Theme 1: Teachers who understood and accommodated sensory sensitivities

When asked about beneficial teaching strategies and practices, 4 (13%) participants overall reported it to be beneficial when teachers understood and accommodated the sensory sensitivities of female students with AS. This theme was reflected in 2 (25%) parent responses. Both of these participants had daughters in the 10-13 age group, and were from Australia. Table 4.9 presents the locations, and the age groups of female children with AS reported on by parent participants.

Table 4.9

Responses Relating to Category 2, Theme 1: Teachers who Understood and Accommodated

Sensory Sensitivities (Parent Participants)

Age

6-9 (n=2)

10-13 (n=3)

14-17 (n=3)

0

2 (67%)

0

Location

Australia

(n=5)

United States of

America (n=1)

United

Kingdom (n=1)

Canada (n=1)

2 (40%)

0

0

0

This theme was also reflected in 2 (8%) adult responses. Table 4.10 presents the age groups and locations of adult participants who reported this theme.

Table 4.10

Responses Relating to Category 2, Theme 1: Teachers who Understood and Accommodated

Sensory Sensitivities (Adult Participants)

Age 18-24 (n=5) 25-34 (n=5) 35-44 (n=9) 45-54 (n=2) 55-64 (n=3) 0 0 1 (11%) 0 1 (33%) Location Australia (n=7) United States of America (n=8) United Kingdom (n=3) Canada (n=3) Europe (n=3) 1 (14%) 1 (13%) `0 0 0

A parent participant noted that it helped her/his daughter when teachers allowed her to listen to music through headphones while working to assist her concentration. Another parent explained that her/his daughter cannot tolerate the

beach due to her sensory sensitivities, and that this issue was accommodated on a school camp by ensuring she did not have to participate in any activities on the sand. An adult participant provided the following example of how her sensory sensitivities were accommodated:

One of the few teachers that was nice to me would let me sit in his room and be alone in the quiet to calm down…one teacher allowed me to draw in his classroom during lunch time, I didn’t like the bustle and noise of the lunch room (Adult Participant 23, Question 2).

Although in the following example, no specific accommodations were made for the female student with AS, an adult participant expressed her gratitude to her former teachers for the classroom environments she experienced: “I would firstly thank them for providing me with a quiet, mostly distraction-free environment in which to learn” (Adult Participant 7, Question 7).

4.5.2 Teachers who had a positive perception of the student, worked from a

strengths based approach, and were supportive

This theme was reflected in 14 (44%) responses overall. It was reported by 2 (25%) parent participants. Both these participants were reporting on daughters in the two older age groups. Parent participants from Australia and the USA discussed this theme. Table 4.11 presents the locations, and the age groups of female children with AS reported on by parent participants.

Table 4.11

Responses Relating to Category 2, Theme 2: Teachers who Had a Positive Perceptionof the

Student, Worked From a Strengths Based Approach and Were Supportive (Parent Participants)

Age

6-9 (n=2)

_{10-13 (n=3)}

_{14-17 (n=3)}

0

1 (33%)

1 (33%)

Location

Australia

(n=5)

United States of

America (n=1)

United

Kingdom (n=1)

Canada (n=1)

1 (20%)

1 (100%)

0

0

This theme was reflected in 12 (50%) adult responses. It was most frequently discussed by participants in the 25-34 age group, and by participants from all locations except Europe. Table 4.12 presents the age groups and locations of adult participants who discussed this theme.

Table 4.12

Responses Relating to Category 2, Theme 2: Teachers who Had a Positive Perceptionof the Student, Worked From a Strengths Based Approach and Were Supportive (Adult

Participants) Age 18-24 (n=5) 25-34 (n=5) 35-44 (n=9) 45-54 (n=2) 55-64 (n=3) 2 (40%) 4 (80%) 4 (44%) 1 (50%) 1 (33%) Location Australia (n=7) United States of America (n=8) United Kingdom (n=3) Canada (n=3) Europe (n=3) 4 (57%) 6 (75%) 1 (33%) 1 (33%) 0

A number of participants described in some detail how beneficial it was when teachers had a positive perception of the female student with AS, worked from a strengths based approach and were supportive. One parent described the efforts of one of her/his daughter’s teachers as she worked to normalise ASD in the classroom, and the positive impact this had:

One of her teachers actually assigned readings about autism as part of the regular curriculum, without ever identifying my daughter or anyone else in the class as autistic. This helped immensely when my daughter “came out” later to some of her classmates. (Parent Participant 7, Question 2)

Another parent outlined how some teachers had used one of her/his daughter’s strengths to assist her in managing social situations: “she is an enthusiastic writer, so if issues arise with friendships, a task may be for her to write a story about a similar situation (fictional) and how it was worked through. This helps her

immensely”(Parent Participant 6, Question 2).

Although only three adult participants stated they had a diagnosis of AS when at school, a number of responses described how they benefited from a strengths based approach; for example:

I had wonderful teachers for third and fifth grades and I excelled in those years, They were both able to see my strengths and instead of making me repeat assignments where I made mistakes in spelling or arithmetic they gave me more challenging work which also allowed for more flexibility in how I communicated my answers.” (Adult Participant 22, Question 2)

Some adult participants recalled that it benefited them both academically and

socially when teachers held them in positive regard, such as the teacher referred to in the following example: “I went from being ‘dim’ to ‘highly able’ in the year I was in her class. Freed from my former mystery I was able to engage with the school work

and was good at it” (Adult Participant 3, Question 2). Other adult participants wrote about teachers who acted as mentors for them in secondary school who not only supported them academically, but also socially and emotionally. One participant attributed the fact she completed secondary school to the support she received from some teachers:

Some of my teachers also took a personal interest in my talents and well- being and encouraged me to pursue my passion, writing, and to take care of my mental and personal health. This support and encouragement could easily be designated as the only reason I survived high school. (Adult Participant 13, Question 2)

4.5.3 Theme 3: Providing the opportunity for female students with AS to