The functioning of the student with the autism spectrum in the integration class in terms of sensory disorders – a case study

Abstract

The functioning of a student with the autism spectrum is determined not only by disorders and deficits of a social nature, but also sensory, which are not included in didactic and educational work by teachers based mainly on behavioural concepts. These concepts allow you to control your child's undesirable behaviour without referring to its aetiology. By ignoring sensory disorders, school becomes a place for students that does not create an environment for their optimal development. The cognitive goal of the article is to describe the functioning of the autism spectrum student in the integration class in terms of sensory disorders. The practical and implementation goal is to propose effective solutions that teachers could use in their didactic and educational work with an autism spectrum student in a public school, taking into account his sensory needs. The research method was a case study of a student with the autism spectrum (Asperger Syndrome), implemented using the modified Sensomotor Development Questionnaire by Zbigniew Przyrowski (2014). By face-to-face contact, it was possible to avoid over-interpreting the data received from the questionnaire and to make sure that the respondent correctly understood the questions. The case study was supplemented with techniques for observing and analysing school documents. While implementing study method in case of the boy, it was noticed that his functioning in school is strongly determined by sensory processing disorders, which are the result of dysfunction of individual sensory systems. The boy manifested disorders in both modulation and discrimination in individual sensory channels. Sensory motor disorders were also present. All these dysfunctions impaired the boy's cognitive processes, social and emotional development, which was the foundation of the occurrence of undesirable behavioural actions. In the last part of the article, didactic and educational activities are proposed taking into account the sensory processing disorder of the student with the autism spectrum, which can be successfully applied at every stage of education of a student with ASD and in any type of educational institution.