction and lived experiences. Interaction is defined as the macro level causes and effect among others in the micro level. Social structure and institutions are developed through connection of others coming together. Lives experience highlights one's space and time through the social structure and institutions which gives the observer an awareness about the self and the world. Simmel's work stresses the forms of interactions that takes place such as triadic relationships, types of associative activity, and conspiratorial group. Simmel's conflict with subjectivity is that people cannot easily hold onto the changing dynamics of the objective culture. competition is attitudes and life style are created when our society are resisting and adapting. It results in political and social movements.
From the reading, "Black Women's Standpoint Theories", Patricia Hills Collins is introduced as an active American Sociologists for her work on gender, race, and class who also served as the President of the American Sociology Association. As a feminist, she explores the roles that society has structured black women. Collin's claim was difficult for understanding the reality of work and family among black women. Black women worked as a mother and a worker for white families. As a worker, they are powerless but as a mother, they had the black community to support them. Collins states that for a higher household income, it is important for black individuals to associate family and work and yet black families continue to live in black communities and neighborhoods. What has always been a part of black women's live is the diversity experience. Collins focuses on the controlling image of black women, categorizing them as mammies, welfare recipients, and matriarchs. This does not give black women the opportunity to define themselves as they struggle against domination. Black individuals share common experience in oppression, despite where they are from. Collins also argue that their intersectionality matters to the most in which is institutionalized in the US stratification system. She notes that white women face consequences being a female but earns privileges for being white.
Ethnography is the interaction between people; the details about the people's culture and customs. It is described as an in-depth explanation about individual's everyday life and practices also known as field research which is access to the selected setting and how to obtain to the setting. When choosing a setting, it is important to consider geography, time, and economic expenses. Factors such as age, gender, and appearance is considered when gaining access to a setting. Such alternative field methods can consist of go-along, shadowing, and tour narrative. When given the opportunity to choose your own setting, it is important to be flexible. It is also feasible that you need to consider the access, your interests, and expenses. Some settings can be easily entered but it can be hard to do so if the research doesn't share the same perception, beliefs, or values that are not compatible to the setting. Your starting point has an impact on the access you have to the various interaction of the world. It is also a matter of proximity and serendipity. Your presentation of yourself is important. The physical appearance of yourself is has an effect on your field research but it is not often a part of direct training or fieldwork. By giving a good impression of themselves, the research is likely to proceed to the next step. As Goffman has said, your presentation of yourself is made up of things you are not capable of changing and things you are capable of. Embodiments can shape your fieldwork, as in access and entrée and controlling your research in certain settings. It should be the first consideration when being accepted by strangers. It is also important to consider demeanor, which is having expectations of dress and behaviors. Without having any contact to your desired setting, to gain access, it's essential you consult with your supervisor or instructor. Gatekeepers are those who gives permission to access the desired setting. Key informants can also be gatekeepers as well. They may emerge during the research and further access to other parts of the setting. Instead of gaining access to a setting, researchers can use the method of go-along, tour narratives, and shadowing. Go-along can consist of walking or driving with the participants interviewing them. Shadowing is following the participant around and observing their world and understanding their organization.
An issue for a researcher as a stranger to the setting and group is developing relations and roles. Role is a person's place among social settings or social relationships. Incorporation is the perception the setting sees the researcher according to their role and social place. Going native is being active and absorbed into the field research as in you are becoming a part of the group. The intensity of the experience and development of relationships can occur while preserving your role in the setting. The process of obtaining close relations in physical proximity and emotional insight is to understand the setting from the inside of those being studied. When leaving the field, your observations and data are no longer new and interesting. Some researchers may have developed an attachment to their setting which an emotional element. When writing field notes, it is important to inscribe your notes. It is a commitment and time consuming. It requires time and memory. The use of recording devices is common and useful during interviews. Computers help rearrange inscription and transcribe your audio interviews. To be successful in your research, it is important to reread and reinscription your notes.
Interviews is another important method used for field notes. It's the intent to know the interviewee better and the purposes are different. Research interview is interviewing the participant their topic of interests. Some types of qualitative interview is oral history, which is gives the researcher access to large data in social and personal experience; it is common for the average type of people. When conducting the research, it is important to develop interview questions before submitting a proposal. Interview questions shouldn't emphasize that there are no right or wrong answers. The guide should be open ended. It is also important to ask questions that are the easiest first and least intimidating questions so that it does not disturb the respondent. Rapport must be developed between the interviewee and respondents. The researcher must use probing to be clear about the questions. Some interviews can be of more than one respondent. Focus group can consist of more than one interviewee and multiple participants which is quite common with market research and program evaluation. Focus groups allows researchers to collect data from a big group in such short amount of time. Online interview has also become common for researchers. Some researcher has created online environments to study virtual interactions. To seek respondents, it is helpful to look in social settings where people can be found. Once you've gotten permission for an interview, the first time to do is set a time and place that is most convenient to the participant. To prepare yourself for the interview, you must present yourself in a mannerly good way. How you speak and present yourself helps the respondent sets their perception of you as an interviewee. When using a device for the interview, always test before you use it. Make sure there is enough memory or storage on your device. It is always important to be make your participant comfortable and welcoming. Throughout the interview, the researcher should be listening, engaging, and asking questions in developing rapport. Once rapport has been created between the interviewee and respondent, social interactions may continue. Purpose of rapport is to find truths and meanings from the respondent. After completing interviews, using an audio device, it I essential to transcribe everything from the interview.
On November 13th and November 15th, I observed a center for autistic patients for ages four to eleven year. I focused mainly on observing behavioral specialist only. I wanted to find meanings in what behavioral specialists do in hopes of finding patterns that can relate to theories discussed from lecture. I attended two separate days, observing one hour and thirty minute each session. One of the most interesting things I found about this observation is the front and back stage as well as how professional the behavioral specialists maintains their roles and status during my observation session. My observation finding was not what I expected.
For my observation, I was only to observe and shadow the behavioral specialists when they are not in session with their patients. On the first day of my observation, November 13th, I arrived at the center in the afternoon. At first, I wanted to observe the rooms, but all the rooms were occupied which meant the patients and specialist are in session. Since I am not allowed to observe the children and behavioral specialists in session, I decided to stay in the lobby and observe the workers at the front desk and the kitchen. There is only person who works at the front desk. The second observation happened on November 15, I have arrived around 5 pm. I got to observe inside the rooms but with no children in sessions, as well as the behavioral specialists interacting with each other. I focused a lot on front stage and back stage because I wanted to observe the workers when they are not working with a patient. I try to describe as much details about the facility as much as I can. I took notes of the objects and interactions in the facility. Theories that I wanted to focus on are front stage and back stage, role making and meaningful actions, status an roles and definition of the situation.
To analyze my observation field notes, I used a Nvivo data. This data app will help me analyze my findings through my field notes. Throughout my field notes, I created five nodes which consists of thick description, front stage and back stage, meaningful actions, role making, status and roles, and definition of situation. When I create a word frequency table, the most used word throughout my observation was "room", which is used 3.08%. The next most frequent word is "patient", which is used 2.80%, and the third most frequent word is "observe" which is used 2.20%.
I conducted my face to face to face interview on November 21st and 23rd. I had chosen a quiet area for both the interviews. Originally, I wanted to have five volunteers to interview, but two of the participants decided to cancel. Instead, I got to interview three participants only. For each of the participant, I interviewed them each for about 15-20 minutes. I believe the interview went well and no complications occurred. I wanted to study how each participant looks at their world and what meanings do they give. For this interview, I plan to look at theories and concept related to the participant's responses. Theories that I am looking for are meaningful action, status and roles, definition of situation, alienation, front stage and back stage.
Method I used for my interview is also Nvivo to collect my data and create nodes. Nvivo is to help me analyze my interview response from the participants. I used two-word frequency query. For this interview, I created five nodes. The nodes I chose was meaningful action, status and roles, definition of situation, alienation, front stage and back stage. When I ran the work frequency, the most word used was "like", "work", and "patients". When I ran the word frequency for just the nodes I created, the most used word was "like" 5.82%, "patients" 2.85%, and "know" 2.59%. I defined meaningful action as your reaction to how others perceive you. Status and roles are the behavior expected of an individual who occupies a given social position or status as the description of what a person holds. I define definition of a situation as what people use to know what is expected of them and what is expected of others in any given situation. Alienation is the lack of connection to your job. Front stage and back stage is the performance you perform on the job and the preparations you make to prepare for the job.
For the content analysis, I searched for media related, articles, blogs, tweets, studies on my group. I was not able to find much but I was able to find other groups similar to my groups. I found mostly blog and articles. I found twenty sources and analyzed them to find patterns and relate them to concepts. The purpose of the content analysis is reducing capacity of text collected, identifies and combines and groups categories together and to find the meaning of it. I focused on typification, collective action frames, grounds, warrants, and conclusions.
For the content, I used the Nvivo data to collect my data and create nodes. I used Ncapture to capture blogs and articles that are related to y group. Once I've captured my sources, I exported the websites, blogs, and articles into Nvivo. I used the word frequency to conduct which terms were used the most. The most used word from all the sources is autism. Autism was used 384 times, which is .82%. The second most frequent term used is autistic, which was used 247 time which counts as .52%. The third most frequent word used is people, 232 times which counts for .49%.
To analyze my observation, the first node I created was a thick description of the facility when I arrived in the lobby on November 13th and on November 15th when I observed inside the rooms. I found the area as friendly and family vibes which is a welcoming environment for patients.
"I see stuffed animals, a bin filled with building blacks, another bin filled with colorful tiny plastic bears, and some more other toys. The receptionists is wearing formal appropriate clothing with her hair tied in a ponytail. She is focused on her computer and constantly typing. The room is very small and only has three desks. There is a shelf of books and a bin full of toys against the wall. I see one of the specialists picking up the toys"
"At the front desk, there is pot of fake flowers placed and a pile of paper which seems to be information or application is stacked neatly next to the pot of flowers. There is a glass bowl with pepper mint candies placed. Next to the receptionist's desk is a hallway that leads to the rooms."
"There are four brown chairs lined up against the wall and windows are displayed from above. The windows are tinted. Next to the chairs is a side table piled with some health and cooking magazines."
The second node that I created is the front stage and back stage. Although I could not observe them in session with the patients, I got to observe their conversation after their session in the kitchen. Both the observed participants show very good examples of front and back stage. When they're working with patients, they are different and professional compared to back stage when they discuss the tough situation they had during their sessions with the patients.
"A shows B her bruised that one of her patients had given her earlier this morning. A seems distress about her bruise because I observe her constantly rubbing it. As "A" explains to me, being a behavioral specialist to autistic patients, you are not supposed to react to patient's rough behavior because it is appropriate for them. The only thing you must do is be calm."
"C joins their conversation saying she needs a break, it's been a harsh week with patients."
The next node I created is meaningful action. I observe specialist "A" and "B" have a meaningful conversation to each other after their therapy sessions with their patients.
"I see one of the specialists picking up the toys. I smile and greeted her and greets me back with a wave and continues to clean up."
"The receptionists look into her computer and picks up the phone. After a minute, she hangs up the phone and tells the specialists that no one is answering the call. The specialists disappear back into hallway".
"A and B nods to the person in charge and acknowledges her".
I created a node of roles and status. I observed which workers had which status depending on what work uniform they were wearing.
"The receptionists gets a phone call and answers it. The words she says are "Hello, this is Group A center, how can I help you. Yes mam. Okay that is perfectly fine. For which day? Alright you have a good day." She gets up and walks into the hallway and with one minute she has returned to her seat."
"This person is not wearing scrubs like the other workers but is dressed in a professional manner. I assumed this person is the supervisor or the person in charge of the facility because A and B's voice language tone changed to very formal."
The last node I created is definition of the situation. From what I observe, I got an idea of what the behavioral specialist does at their job. I found they must work in professional manner and are very calm.
"As "A" explains to me, being a behavioral specialist to autistic patients, you are not supposed to react to patient's rough behavior because it is appropriate for them. The only thing you must do is be calm. "
For my interviews, I created the alienation node. I found that all the participants do have a connection to the job. The responder's states how important and special this job is to them. Being a behavioral specialist makes them proud of what they do. They feel that they do make a difference in children with autistic needs. When I ran the word frequencies, the most used word is "know", which was used 7.94%. The next most used word is "one", used 7.94% as well. The third most used word is "child" which was used 4.76%.
"I feel good I feel connected of course. I do actually have a passion for me. like it created this bond with I created or it created a bond with my patients so they're kind of like my children in a way so but that's why I switched my major to psychology because I wanted to study and you know help children with special needs but I know I will because you know I've grown a lot of experience with it and it you know I learned along the way so did."
"there's definitely a connection there. patients and their parents put a lot of their trust in us and what we teach them."
"Yes, and somewhat i di because one on one with the children, I get to know each one of them individually and their special attributes which is very good because I like that connection that hands on one on one"
The next node I created is definition of situation. I asked my participants what they do for their job. They responded with almost the same answers. Basically, they are care givers to the autistic children. Their job is educating these children with special methods because they have special needs and needs special attention. It is not an easy job for them. The most frequent word used for definition of the situation is "act" which was used 5.56%. "like" is the next most used word which was used 5.56% as well and "guess" was used 4.17% by the respondents.
"okay well this job is definitely not easy. we work with children with special needs that needs special attention for sure and I guess one of the difficulties that that I have is trying to calm the patient's down when they act up. they will always like hit me sometimes and act like I'm okay because as a behavioral specialist I am trained to understand why they act that way and how they are. Second, how I really usually deal with them and I act like I'm here now okay with everything."
"well to Define situations as well. I guess we're not really sure how to answer this.
I guess we kind of look after repair patients to educate them into pretty much babysit them because I mean it means but it means like a lot more than that but pretty much just taking care of them and also teach them."
The third node that created is front stage and back stage. I was able to code 8 quotes in to this node. I found that the respondents spend a lot of time preparing for their job. It is always important for them that they stay positive and calm when they are having a tough day. They also have a lot of expectations that must be met which is being there on time for their patients. In their facility, the patients are their priority. The main thing they do sacrifice for their job is time. Working as behavioral specialist takes time and patients with each child. I also found that outside of work, most of the respondents spends a lot of their time with family and friends. The most word frequency that the respondents used was "like" which is used 3.9%. The next word used most is "patients" which is 3.47% and "also" used 2.9%.
"well to prepare myself I usually tell myself that I'm going to be positive and give our patients a good session. Also, I always have to be mentally prepared because our patients are a handful and has special needs it's very difficult. Also, I don't want the patients to see me have a breakdown so it's very important that I'm mentally prepared. Also, one last thing I always have to have a cup of coffee before I start my session because it's a daily thing for me and my co-workers."
"some activities like my free time yeah a lot of time with family and friends with my dogs in play with my cat. going to the movies too and I also like to listen to EDM music I also like to attend to musical the music festivals and Raves yeah pretty much do."
"things that I prepare myself well actually I don't really do much now I think of it.
have any like special routines I just kind of look over what the lesson plans are for today and you know just provide it and be ready for the children so."
The next node I created is meaningful action. I found that the participants do have a good team work and communication. They do get things done if they work together and stay positive. When the children are acting violent towards the behavioral specialist, they do not react to their violent acts and behavior. The participants stated that all they can is be calm and calm the child down. When I asked why they want to work in this field, mot of the respondents responded that they love working with children and making a difference in their lives. When I ran the word frequency, the most used word is "like" which is 8.38%, "really" with 3.9%, and "work" with 3.9% as well.
"And pretty much, how I deal with these difficulties is to be calm and stay positive. I just have to tell myself to move and definitely do not let it get to me because it's important to the kids."
"they'll kick us and hit us but we don't we can't react to it so but it's. some patients throw a lot of Tantrums but eventually they will be calm you know once we have everything you know everything kept together."
"Okay, what we usually ask for help if we need help. we get along well so we're always willing to help each other, kind of like a family you know."
The last node I created is roles and status. I found that the participants see each other as coworkers, friends and family. They also responded that they are teachers and educator not just to the children but to each other as well. They work together as family. When I asked each participant what their other coworkers think of them, they responded that their coworkers think of them as easy going and helpful. The most frequent word used for roles and status is "like" which was used 6.22%, "also" 3.83%, and "always" 2.87%.
"I'm pretty much a friend to them because we do hang out outside of work as well so we're very connected with each other and we help each other out. For my patients I guess you could say I'm like a parent to them a few of the children has actually accidentally call me Mommy before so take you when you do that okay yeah it is actually."
"some statuses and roles that I hold is a teacher also caregiver also a co-worker and also friend."
"I am therapists and a teacher."
For the content analysis, the first node I created is collective action frames. Collection action frame is a social construction and phenomenon that can involve persuasive campaigns by movement organizations. When conducting a word frequency table, the most frequent word used in the collective action frame is "word", which is used 5.63%. The second most used word is born which is 4.23% and the third most frequent word is "think", which is used 4.23%. From the one of the blogs that I captured, I was able to interpret that to the blogger, it is important being an advocate for autism. To seek help and bring awareness, it must be known to the public.
"I am being an advocate to help others like me achieve living a life with the chance to communicate with his or her own words. I was not born with the ability to speak freely. I was not born with a body that cooperates easily. But I was born with a thinking mind. I was misunderstood for years because my inabilities masked my intelligence. I became like a prisoner of my own silence. I am now free because of RPM."
"I think ASHA would be violating its own ethics if it were to pass its proposals on RPM and FC. Peace is being able to express myself in writing. I am free to use my own words when I type my words. I don't need to worry about saying the wrong word or not being understood by my poor enunciation."
"I urge ASHA members to do what is humane and good. Think of me and the many others who can be given a voice and a better life because of RPM."
The next node I created is typification which is relying on general knowledge as a way of constructing ideas about people and the social world. The most frequent word used for typification is "behavior", which is used 1,94%. The second most frequent word is "needs", which is used 1.94% as well. The third most frequent word is "people", also used 1.94%. From the blogs and articles I found, I found that people who are not autistic or have any special needs view those that do differently. As in, normal people try to cover up their real meanings or sugar coat wordings that are being said to individuals with special needs. Communication is important to autistic individuals even though it is not noticed.
"In fact, in much the same way that society has expectations of academic intelligence (e.g. every adult should be able to read fluently and perform basic mathematics), society also has expectations of social intelligence. And Heaven help you if you fall short of them.".
"Along with other delays, communication is an area that has a significant impact on children with autism. Because of these deficits some children fail to acquire age appropriate speech skills, some are unable to speak at all and others can manage a few words or develop a 'jargon' of their own that cannot be understood by people around them aside from their immediate family."
"Often assumptions are made that "inclusion" means students need to be in mainstream classrooms at all times. When inclusion is interpreted in this way, students may be unable to access adjustments that adequately address and meet their needs."
The third node I created is grounds. Grounds is defined as the description of the troubling condition. When I developed a word frequency table, the most used word is "student" which is used 2.41%. The second most frequent word is "people", used 1.34% and the third most frequent word is "autism", which is used 1.20%. I found that those who work with autistic children or has autistic children finds it difficult and the tough situations they face. The individuals with special needs don't get the normal education, which was difficult for their parents to adjust to. Some of the blogs mentions that autistic individuals have a harder time being calm, focusing, and socializing.
"I have been having problems typing lately. I can still type with mom but I am no longer able to type at school. I am becoming more distracted by my sensory world. I feel trapped in my thoughts of madness. I see very many meaningless details. I feel every annoying itch. I hear the meaningless sound of everything competing with my teachers."
"Problems with sleep are commonly experienced by individuals who have autism and other developmental disabilities. The majority of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have at least one sleep problem".
"A large amount of children with developmental delays are reported to have difficulties with eating. However, these difficulties are hardly limited to children on the spectrum. According to a recent child and infant nutrition study, the vegetable of choice for most toddlers is a potato, specifically in the form of a French fry."
The next node I created is warrants, which is defined as knowing the situations and why should it be given thoughts and considerations. The most frequent word used is "student", which is 2.26%. The next most used word is "autism" which is used 1.47%. The third most frequent word is "people", which is 1.18%. What I found in the warrants section is that the blogs and articles discuss the hardships and complications that the individuals with autism face. Those challenges lead to emotionally and physical exhaustions such as stress and depression. Also, frequent patterns I found was that from majority of the sources, they discuss a lot of outcomes from what the autistic individuals face.
"It is important to consider the ableism inherent in our conceptualization of participation, and ask, are we creating assignments of participatory accountability that are discriminatory to those who might engage with classmates or course materials differently?"
"These challenges can lead to levels of stress, anxiety and depression that are much higher than for other students. Up to 72% of students on the autism spectrum have additional mental health needs"
"Social deficits and impairments are a common feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (Dogan, King, Fischetti, Lake, Mathews, and Warzak, 2017; and Thompson, 2015). With these deficits acquisition of social skills can be a prolonged process. It can also cause worry for families and caretakers that their loved one may not be able to develop personal relationships in the future"
The last node I created is conclusions which is defined as what should be done. I conducted the word frequency table and I found that "work" was used frequently at 1.25%. The next most used word is "teacher", which is used 1.14% and the third most used word is "make" which is used 1.04%. The conclusions I found from the blogs and article discusses what should be done, advice, and tips to help individual with autism. The conclusions and suggestions are mainly aimed towards educators such a teachers and therapists who works with autistic individuals. They are ways of assisting autistic individuals to better education and life skills that will benefit them.
"Having a quiet space to complete their assessments and getting assistance with organising themselves and the social aspects of school were also raised as important strategies.'
"make notations (electronic or written) on a reading that illustrate engagement with the ideas and text – including questions, wonderings, and connections… (for instance actually handing in a single notated page from an assigned reading is powerful formative assessment and reveals much about how the student is processing and understanding the material)'.
"One important antecedent strategy is giving clear and direct directions. How and what we communicate with students can help influence their behavior. Instructions should clearly identify the teacher's expectations, stating in positive terms what students
should do rather than what they should not do. Visual representations, such as pictures, icons and models can be helpful for students to better understand what is being asked of them. This can also include a classroom-wide and/or student-specific visual schedule representing the scheduled classroom activities."
In conclusion. I found many interesting patterns about my group. I believe the interviews and observation went well. There were many meaningful actions and symbolic interaction found in this study. Being able to relate and compare my findings to theories and concepts is very meaningful to my study. Being able to create a relationship with my participant is very important because I built trust with them and they respond with their truths. Overall, I find that my group is a group that works hard to make differences in those individual's lives. Despite the difficulties, they are helping make a difference in society as well.
Warren, Carol A. B., Karner, Tracy Xavia. Discovering Qualitative Methods. New York. Oxford University Press. 2010. Print.
Scaff, Lawrence A., and LAWRENCE A. SCAFF. "Simmel, Georg." The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory, edited by Michael Ryan, Wiley, 1st edition, 2011. Credo Reference, http://hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/wileylitcul/simmel_georg/0?institutionId=5473. Accessed 20 Dec. 2018.
Cain, Cindy L. "Integrating Dark Humor and Compassion: Identities and Presentations of Self in the Front and Back Regions of Hospice". Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 2012. Pp 668-692. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0891241612458122.
Dillon Michele. "Symbolic Interactionism". Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. Blackwell Publishing. 2014. Print
Dillon Michele. "Patricia Hill Collins: Black Women's Standpoint". Introduction to Sociological Theory: Theorists, Concepts, and Their Applicability to the Twenty-First Century. Blackwell Publishing. 2014. Pp 346-353. Print
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