Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to describe how young adults with Asperger syndrome experience an educational project called ‘the IT-track’. The methods used included participant observation and research interviews. The results were interpreted within the theoretical framework described by ‘Supported Education’ (SED). The most prominent experience among the students was social learning. Students describe that they gradually began to function better socially with others and developed various abilities, such as asking for help, and talking to groups.The teachers emerged in the interviews as the single most important source of support as they formed the basis of two key points of SED. Overall, studying at the IT-track resulted in the students extending their horizons of possibility by breaking away from their previous sense of isolation which was marked by idleness and loneliness. By participating at the IT-track, the students’ sense of participation and meaningfulness increased.
Highlights
A large proportion of young people diagnosed with Asperger syndrome experience difficulties in coping with their education because of their special need for structured and clear customized training (Simmeborn Fleischer, 2012)
Vinnerljung, Berlin, and Hjern (2010) show that in Sweden, low grades in the ninth grade is the factor that most strongly correlates with unemployment, mental illness, substance abuse, self-injury, and crime in later life
They found for instance that it is eight to ten times more common for students in general to be involed in criminal activities for those with low grades compared to those with medium or high grades
Summary
A large proportion of young people diagnosed with Asperger syndrome experience difficulties in coping with their education because of their special need for structured and clear customized training (Simmeborn Fleischer, 2012) Their behaviour often results in their exclusion from certain classroom activities, something which becomes more and more apparent with age (Attwood, 2000; Jackson, 2011). Simmeborn Fleischer (2012), Giarelli and Fisher (2013), Börnfelt (2014), and Adolfsson and Simmeborn Fleischer (2013) argue that conditions for informal learning should be created alongside the formal learning that takes place where the focus is on the educational content This informal learning is the goal of ‘Supported Education’ (SED) (Bengs, Borg & Liljeholm, 2013; Waghorn, Still, Chant & Whiteford, 2004), which is aimed at increasing the self-esteem of the students. The fundamental idea behind SED ((Anthony & Unger, 1991; Unger, 1989) is that rehabilitation is an integral part of education. Waghorn et al (2004) found the following ten points as the hallmark of a well-functioning SED environment: 1. Collaboration between education organizations, mental healthcare services, social insurance, employment centres, and other organizations that support the target audience
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