Autism and Play Attention
Educators have made significant progress over the last few years training autistic children. One of the most difficult aspects of training is teaching cause and effect relationships. Autistic students who have violent tendencies frequently do not comprehend the consequences of their actions. They may strike first never knowing the damage that may ensue. The exact foundations of autism are not known. However, research regarding chemical/biological foundations is being carried out. I strongly suggest reviewing work by Dr. Jaak Panksepp, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo.
A special education teacher, Linda Creamer, specializes in working with autistic children in Greensboro, NC. Cited in the AP article, she uses Play Attention to teach cause and effect. Students control video exercises by attention alone using feedback technology. If attention is lost, students lose control of the video exercises. They get immediate feedback regarding their behavior and its relationship to attention. If they strike the desk out of frustration, they immediately see the effect on the screen characters as the screen characters are no longer under their control. This presents a teachable moment. It presents an environment where the student realizes the significance of his actions and allows Linda to talk about strategies to decrease the behavior. It also presents a physiological or kinesthetic perception to the student that can be learned (relaxation) and transferred to other situations. Linda has kept students from being institutionalized using this technique.
