Abstract

When working in a special education classroom we, as teachers, often feel overwhelmed with how we will document the progress of our students who fall "outside the norm". I hope those who read this paper will see and understand that the strategies that I have used with my autistic class can be used with other students with challenges which may be mild, moderate or severe. Videotaping or taking pictures of our special education or regular stream students engaging in appropriate interactions are beneficial for increasing their skills in so many areas: behaviour, communication and social interaction, to name but a few.

Situating My Inquiry

Greenbrier School is a Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8 school with a population of 264 students. It exists in a lovely residential area in Brantford, Ontario. The school has a history of strong support both in the community and among the students, for our two special education classes situated in this setting. This year students have demonstrated an interest in this newly created Autistic class. My students exhibit similar characteristics at varying levels and do, for the most part, demonstrate different behaviours than the previous Developmentally Delayed Class (DD) which occupied what is now my classroom. I have 6 students who are all diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). They are all predominantly non-verbal and have moderate to severe difficulties in the areas of Communication, Behaviour and Social Interaction. I have four full time Educational Assistants (EA's) that help deliver the intensive support required by these unique learners.

In the Beginning . . .

When I first started thinking about Action Research I thought...."What do I have to contribute"? Years ago I participated in a research project that involved the Autistic and DD students I had in my class when I worked for the Toronto District School Board. The work that was done with these students over two years was subsequently published in two separate papers with me as a contributing author to both publications. It is funny but back then I felt I was just the teacher helping out the professor by choosing the tasks the students were to learn, working with the students, and then videotaping the "task trials" that would later be rated by his University classes. I think I was so thrilled to be involved in a project that I have always been passionate about (the way Autistic and DD students learn) I did not feel as though I was doing research. Now, as I reflect on my contribution back then, I realize that at the time I was embarking on, and participating in my first Action Research Project. So, I should probably be an "old hand" at it....right? Well..... here goes what I think is something!

Some Background Information

My brand new class was set up to bring together six very challenging students all of whom were diagnosed with an ASD and who were having some difficulties in other settings. The Autistic students who were previously in the class at Greenbrier School, had a different program due to the nature of the class before my arrival. The class was originally designated DD. When the designation was changed to an Autism class, the need for a whole new approach was needed to benefit this population of students. So what was it that I wanted to focus on?

Autistic students have significant difficulties in their ability to learn through conventional methods of teaching due to a very specific Triad of Impairments.

These impairments require specialized routine-based programming for these students to reach their individual potentials. These impairments include:

1. Extreme and/or restricted repetitive behaviour such as: aggression to self or others, outbursts of anger with no apparent antecedent, apparently inflexible adherence to routine, self-stimulatory behaviours (hand flapping, finger flicking, vocalizations)

2. Communication difficulties, both verbal and non-verbal: an inability to begin, be part of, end or even follow a conversation, word retrieval anxiety, stereotyped repetitive language, echolalic (parrot-like) language

3. Impairments in social interaction: a lack of social or emotional reciprocity, often appear to show complete indifference to those around them, difficulty making eye contact or reading facial/body language cues of others

These are but a few of the examples in the three areas that can be manifested in students with ASD's.

Identifying My Areas of Concern

After observing and assessing the students for the first few weeks of school, I realized that many of the numerous behaviours being exhibited were a result of the students' inability to communicate their wants and needs. The resulting behaviours, some of which were extreme aggression, were affecting me, my EA's and the students. It seemed that whenever there was almost peace, another student would be ready with a new and challenging behaviour that often set off one or more of the other students. Thus it seemed that the behaviour in the room was going to be a focus. Looking back through literature from the past, as well as current literature on students with ASD's, my path was becoming clearer. Behaviour in students with autism usually arises from an inability to communicate a want, a need, frustration or even anxiety. Often, students with an ASD cannot convey that they are experiencing pain or sensory overload. Perhaps they want to interact socially with an adult or peer, but they are unfamiliar with the skills needed to interact in a reciprocal way (requesting attention, turn taking, acknowledging they are finished and then leaving the interaction). With improved communication, inappropriate behaviours should decrease and allow appropriate socialization and learning to take place. I wanted to improve upon the strategies that I was already using in my classroom. I also wanted to implement new strategies that would help my students improve in the above-mentioned areas and, I wanted a way to document this progress.

Effective communication does not just happen. It takes considerable effort from both the sender and the receiver of information to ensure that communication attempts accomplish their intent. Those who experience communication disorders encounter exceptional difficulty participating in the communication process. Fortunately, employing visual aids to support the communication process can significantly improve their successful participation. (Hodgdon, 2000, p.7)

What was the Catalyst for my Inquiry?

Students who have ASD's often have accompanying sensory integration difficulties, which include: sensitivity to sounds/noise, light, heat/cold, tactile and taste issues.

One of my students has a sensitivity to wearing socks. In fact, up to the end of October 2002, he would only put a pair of socks on to go bowling with his class. For years during the winter months this behaviour had concerned his mother and previous teachers with the fear of frostbite being on everyone's mind, not to mention the appropriateness of wearing socks. On October 21, 2002, as Lyle walked into class, I had the video camera ready as I knew he liked having his picture taken. I simply said, "What time is it? Time for socks". Just at that time one of my EA's was arriving and was available to assist him at starting the 'sock going on the foot process'. He was also told on the video that he needed to wear socks to go out in the cold weather. Thus, his reinforcement for 'sock wearing' earned him a favoured activity. I was so thrilled that he did this, as I knew it was difficult for him to tolerate the binding feeling he seemed to have when wearing socks. He was shown the video at least three times during the day to reinforce the sock wearing. It took a week of reinforcing him with the video before he would not take the socks off in the cab and wave them at us as he pulled out of the school driveway. By the end of the second week he would come into school wearing the socks and he would not remove them until he got home. I was so excited by this whole event, as Lyle was showing an increase in self-esteem documented by his huge smile and the hugs he would give us when we all watched the video and told him how proud we were of his excellent behaviour. My focus question arose out of this event and began as, "How can I use video and photography to change behaviour in the Autistic children in my class?" This question would soon evolve!

Establishing an Improvement Plan

Because Autistic students are such unique learners it has always been a struggle over the years to find a useful valid way of documenting the progress these youngsters are making. I have always taken videos of my students with ASD, DD and other disabilities, particularly if they are non-verbal. I never felt it was enough to just videotape the students throughout the year. I felt there should be more to what I was doing, taking these videos and keeping notes on what they showed.

Action research encouraged me to search the literature and look more closely at what I could do to help my students' progress.

There are lots of different data-gathering methods available- journals, diaries, note-taking, audio and videotape recordings, questionnaires, surveys and attitude scales, and so on. (McNiff,Jean, 1198, p.16).

At a Brantford Action Research Network (BARN) meeting I was discussing with my peers how much I was enjoying using videos and photography with my students. I said how using a digital camera was different from the "old days" when students did not get to see a picture until at least the next day. Now these students, who are very visual learners, can have the immediate gratification of looking at their photo after it has been taken.

I remembered that famous quote "A picture is worth 1000 words". I then said aloud, "If a picture is worth 1000 words then a video is like a living story" (Christine Ryder, Personal journal entry, Nov. 20, 2002).

Heather Knill-Griesser, a colleague at this meeting, suggested I write this down and include it in my project. This I did and I am so glad. For going home and reading through my journal notes of this meeting made me do more research. I went to an awesome resource on Autism (DO-WATCH-LISTEN-SAY, a book by Kathleen Quill), and found a way to make using video/still photography not only an excellent record keeper, but also an assessment tool and a wonderful teaching device.

The main function of video modelling is to teach specific social and communication skills. The child learns what to DO-WATCH-LISTEN-and-SAY. Videos can be developed to highlight salient social cues and specific social and communicative behaviours. As video instruction allows a child to view natural social events in precisely the same way repeatedly, it is the easiest way for him to preview and review social events. Video instruction can be used along with other visual strategies. Video modelling has unlimited applications. (Quill, K. A., 2000, p.158);

I was now on my to improving my practice by using video modelling to create living stories for my students. I was already using visuals in the classroom (picture symbols and photographs). This new step would add a whole new dimension for the children.

Trying It Out

The next step came more quickly than I thought it would. Our class was asked to join the Grade 7 class in the gym for a game of volleyball. These grade 7's had been showing an interest in integrating with our special students. We had all been in the gym for assemblies together and the grade 7's had been helping our students at recess so I thought we would try it and I would video tape the entire event. The grade 7's had been briefed on keeping the noise levels and directions to a minimum, and to remember to allow the Autistic students time to watch as they tried different skills. We stayed for about 20 minutes and then went back to class to watch the video footage. Most of the students in our room watched themselves with interest. We watched the video quite a few times until two days later when we played with the grade 7's again. This was the "A-HA" moment for me as I saw so many amazing things happen all at once. All the grade 7's made sure every time a ball was hit by one of my students, it was kept in play to build the self-esteem of my students. They demonstrated sharing, positive attitudes and friendship to my students which was on video for my class to watch over and over again.

The video showed the teaching of social skills, appropriate behaviour when in the gym for the non-verbal students, and it elicited communication from my verbal students. When we got back to class this time Lyle wanted to write a story about playing volleyball as he was very proud when he served the ball over the net. With assistance he wrote the following story.

When I asked him if he would read this story in the grade 7 classroom, he said "yes". This shocked me as this was out of routine and a new experience for him. I decided to take all six of my students with the four EA's to make Lyle feel more comfortable. He was wonderful. He read his story in a room where you could hear a pin drop. I videotaped the grade 7's and my students watching him. When Lyle was finished there was not a dry eye in the house. He knew he had done a wonderful job and we went back to the class to watch the video. The next day we again went back to the grade 7 room to watch the "big game" and the "Lyle story". Again my students exhibited good in-seat behaviour as they watched their video with their role modelling grade 7's. Lyle saw himself hit the ball and said, "Look Lyle's doing it, Awesome". He then saw his classmate Ashley and said, "There's are Punkydoodle", a nickname we call this little girl. I was so excited by the communication that this elicited I had to write in my journal as soon as we got back to our class.

Years ago I did not realize how visual students with ASD's really were. We continued to watch the video of the game and made some more videos of my students in the gym practising their skills with the EA's. Each time we would watch the videos. The students' skills also began to improve, they were more accepting of hand over hand help and they were more at ease in the large noisy gym. (Christine Ryder, Personal Journal entry, Nov. 26/2002)

Quite by accident I stumbled onto another use for making individual videos of the students. I was invited in January to attend a meeting regarding Ashley. Her parents, the family counselling worker, a geneticist, an autism consultant and her doctor were all present. I was asked to come to discuss Ashley's educational program. I thought I would bring along her personal video to give the audience a concrete idea of the kinds of things we were doing in class and the exciting gains she was making. Her parents gave permission for this and they were as excited by what happened as was I. Before we were to begin, the doctor said he needed to have some photographs of Ashley taken as well as some measurements of her head, feet and hands. This is not an easy feat with any child. With a cast of thousands present, an autistic child who hates cameras and does not particularly like sitting still, let alone being touched, the cards seemed stacked against us. I suggested that those of us who were not needed for the measurements, could go to the other end of the room and watch the video of Ashley doing a seat work activity. As soon as the video went on Ashley became absorbed watching herself doing work. I wish I had had a video at that moment. For while she was watching her video the photographer got all the shots he needed, even while she was trying to see the TV and bending sideways so he would not obscure her view. The doctor got all his measurements and could not believe how still she was. Joanna Pugsley, Ashley's counsellor from The Family Counselling Service of Brant said, "Excellent strategy to keep her occupied."

Funny enough, this had not been my intention. I was trying to give the Doctor his space to do what he needed. I will have to pass on this story to my other parents as Dentists/ Doctors often have videos and televisions in their offices and this 'distracting technique', may work for other students with ASD's and/or other disabilities to help keep their interest and lessen their anxiety.

These are just two of the many stories we have been part of this year. I chose these stories in particular as they documented an answer to my focus question and demonstrated to me that I was on the right track using video and still photography as a teaching tool to help increase communication and social skills, while decreasing or helping to change inappropriate behaviours.

Data Collection

My data includes still photographs of my students interacting with not only the adults in the class but their newly acquired peers in the school: their gym buddies, their reading and recess buddies. The video footage documents their progress in the areas of communication, behaviour, and social interaction. Collection of the students work also documents progress in the above three areas as it demonstrates the ability to sit and focus for longer periods of time, interact more appropriately with adults and peers (some eye contact), and communicate to a greater extent than before (using Picture exchange to "ask" for an activity). There is evidence in both the students' report cards and their Individualized Education Plans (IEP's) of attainment of goals documented at the start of the year.

Surveys and meetings with the parents serve to document the progress the students are making as do comments from the principal, consultants, EA's and other staff members.

"It's a Hard Row to Hoe"

Upon reflection of the process I have gone through while doing this research I have encountered many struggles. If I were to begin again I would try to think of a way of just mounting my video camera where it could just run and record for an extended period of time. Having students who want to explore this equipment tends to make camera placement and accessibility quite a challenge. Scheduling time to edit the videos would also be something that I would do on a regular basis as I found this process a little overwhelming when I had a lot of footage to go through. A class consisting of children all of whom have an ASD requires constant modifications due to the dynamic and ever- changing needs of these very unique learners. What worked with one student would need modifications with another or simply not work at all with a third because of the different way all of these students receive and process information. I had to make sure that when I took photographs or video footage that it was motivating for the particular student who would be using it. Sometimes what I thought would be a good demonstration of a skill to be taught, held absolutely no interest for the learner it was intended for. Thus when working with students who have an ASD, one needs to ensure that the learning material is motivating, meaningful and fun. Then there was my focus question. How can I use video to increase communication skills in my Autistic students? How can I use video and still photography to increase the communication and social skills in my Autistic students? How can I use video and still photography in my class to document the progress that my Autistic students are making in the following three areas: Behaviour, Communication and Social interaction?

The evolution of this question tended to elicit some anxiety each time I would sit down to analyze my practise and what I was doing to assist my students. One would think, it is my question, I should know what I want to focus on. With the help of my fellow action researchers Melanie Rivers and Sharon Steele, I managed to go through these transitions with more ease until I arrived at my current question. Sharon said, "keep plugging away at what you are doing and the question will reveal itself." Melanie said, "Just keep doing what you are doing, the kids are making progress and that is what is important." There were also the daily events that tend to happen in a class of Autistic students, which often made it difficult to focus on my research.

However, without struggle, the successes that my students have made would not be evident, and changes in my professional practise would not have occurred.

Analyzing My Results

Video will capture the non-verbal, as well as the verbal messages that are being sent. Video recordings can be used in most of the ways listed for photographs and audiotape but they are probably better than the other two methods for capturing changes in behaviour in both individuals and groups. They have the added advantage that you can set the camera, and video your own practise. This can often show oneself as a living contradiction. ( McNiff, et.al., 1996, p. 104)

This is precisely what I found upon reviewing my interaction on a particular day at calendar time. Autistic students need time to process information that is being shared with them, especially if the information is being presented through more than one modality. For example, I was showing a student two words to choose from, Monday and Tuesday (visual processing). I was also verbally saying the two words, one of which the student had to choose, as the representation of "yesterday" (auditory processing). When I counted how long in seconds I gave the student to respond, I realized it was not nearly long enough. I also noted that the tone of my voice sounded impatient which really shocked me as I have always felt that I was good at keeping a calm, even tone to my voice when presenting materials to my students. Upon further reflection, I thought about the sensory integration issues that these students have. For example a voice sounding louder than we think it is, or sounds we cannot hear being distracters for these students, and it made me realize, that perhaps the tone of my voice and the lack of response time I gave the student, somehow interfered with his thinking and then his verbal output. I feel I caused him to freeze as I was not acting the way I normally did (going back and analysing previous video footage). I also looked at other factors such as background noise the other students were making, if the EA's were talking, how many students were flapping/tapping or moving in their seats and, to my great surprise, I found there were answers here. In a class containing six Autistic students I tend to get used to the background self-stimulatory noises the students make (humming, tapping, moaning etc). It becomes background noise that a neuro-typical brain is capable of processing, filtering and subsequently ignoring. The Autistic brain often has great difficulty filtering out these background noises making learning new information a huge task indeed. Revisiting the video footage taken throughout the year made clear to me areas of my practise needing attention. To further improve my practise and the learning of my students, I needed to share these findings with my EA's so that working together we could continue to create an environment that has fewer sensory distractions. In this way we would all learn to use consistent language, we would al be more cognisant of distracters in the room and we would all be part of creating a better learning atmosphere for our students who have Autism.

Comments from my EA's after having viewed this particular video included:

"When we playback a video of our class we are able to stand back and objectively see the whole picture: our voice tone, volume, body language as well as assess background noise. By observing this we can attempt to change things so that the learning environment best suits the needs of the children" (Julie MacDonald, EA. room 10).

"As we watch the video of the class, we all see that what we say and do has an impact on each child. Hopefully by seeing this we can make changes that will help our children have a more positive educational experience" (Jenn Karnes, EA, room 10).

"As educational assistants watching ourselves on video with our students, we can learn to be patient, be aware of noise levels, use a quiet tone of voice and always be prepared and organized." Roz Potts, EA, room 10.

Voices Sharing in My Journey

Videotaping social communicative interactions can be a very effective strategy to address social communication difficulties. The child can view videos of peers or others engaging in appropriate social communicative interactions as well as videos of himself in similar situations. Videos of the child with Autism engaging in social communicative interactions, are beneficial for increasing the child's self-awareness and self-monitoring skills. ("Written by Susan Stokes under a contract with CESA 7 and funded by a discretionary grant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction." 1995, p.3 )

Parent Surveys April14, 2003

Joshua's mom wrote back to me, "I think we as parents tend to baby our special kids and are sometimes too quick to fulfil their wants and needs. To see how independent he can be on the videotape tells me to back off and be a little more demanding." She also writes, "I think seeing some of the teaching techniques used at school can be transferred and reinforced at home (i.e. when Josh asks for candies I can reinforce math and communication skills by telling him how many he can have)."

Marshall's mom writes:

"Marshall has improved greatly this year. He listens more and participates more around home. He is happier and less frustrated. This video is very good."

Lyle's mom writes:

"I think this is a good idea. He has made many gains this year."

Ashley's mom writes:

"Ashley has done very well during her school year. Her video shows improvements. With continued help she will more than likely, make more improvements in her ability to communicate."

Matthew's mom writes:

"Wonderful to hear so many spoken words come from his mouth. His siblings enjoyed watching the video too."

Gyanesh's dad writes:

"It was nice to watch Gyanesh's school video. It is very good to note that Gyanesh is improving in all areas in his class. Thank you Mrs. Ryder and your team."

Teachers and EA's May 2002

"Throughout the school year the classroom teacher has video-taped and taken pictures of the students doing various tasks or engaging in social interaction. The children have looked at themselves in pictures, and, watched and listened to themselves calmly and quietly on video. I feel the use of these types of media has benefited them in the areas of behaviour, communication and social interaction." Anita Frame deJong, EA, room 10.

"The Autism classroom has been a hub of activities since day one of this year. The challenges set before each student and the accommodations and assistance for each and every student is remarkable. Each student has changed a great deal, and each one in their own way, has integrated into the school community at large" (Adrienne Patterson, Teacher, Grade 7).

Conclusions

The most revealing information about the quality of a child's non-verbal and verbal social and communication skills can be obtained through videotaped analysis of various interactions. Structured social activities and communication temptations can be videotaped to sample the child's skills, and then the information gained can be recorded on the assessment checklists. Videotapes reveal the dynamic, reciprocal quality of a child's interactions and are a permanent record of the child's ability (Quill, K.A., 2000, p.50).

This is what I discovered as well after having filmed and watched the videos at home and with my educational assistants. Transferring information onto checklists and then making anecdotal notes as well, made writing the students' Individualized Education Plans (IEP's) and report cards much easier to write. It also helped me to focus on particular skills that were self-evident and skills that needed attention. For my educational assistants, it was nice for them to see improvements in the children, as well as the areas that needed to be addressed, in a "living story" form. The quotes given by my EA's above, demonstrate this fact. Reading about a child in a report gives you an idea of strengths/weaknesses etc. When we, as a staff watched the autistic children acting and reacting in their environment on the video tape, it gave us insights about skill acquisition, sensory issues, and environmental distractions we may have previously missed. Videotaping allows the teacher to re-visit moments throughout the students' day to help reveal their needs, their learning and the next steps that need to be taken. These videos can be labelled and stored and passed on to other teachers so they would have a living portfolio and be able to build on the skills that the student has acquired. The parents would also have their copies that can be shared with other members of the team that work with their child including, the speech pathologist, psychologist, occupational therapists to name but a few. I have found that video taping and keeping still photographs (that have been made into a book depicting the student school year), have proven to be successful tools to augment the learning of my autistic students. These tools have also documented the progress that my students have, and are still making in the areas of communication, social interaction, and behaviour modification. The following picture illustrates that "magic moment" when parents, EA's, Administrators and teachers alike can smile and say, "We must be doing something right."

Next Steps

I plan to:

• Begin videotaping next year starting on the first school day.
• Check with the parents in the fall to determine if viewing their child's video over the summer, kept their children in touch with school.
• Continue to in-service myself in the area of Autism, to stay current as well as learn new strategies that can be used with my own class. I will share this information with other special education and regular teachers.
• Continue to raise the awareness about Autism in our school, and school community.
• Continue to encourage the integration of my Autistic students through the "reading buddy", and "gym buddy" program, implemented this year.
• Continue to read about the current research on Autism, as this will give me more insight into these unique students I have the privilege of teaching.

References

Hodgdon, Linda, A., (2001) Visual Strategies For Improving Communication, Troy, Michigan: QuirkRoberts Publishing.

McNiff, Jean, (1998), Action Research For Professional Development, Ontario: Ontario Public School Teachers' Federation.

McNiff, Jean, Pamela Lomax, Jack Whitehead, (1997) You and Your Action Research Project, London and New York: Routledge and Hyde.

Quill, Kathleen Ann, (2001) DO-WATCH-LISTEN-SAY, Baltimore, Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

Ryder, Christine, (2002) Personal Journal for Action Research

Stokes, Susan, (1995) Autism Papers: Increasing Expressive Skills for Verbal Children with Autism. "Written by Susan Stokes under a contract with CESA 7 and funded by a discretionary grant from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction."