Principals' perspectives of inclusive education involving students with autism spectrum conditions – a Swedish case study

PurposeThe aim of this case study is to describe what commitment and actions are needed in the Swedish school so that principals — within the Swedish school policy framework and with the goal of creating an inclusive school culture and practice — can positively affect schooling for students with disabilities, with a particular focus on students with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). Three research questions guide the study: (1) What commitment and actions do principals consider important for developing an inclusive school for all students, with a particular focus on students with ASC? (2) How do the principals reflect on their own leadership in the development of inclusive education, with a particular focus on students with ASC? (3) Based on the results, what are the implications of the study in practice?Design/methodology/approachAs part of a three-step data collection method, a snowball sampling was conducted in which n = 6 principals were initially interviewed and the data analyzed by an inductive thematic content analysis.Findings(1) Certain structures are needed when planning how to develop mutual values when organizing an inclusive school involving students with ASC, (2) the principals could, at times, feel a sense of loneliness in relation to their superiors and decision-makers and (3) more accountability from educators and greater consideration for the student perspective in decision-making are needed.Practical implicationsIt was found that (1) certain structures are needed when planning how to develop mutual values when organizing an inclusive school involving students with ASC, (2) the principals could, at times, feel a sense of isolation in relation to their superiors and decision-makers and (3) more accountability from educators and greater consideration for the student perspective in decision-making are needed.Originality/valueIndex for inclusion and elements from the inclusive leadership model were used in the data collection and analysis.

Comparison of Autistic Traits Between Iranian Students With Different Ethnic Backgrounds: A Cross-Cultural Study

Autistic traits (ATs) include symptoms associated with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs), which are assumed to be continuously distributed across the general population. Studies have indicated the cultural differences in the expression of ATs. Notwithstanding, our literature review indicated that studies on cross-cultural differences in the expression of ATs included samples from different countries. This is the first study designed to compare the expression of ATs between different ethnicities from the same country. Using the Autism-spectrum Quotient (AQ-28), we examined the possible cultural differences in the expression of autistic traits from four groups of students with different ethnic backgrounds, including Turkish (n = 262), Persian (n = 290), Kurdish (n = 300), and Luri (n = 307) students. Behaviors associated with autistic traits were reported overall higher for males than females. Also, significant cultural differences in autistic traits were found that were different for males and females. Furthermore, while the medical sciences student group scored significantly higher than the humanities group in the Imagination dimension, the humanities group had significantly higher scores in Number/Pattern dimensions than the engineering and medical sciences groups. Altogether, our results provide further support for the idea that the expression of ATs is significantly influenced by culture. A significant limitation of the current study was that groups were not matched with respect to age, percentage of male participants, and fields of studies and that these variables may influence the AQ scores.

Menstruation and menopause in autistic adults: Periods of importance?

Autism spectrum conditions were once seen as a predominantly male condition. This has caused a paucity of information on common events in the lives of women, such as menstruation and menopause. Some smaller studies indicate that autistic women might suffer from increased difficulties surrounding these events. This study aims to investigate whether autistic women experience more frequent premenstrual dysphoric disorder, and increased complaints surrounding menopause. In partly overlapping samples (premenstrual dysphoric disorder, n = 70, nASC = 28, ncomparisons = 42; menopause, n = 65, nASC = 30, ncomparisons = 35), we investigated premenstrual dysphoric disorder prevalence and menopausal complaints. In 70 individuals, we did not find an increased prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in autistic women (14.3%) compared with non-autistic women (9.5%). In 65 women aged 40 years and above, we found that autistic women did experience higher levels of menopausal complaints. In autistic women, higher menopausal complaints were associated with higher levels of depression and autistic traits. In non-autistic women, menopausal complaints were associated with increased inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder traits), and depression. With this work, we show the important role that major reproductive milestones can have in an autistic woman’s life. Lay abstract Autism spectrum conditions were once seen as a predominantly male condition, but this has caused research to have little focus on women. Therefore, little is known about menstruation and menopause in autism spectrum conditions. Some smaller studies indicate that autistic individuals might suffer from increased difficulties surrounding these events. This study aimed to investigate whether autistic women experience more frequent premenstrual dysphoric disorder, causing extreme physical, emotional, and functional impairment. In a partly overlapping sample, we also examined whether women with autism spectrum condition experience increased complaints surrounding menopause. We did not find an increased prevalence of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in autism spectrum conditions (14.3%) compared with non-autistic women (9.5%). Those with autism spectrum conditions did experience increased menopausal complaints. These menopausal complaints were associated with higher levels of depression and autistic traits. In non-autistic women, menopausal complaints were associated with increased inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity (i.e. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder traits), and depression. With this work, we show the important role that major reproductive milestones can have in an autistic woman’s life.

Brief Report: The Broad Autism Phenotype in Swedish Parents of Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Conditions

The broad autism phenotype (BAP) is a set of characteristics often observed in typically developing people with a genetic load for autism, such as parents of autistic children. The Broad Autism Phenotypic Questionnaire (BAPQ) is a 36-item questionnaire developed to identify the BAP in first-degree relatives of autistic people. We translated the BAPQ into Swedish and examined its psychometric properties in a Swedish sample consisting of 45 parents of children with ASC and 74 parents of non-autistic children. We found support for the original 3-factor structure (aloof, pragmatic language and rigid), good internal consistency and convergent validity with the Autism Quotient. Thus, the Swedish BAPQ exhibits acceptable psychometric properties and may be useful for assessing the BAP in non-clinical populations.

Evaluation of an algorithm for optical pulse detection in children for application to the Pepper robot

To engage in socio-emotional interactions, children with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) need support to understand and convey emotions. In our approach, a humanoid robot (Pepper, Softbanks Robotics) acts as a tutor for the child within autism care. The robot, equipped with multimodal sensor technology to acquire the emotional feedback of the child, stimulates the child to perform tasks, adapted to its current arousal state. By in-, or decreasing the difficulties of implemented training modules, the child can be given the appropriate task according to its emotional state. The child’s arousal is measured with different techniques implemented in and on the robot: emotion detection based on audio recordings of the speech signal and camera detected facial expressions, or heart rate. To this end, the remote Photoplethysmography (rPPG) signal from camera recordings of the subjects’ face is acquired. While its unintrusive measurement is an advantage, a major drawback for rPPG is its proneness to motion and light artefacts requiring de-noising steps. A wavelet transform based on log-Gabor wavelets and a filter bank with 32 filters was implemented. The signal was filtered with a prior filter and afterwards with a Markov chain in order to extract the underlying pulse rate. Within an initial study, five children were observed watching videos with different co-notated emotions. As reference for the heart rate (HR), a wristband (empatica E4) was used. The captured emotions of all subjects were annotated to identify low and high arousal parts and positive and negative emotions. Extracted HR from rPPG-data indicated a correlation with the annotated emotions.

Monochannel Preference in Autism Spectrum Conditions Revealed by a Non-Visual Variant of Rubber Hand Illusion

Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are less susceptible to multisensory delusions, such as rubber hand illusion (RHI). Here, we investigate whether a monochannel variant of RHI is more effective in inducing an illusory feeling of ownership in ASC. To this aim, we exploit a non-visual variant of the RHI that, excluding vision, leverages only on the somatosensory channel. While the visual-tactile RHI does not alter the perceived hand position in ASC individuals, the tacto-tactile RHI effectively modulates proprioception to a similar extent as that found in typical development individuals. These findings suggest a more effective integration of multiple inputs originating from the same sensory channel in ASC, revealing a monochannel preference in this population.