Educational Resources

Throughout this task, I have learned much more about Autism Spectrum Disorder.  During the process of designing artefacts for James, I have learnt a great deal more about the needs of students with ASD, including the necessity of considering the student as an individual, rather than a label because not all students with ASD have the same needs, educational or otherwise. I have also learnt about some challenges that some students with ASD might have that I had never considered previously, such as difficulties with transitioning or certain textures or sounds. This task has also taught me to think outside the box when considering the complex needs of students, and that sometimes a solution to an issue can be unusual or not readily apparent, such as allowing a student to wear clothing made of a different fabric, or a different cut or style of clothing.  Finally, I have learned how to apply these interventions or artefacts in a classroom situation alongside other students who may or may not have additional needs themselves.

 

 Some challenges I have experienced while completing this assignment include designing artefacts that are suitable for older students, which I found fairly difficult because a lot of commercial artefacts are designed for younger students and are not suitable for secondary school aged students. It is difficult to design artefacts that will assist the student but at the same time will not draw attention to them in a negative way, especially when the student in question is in upper secondary school. Additionally, the student that I focused on has needs that are extremely complex and it was difficult to focus on a single aspect of their needs that an artefact can assist with, especially when there are so many factors that influence their difficulties.

 

As an educator, I feel that I have grown immensely throughout this course. The skills I have developed can be directly applied to my chosen vocation as a special education educator. Some of these skills that I have learnt include identifying needs that any one student has, and also deciding on an appropriate resource or intervention to assist that student in meeting their needs. I have also developed a far greater understanding of what ASD entails, and can apply this knowledge directly to the classroom.

 

I feel my current strengths as an educator are my ability to identify specific needs that a student may have and also my ability to work with students to help cater to these needs. Another strength is that I continuous reflect on my practice and consider other ways to approach a given situation or task if I am unsuccessful, or if I believe that another approach may be more effective. I consider my ability to work with the variety of technology that can be found in the classroom an area of strength as I feel that this allows me far more flexibility when working with students with varied needs. An area of weakness for me is my lack of experience, which means that at times I haven’t acquired the knowledge or skills for a given situation yet, however as I spend more and more time teaching this is a weakness that can be overcome.  This is also how I can rectify another weakness, which is managing a full classroom, which is an area I have difficulty with but am working to improve. A final area of weakness for me is time management, as when teaching a class I often find myself running out of time for an activity because other tasks take far longer than I have accounted for, which I believe will also be improved when I further develop my classroom management skills and gain more experience in what is realistic to achieve in a given time frame.

 

During this course I have gained valuable insight into ASD and how to ensure that students in my class can be given the best possible education that meets their individual needs and abilities, not only those students with ASD, but every student in the class. I also know feel that I can recognise a student that has additional needs that need to be met, and have the knowledge available to me to ensure that this occurs. I now feel that I have the tools and resources available to me to be successful as an educator and to continue to learn about how to be the best educator I can possibly be as I continue my education, both in university and in my future career.