THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN WITH THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER IN DIFFERENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Motnja avtističnega spektra je kompleksna razvojna motnja, pri kateri imajo otroci s to motnjo nekatere skupne značilnosti, kot so: slabše socialne zmožnosti, slabše govorne in komunikacijske zmožnosti ter omejeni interesi in ponavljajoče aktivnosti. Kljub temu da obstajajo številne raziskave, vzroki za nastanek motenj avtističnega spektra še vedno predstavljajo neznanko. Namen diplomske naloge je bil osvetliti problematiko otrok z motnjami avtističnega spektra (MAS) in ugotoviti na kakšne načine delajo učitelji in drugi strokovni delavci z otroki z MAS v različnih vzgojno-izobraževalnih programih pri nas in v Angliji ter kakšne so značilnosti in vedenja teh otrok med samim procesom vzgoje in izobraževanja. Raziskava je bila izvedena z opazovanjem primerov na vzorcu treh otrok z MAS ter z intervjujem na vzorcu štirih učiteljev in treh strokovnih delavcev, ki se z otroki z MAS ukvarjajo. Rezultati so pokazali, da glede na splošno mnenje in glede značilnosti otrok z MAS večini učiteljev in drugim strokovnim delavcem ti otroci predstavljajo nek izziv pa tudi nekaj pozitivnega. Večina jih meni, da se ti otroci lahko izobražujejo v rednih šolah le, če je stopnja motnje nižja in če so zagotovljeni vsi primerni pogoji za izobraževanje. Raziskava je pokazala, da v posameznih programih izobraževanja učitelji in drugi strokovni delavci uporabljajo takšne metode dela, ki ustrezajo individualnim otrokom z MAS, poznavanje in uporaba specifičnih metod dela pri učiteljih in drugih strokovnih delavcih je različna pri vsakem posamezniku in ni odvisna od izobraževalnega programa, iz katerega prihajajo. Sklenemo lahko torej, da ima večina učiteljev in drugih strokovnih delavcev tako pri nas kot v angleški šoli podobno predstavo in znanje o otrocih z MAS in tudi načini dela se v večji meri ne razlikujejo.Autistic spectrum disorder is a complex developmental disorder where the children with that kind of disorder have some common characteristics like: weak social abilities, weak speaking and communication abilities and limited interests and recurrent activities. Despite the fact that there are numerous researches on Autistic spectrum disorder the cause of the mentioned disorder still presents a want of knowledge. The aim of this diploma work was to illuminate the problems of children with Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), to find out the methods teachers and other professional workers in different educational programmes in Slovenia and England use when working with those children and what the characteristics and behaviours of autistic children during the process of education are. The research was carried out by observing three children with ASD and by interviewing four teachers and three professional workers who work with autistic children. The results have shown that in view of general opinion and in view of the characteristics of the children with ASD those children present a challenge as well as something positive to most of the teachers and professional workers. The majority of the interviewees mean that the ASD children can be educated in regular schools only if the level of disorder is low and if all suitable terms for education are assured. The research has shown that the teachers and other professional workers in individual educational programmes use the working methods that suit individual children with ASDexpertise and usage of specific working methods are chosen by each individual teacher and professional worker and are not subject to the educational programme they are being part of. We can conclude that the majority of teachers and other professional workers in Slovenia as well as in England have similar notion and knowledge of children with ASD and the ways of working with those children are not very different also