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What is needed to help reception class teachers in supporting children with ASD?

There was much contemplation about the inclusion of this research question and the associated sections in the interview schedule (3.13). However, I found that prompting teachers to think about the help needed encouraged further reflections and interpretations from the teachers, which contributed to an overall understanding. The following example shows how T1 automatically thought of advice from specialists. However, her reflections actually provided insight into the position of the early years within the school system:

Specialist help, so someone that I can go to and say right this child presents this you know. ‘Cause I don’t know in their first term at school, somebody who could come in and observe them and say, “Right try this.” And then not just disappear…And then keep coming back throughout the time all I don’t know-- again every autistic child is different, but autism in the early years is different because we have a very different structure down here. Um and I think, I think senior leadership understanding just how challenging it is to have 30 children who you then say, “Right child led, learning time,” (T1: 1004- 1021)

This continues to be the part of the research which I have grappled with the most as I wonder whether the interpretation provides an accurate representation of what is needed to help the teachers. It felt as though some of the teachers struggled to answer these questions. Perhaps there was a sense of them not knowing what might help, finding it hard to think about themselves needing help or their ideas being restricted by external restraints:

It’s that needing something else. I think when you've got a lot of SEN children it’s underst... it’s that needing something else. (T3:1047-1050)

T4: Um, making sure they ([ong pause] that their support is there (T4: 899-900)

I: What about for teachers specifically?

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I: Mm hmm.

T2: -more bodies on the ground--we're never going to get that ([ong pause].

I: And who would those bodies be?

T2: Um, I'd like to say people with a background in ASD, but you're not going to get that. (T2: 410- 418)

Again in the dream world because it’s budgeting and everything else that comes with it. (T3: 1061-1063).

It is important to note that my analysis did not focus specifically on the answers given to the questions around the help that is needed. An appreciation of the hermeneutic circle (Smith et al., 2009) enabled my interpretation of their answers as part of the wider accounts given by each teacher. An example of the reflective process used to interpret the participant’s own interpretation of their experiences is shown in the research diary extract below:

This resulted in the themes described in the findings. From this insight, I have derived the following ideas on the support required for teachers supporting a child with ASD in a mainstream reception class.

My interpretations of the second research question could be swayed by the local setting (timeliness). It is important to hold in mind the setting for the teachers’ experiences (reduction in early years support/ increased ASD diagnoses at a young age) but I need to focus on the message I am interpreting from the accounts.

Most of the teachers made brief references to training and needing more people. But that was not necessarily what I was interpreting from their perspectives of their experiences. For example, T1 initially mentioned training for other staff in relation to Year 1 teachers (learning reception principles) and TAs having a good understanding of ASD. But as we went through the interview, her interpretation seemed to change and she was able to express the need to talk to others who understand her experience. What I took away from a combination of her words and the emotion shown at particular times in her interview was a need to be listened to and just have safe space to speak about her experiences (the interview represented this for her- she said she enjoyed it).

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5.8.1 Support vs training for staff

Much research has pointed to the importance of training to provide staff with information around ASD (Emam & Farrell, 2009; AET, 2011; Roberts & Simpson, 2016; Humphrey & Lewis, 2008b; Waddington & Reed, 2006; McGregor & Campbell, 2001; Glashan et al., 2004; Frederickson, Jones & Lang; 2010). Some of the teachers mentioned this, however, but getting to know an individual child was emphasised more than a generic understanding of ASD. Notwithstanding comments that newly qualified teachers require some additional knowledge (T3, T4), the teachers’ accounts provided insight into a different type of support that may help them in the process of supporting a child with ASD.

The findings highlight the emotional and psychological struggles teachers’ experience in figuring out how to support a child with ASD within a mainstream class. T1 directly identified what she would find helpful to cope with this:

…a chance to discuss challenges would be really good. So a chance to have those conversations where I can be quite honest and frank, and say, “Oh my goodness I could cry.” (T1: 1101-1105)

In addition to a listening ear, T1 spoke about discussing situations with those who share their experiences who can provide empathy and practice based advice. This idea is in line with Billington’s (2006) suggestions that professionals need to explore experiential processes to understand how best to support a child with ASD. Being able to take a reflective position can be difficult particularly within the time constraints of the mainstream teacher’s role. However, this is something that would help the teachers to work through that ‘process of trying’ to understand a child with ASD. T6 emphasised this throughout her account:

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In the back of your mind because just sometimes I think it's becoming reflective because quite often you can kind of look at a situation and realise afterwards that actually I spoke directly to that child when actually I shouldn't have (T6: 289-294). Billington (2006) also suggested the need for containment (Bion, 1962) for a child with ASD. In order to offer containment, a teacher needs to have this experience themselves. Having identified the difficult feelings (stress, self-doubt and frustration) the teachers faced in managing the whole class environment, parents and support staff, it is reasonable to assume that their capacity to cope with the emotions of a child with ASD would be limited. Therefore, the type of support that teachers need seems to be more about creating a safe space where they can explore how their thoughts and emotions may affect their practice. Suggestions around this are provided in the implications for EPs section (5.10).

5.8.2 Collaboration between teachers and support staff

Teachers also identified the need for practical support such as creating resources that may be needed for a child with ASD. A member of support staff, such as a TA, was associated with these duties. The analysis shows the importance of a team approach within the class and how challenges arise when there are conflicting views around the needs of a child with ASD. Building awareness to create a shared approach to ASD has been highlighted as crucial in supporting inclusion (Ravet, 2011). Therefore, in a reflection of previous research suggestions, it would be helpful to consider the time allocated for teachers and TAs to build a relationship and create collaborative plans (Webster & Blatchford, 2015; Symes & Humphrey 2011a/b).

5.8.3 Support with helping families.

The final aspect of help teachers may need is derived from the theme ‘working with parents perceptions’ (SP6:4.5.3). The findings reflect the importance of considering the

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role a teacher has to play in negotiating the varying levels of understanding and expectations of parents. Glashan et al. (2004) suggested that a separate service should take on this responsibility. This approach was partly adopted in one school (School 3), where the duty of parent support seemed to be formally allocated to the SENCO so the teachers attributed less significance to this aspect. The teachers (T4, T5) had experienced some rewarding collaboration with parents, but the SENCO seemed to take on the challenging aspects:

If someone is being particularly reluctant or difficult to engage at school then asking the SENCO to get more involved in a more official capacity and to call them in and speak to them (T5: 536-540)

This represents a change in the exosystem that shifted the relationship between teacher and parent. Research on parents’ views has focused on communication with teachers as a component for satisfaction (Falkmer et al., 2015). However, the process of supporting the understanding of a parent whose child has recently received a diagnosis of ASD and managing varied expectations of school, places extra pressure on reception teachers. Providing parent support and maintaining home-school communication through another avenue would reduce the emotional strain on teachers.