Autism and Early Years Practice

Kate Wall

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781847875082, 9781847875075
• eBook ISBN: 9781446241424
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Early Childhood Education

This new edition of the leading book in autism and early years practice continues to provide excellent guidance for all early years students and practitioners on how to work with young children who have autism or who appear on the autistic spectrum.

Kate Wall?s wise words will resonate with all, as she sets out clear and realistic suggestions for ways to include young children with autism in mainstream settings, supporting her advice with case studies based on her own experience as a practitioner. Each chapter also looks at key issues and offers suggestions for discussion.

Highlights of the new edition include:

- coverage of the latest developments in research

- reference to current early years legislation, including the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)

- new case studies, covering the full 0 to 8 age range

- more suggestions for discussion

- updated key texts for further reading.

Every early years student and early years practitioner needs this book; it is an invaluable guide to best practice on how to work with young children with such particular needs.

Kate Wall is Principal Lecturer in Childhood Studies at the University of Chichester. She has worked extensively as a practitioner in the early years, in both mainstream and specialist settings.

1

Definitions of autism, common features and relevant legislation

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This chapter covers:

• developments in special needs and early years provision;

• definitions and characteristics of autistic spectrum disorders;

• historical and current legislation, guidance and policy.

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Introduction

In an era of increased inclusion within society in general, early years practitioners are under increasing pressure to accept more and more young children from a range of backgrounds and with a range of individual needs. Current legislation and policy also emphasise the importance of providing effectively for all children.

I would suggest that all children have individual needs which change according to their age, circumstances and life events. Some changes will result in a short-term additional need, such as settling in to an early years setting, whilst other needs will be much longer term, such as autism.

This chapter will explore general issues of special needs and early years provision before narrowing the focus to begin unravelling the specific range of autistic spectrum disorders. Through clarifying definitions and identifying common features, readers will develop an understanding of ‘the autistic world’. This knowledge, combined with the information gained from subsequent chapters will give practitioners increased knowledge of how best to support children with autism and their families. The requirements of current legislation and policy will be discussed together with the more general definitions of SEN.

Throughout my own working practice with young children with autism I would conclude that whilst such children may have offered me the greatest challenges, they have also given me the greatest rewards, and for that reason they deserve the best that practitioners can offer.

Developments in special needs

Research continues to inform our knowledge and practice and has led to considerable progress over the past century, resulting in many changes in government policy and, subsequently, legislation.

In the early twentieth century, people experiencing learning difficulties were deemed to be ineducable and terms such as ‘idiots’ and ‘imbeciles’ were commonly used to describe them. Sadly, such terms still exist and are used by a minority today. Within my own working practice I have preferred to discuss ‘individual needs’ in a more inclusive way as I consider that all children are different. Some are tall, some wear glasses, some have autism, some are visually impaired, but they are all primarily children. If society is developing a more inclusive philosophy then we should rid ourselves of terms such as ‘special needs’ and ‘special educational needs’, as our society should be accepting of all and provide for all. If we continue to consider children as having special needs and adapt our provision to accommodate them, we are not demonstrating real inclusion. This issue will continue as long as the government continues to produce separate legislative and guidance documents which segregate or exclude.

However, others may argue that without such separate documentation, effective legislation and provision could not be assured. We therefore continue to work within a ‘labelling’ framework that can bring its own problems. When welcoming a new child with special needs into our setting we may well have a report informing us of the specific difficulties experienced plus areas of strength and weakness. As practitioners it is then very easy to form inaccurate impressions about the child which affect our practice, and we may overlook any additional difficulties the child may be experiencing, but we should always remain vigilant and open-minded to other possibilities. Our expectations should remain high, but realistic, and we should be aware of any possible additional difficulties. For example, children with autism can also experience deafness. The key is to remain open-minded and ensure regular observations and assessments are an ongoing part of our working practice.

Developments in early years provision

In the early twentieth century whilst the value of pre-school provision had been acknowledged in Europe, within the UK there was no statutory preschool provision for our youngest children. At the start of the twenty-first century we still do not have statutory provision for all children but developments are ongoing and are certainly moving in the right direction.

As far back as 1929 an education enquiry committee highlighted the differing needs of children under five and therefore the need to offer a separate nursery education, but at that stage no monumental changes were forthcoming. At the start of the Second World War, however, changes began but the 1944 Education Act (Ministry of Education, 1944), which had supported an expansion of nursery education, was overtaken by world events. During the war the need for some supported provision became imperative:

During the Second World War the government supported pre-school provision by way of grants, predominantly to release women to war-related workplaces as the majority of the male workforce was fighting for their country. In addition, the women needed to supplement the poor wages sent home by their husbands. (Wall, 2003a: 5)

After the war pre-school provision continued through a period of expansion but very much at a local, as opposed to national, level in response to local needs. As a result we are left with a diverse array of provision that varies geographically. There is not, as yet, equality of access for all children and their families to a full range of early years settings.

Additional factors, such as changes in housing policies, also affected the future for our youngest children. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s high-rise flats were built in many large towns and cities throughout the country. For young families with young children this meant that a simple trip to the park or shops became a major event, especially if the lift was out of order. This resulted in many families with young children being isolated from their local communities for considerable periods of time, thus limiting social and educational opportunities for both parents and children alike.

In the 1960s the playgroup movement became firmly established in the UK. Responding to local need, playgroups predominantly opened in village halls and community centres offering part-time social play sessions to local 3- and 4-year-olds. Over subsequent years the Pre-School Playgroups Association (PPA) evolved (now the Pre-School Learning Alliance, PLA) which initiated local networks and training for playgroup workers as well as campaigning on behalf of the early years.

Since the 1960s we have seen the development of family centres, funded jointly by education and social services, or by voluntary organisations; early excellence centres; 4-year-olds being accepted into nursery classes attached to and funded by schools; Sure Start centres and Children’s Centres. The resultant range of early years provision is considerable and is well documented elsewhere (Pugh, 2001; Wall, 2006), but is not necessarily consistent with equality of access for all. It will, as previously indicated, vary according to what is available in each neighbourhood. This variance should be further unified in the future.

Autism

Autism, like many other conditions or disorders, can affect people in a variety of ways, but is a lifelong developmental disability. I would suggest that unless practitioners have a good knowledge and understanding of autism then they may not be able to provide appropriately, and may inadvertently compound a child’s difficulty through lack of knowledge.

What is autism?

As a developmental disability autism can affect children, and adults, in a variety of ways and in varying degrees. Children with autism may be referred to as ‘aloof’ or ‘withdrawn’ as they appear uninterested in the world around them. Unlike other children the lack of desire to be part of so-called ‘normal’ everyday life presents practitioners and parents with an immediate barrier – how to access the world of the child to enable support and appropriate provision. If a child does not want to interact with anyone and only wishes to play with a box of toy trains, then how can we begin to plan to ensure progress?

In 1943 Leo Kanner presented a clinical paper highlighting the key features of children with ‘early infantile autism’, thus naming the condition, which previously had been accepted as an extreme mental disorder, considered by some to be the result of very poor mothering which caused the child withdrawing into him/herself.

Kanner’s article recorded the outcomes of 11 case histories, concluding that whilst some of the characteristics demonstrated by the children could be closely linked to existing syndromes or conditions, there was a clear indication of a separate and unique condition emerging. These characteristics included:

• lack of desire to communicate verbally;

• echolalic verbal utterances;

• fear in strange or unexpected situations;

• lack of imaginative play activities;

• repetitive behaviours demonstrated.

Kanner also concluded that for some children the condition, or at least the predisposing conditions, were evident from birth whilst for other children the characteristics would not emerge until 2 or 3 years of age, and often in a regressive manner, that is, they appeared to develop skills which later disappeared. Wing (1976) suggests that Kanner’s reference to early infantile autism is ‘inappropriate’:

Kanner’s own preferred name ‘early infantile autism’ is not entirely appropriate since, in some cases an otherwise typical syndrome has...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Glossary
• Terminology
• Acknowledgements
• About the author
• 1 Definitions of autism, common features and relevant legislation
• 2 Families of children with autism
• 3 Issues of diagnosis and assessment
• 4 Understanding the world of the child with autism
• 5 Programmes of intervention
• 6 Providing for young children with autism
• 7 Mainstream or special? Issues of inclusion
• 8 Key issues and suggestions for the future
• Bibliography
• Index