Describe Each Study
The first study was conducted by White et al., (2016). It seeks to assess the needs and challenges encountered by adolescents with autism as they transition from high school to college. The research question centers on finding out the particular needs of adolescents with autism as they transition to college. With regards to the hypothesis, the article proposes the empirically based program as a means of supporting students with autism in their college education. The study utilized adolescents aged between 19 and 26 years with autism who had enrolled in a public four-year university. Other than the students, the parents, educators, and the support system also participated in the study by means of a survey. Apart from the survey methodology, the group also used a mixed methods design. The results from the study showed that some of the problems experienced by the students with autism include interpersonal competence, poor emotional regulation, and the management of the competing demands that come with a college education.
The second research is by Moraes et al., (2017). The research seeks to assess the essence and position of motor learning in people with autism. The research question seeks to investigate why children with autistic disorders have problems with motor learning. One of the hypotheses fronted in the research is that children with autism have difficulty learning due to their ability to coordinate their motor abilities. Since the method used to collect data and assess data was a literature review, the study did not have participants. However, the articles had to be assessed for relevance by two independent researchers who came to a consensus before deciding the articles that would be used in the research. The research concluded by noting that although autism students faced problems in their memory and motor skills learning, they can still acquire skills in the classroom through heterogeneous means.
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The third research was conducted by Rotheram‐Fuller et al., (2010). The research focuses on the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in a general education classroom. The main hypothesis is that inclusion is meant to bolster their social involvement. The research questions why children with autism, despite their quest for friendship, end up becoming vulnerable to social problems in their classroom. The participants of the study included 79 children with autism at different levels of the elementary schools including K-1, middle, and late classroom. The participants of the study engaged in a social network survey which examined a host of aspects including peer rejection, reciprocal friendship, social involvement, and acceptance. The outcome of the research showed that children with autism in almost half of all the instances, suffered poor social relationships and this becomes more profound as they advanced through the grades.
The fourth research was conducted by Anderson et al., (2016). The article seeks to analyze how the social networks of students with autism changes in the wake of their incorporation with other mentally healthy students. The research question seeks to assess why autism students have social impairments when placed in the general classroom environment. The hypothesis, in this case, is that when children autism students are isolated, they tend to suffer problems to deal with social reciprocity, interaction, and peer engagement. The participants in the study included 182 and 152 children with and without autism respectively. The children were aged between 5 and 12 and were from the K-5 classrooms. The study utilized the general linear model to assess how factors such as age, gender, size of classroom, diagnosis, and baseline connectivity among others played a critical role in social connectivity. The outcome showed that gender and classroom size were two of the critical factors that affected connectivity.
Similarities and Differences
The focus of the study was on “students with autism in a classroom setting.” Each of the four articles approaches the issue in similar and different ways. With regards to the similarities, all the articles assess how autism affects leaning or essential conditions for learning in the classroom. Each of the researchers uses an important learning cue ranging from motor learning to reading and social networking. Out of the article that employs human subjects, there is a control group to ensure plausibility in a cause-effect relationship. Each of the articles identifies a gap or a challenge that faces learners with autism in their learning environment. However, several differences can also be noted in the direction taken by the researchers in their studies. For instance, White et al., (2016) look at the challenges from the perspective of transition from high school to college. It, therefore, remains cognizant of the specific difficulties that autism learners could face when approaching the postsecondary stage of learning.
Moraes et al., (2017) on their part, rather than focusing on the environmental factors, seek to explore an intrinsic deficiency affecting the motor learning of the children in their classroom environment. Both Rotheram‐Fuller et al., (2010) and Anderson et al., (2016) focus on how children with autism suffer from social network problems. They take a comparative assessment which focuses on how well these children respond to relationships in their learning environment.
Internal, Construct, And External Validity
Validity is a way of ensuring that the inferences in research are free from error. With regards to internal validity, each of the articles discussed above has managed to create a causal relationship. In White et al., (2016), a relationship is established when the authors conclude that the transition to college education causes interpersonal competence and poor emotional regulation among adolescents with autism. Moraes et al., (2017) establishes a relationship between learning outcome and poor motor skills among these children. Rotheram‐Fuller et al., (2010) develop a causal relationship between autism and poor social skills in the classroom. Anderson et al., (2016) establishes relationships between social impairment and autism disorder.
All these articles meet the construct validity. Some of the measures assessed in the article include social response, interpersonal competence, emotional regulation, and motor learning are all critical aspects of importance to autism and the effect it has on classroom learning. The external validity of the research articles is evident from the fact that the research articles contribute to the broader topic concerning how these several strategies should be laid down to ensure that children with autism enjoy learning in their environment.
Unresolved Questions
The articles have done a tremendous job in assessing the relationship between autism and classroom learning. However, several important questions remain unresolved. One of the areas that the article should have focused on regards the difference between learning difficulties that emanate from autism with those that originate from nonverbal learning difficulties. According to theoretical information, such symptoms can be similar but have certain differences. Research on this area would help in finding a perfect cause-effect relationship without necessarily having the nonverbal learning difficulties as a confounder. This is because some children with autism might also be having nonverbal learning difficulties as a separate condition. More studies should focus on communication as a tool for learning among children with autism.
Outline
Introduction
Autism is a development disorder that comes in variable severity and is characterized by a deficiency in social interaction and communication abilities (Moraes et al., 2017).
Through research, evidence has shown that autism disorder affects the learning of children and adolescents in their classroom environment.
Thesis: Autism is a disorder that affects communication, social interaction, and the cognitive strengths required to enhance learning within the classroom.
Points of research
Children with autism experience motor learning problems
Adolescents with autism demonstrate various problems when they make the transition to college
The children with autism have social difficulties that lead to learning issues
Children with autism experience motor learning problems
Moraes et al., (2017) asserted that children with autism have difficulty learning due to their ability to coordinate their motor abilities.
The inability to coordinate these motor skills makes it difficult for them to concentrate in the classroom.
Adolescents with autism demonstrate various problems when they make the transition to college
Some of the problems experienced by the students with autism include interpersonal competence, poor emotional regulation, and the management of the competing demands that come with a college education (White et al., 2016).
The children with autism have social difficulties that lead to learning issues
Research conducted by Rotheram‐Fuller et al., (2010) showed that children with autism in almost half of all the instances, suffered poor social relationships and this becomes more profound as they advanced through the grades.
When children autism students are isolated, they tend to suffer problems to deal with social reciprocity, interaction, and peer engagement (Anderson et al., 2016).
Conclusion
It is without a doubt that autism significantly affects learning in the classroom environment. Strategies should be put in place to improve communication, social networks, and motor skills.
References
Anderson, A., Locke, J., Kretzmann, M., Kasari, C., & AIR-B Network. (2016). Social network analysis of children with autism spectrum disorder: predictors of fragmentation and connectivity in elementary school classrooms. Autism, 20(6), 700-709.
Moraes, Í. A. P. D., Massetti, T., Crocetta, T. B., Silva, T. D. D., Menezes, L. D. C. D., Monteiro, C. B. D. M., & Magalhães, F. H. (2017). Motor learning characterization in people with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review. Dementia & neuropsychologia, 11(3), 276-286.
Rotheram‐Fuller, E., Kasari, C., Chamberlain, B., & Locke, J. (2010). Social involvement of children with autism spectrum disorders in elementary school classrooms. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(11), 1227-1234.
White, S. W., Elias, R., Salinas, C. E., Capriola, N., Conner, C. M., Asselin, S. B., ... & Getzel, E. E. (2016). Students with autism spectrum disorder in college: Results from preliminarily mixed methods needs analysis. Research in developmental disabilities, 56, 29-40.
