I have just received the email comments back, from a professional colleague who works with children with special needs, regarding my initial outline questionnaire for dance teachers about their experience teaching children on the Autistic Spectrum.
My friend pointed out that some of the language I had used was not politically correct. I had, for example, asked whether teaching autistic children in a dance class had presented any problems. It was suggested that the word 'challenges' would be better as 'problems' was emotive. I had also used the phrase "deal with autistic children". My friend suggested changing the word 'deal' to 'support'.
I was aware of the need to be careful in the choice of words for describing anyone who has special needs, but I realised that I hadn't addressed this fully, either in this draft questionnaire, or in my blogs. I was very grateful to my friend for drawing my attention to this.
In my desire to ensure that I used ethically correct terminology I looked for guidelines that listed appropriate words to use when referring to people with special needs.
I found the following site which lists some ethically correct terminology for describing people with disabilities:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/inclusive-language-words-to-use-and-avoid-when-writing-about-disability--2
I also found the following blog entitled "The significance of Semantics: Person-First Language: Why It Matters".
This article is concerned with how to address someone on the autistic spectrum so it was especially helpful to me in realising the need to choose my words carefully when writing about and talking to people with special needs in order not to cause offence:
http://www.autistichoya.com/2011/08/significance-of-semantics-person-first.html
When I looked at Ethics for Module 2 the accepted use of language was an area that I omitted to mention.
Another colleague did a mock interview with me on Skype, answering my initial draft questions and providing further suggestions.
I have posted this below:
DRAFT QUESTIONNAIRE-
DANCE TEACHING AND AUTISM
Q: Are you aware of the statistics for autism in the UK?
A: Do you mean the amount of people affected by autism? If so I am not certain but I believe that it is about 1 per 1000.
A: Do you mean the amount of people affected by autism? If so I am not certain but I believe that it is about 1 per 1000.
Q: Do you feel you are adequately informed about autism to be able to teach an autistic child in your dance classes?
A: I have taught children who are at the mild end of the spectrum and that was fine, but I would struggle to know how to accommodate people who are at the severe end of the spectrum.
A: I have taught children who are at the mild end of the spectrum and that was fine, but I would struggle to know how to accommodate people who are at the severe end of the spectrum.
Q. Do you know about the different types and levels of autism?
A: I am aware of some like Asperger's Syndrome for instance, but I don't know them all and I don't know all the symptoms.
A: I am aware of some like Asperger's Syndrome for instance, but I don't know them all and I don't know all the symptoms.
Q: Do you currently have any autistic children in your dance classes?
A: Not at the moment.
A: Not at the moment.
Q: Has the presence of an autistic child in your dance classes ever created any challenges for you, the child, or the rest of the class?
A: No not really
A: No not really
Q: If there were challenges presented by having an autistic child in your dance classes how did you overcome them?
A: N/A
Q: Have you ever had to exclude an autistic child from your dance classes?
A: No
A: No
Q: If you have had to exclude an autistic child from your classes, did you suggest an alternative lesson or offer private tuition?
A: N/A
A: N/A
Q: Do you feel dance teachers should have knowledge of autism?
A: Yes I think it would be beneficial.
Q: Are you aware of the benefits of dance for some autistic children?
A: Yes it helps with co-ordination and social skills.
A: Yes it helps with co-ordination and social skills.
Q: Are you aware that Dance Movement Therapy is one way of helping autistic children?
A: Yes
A: Yes
Q: If workshops and courses on dance and autism were available for dance teachers in your area would you attend?
A: I'm not sure, it would depend on the costs and how busy I was, but ,yes, in principal.
Discussion
This colleague also made comments about use of ethical language. She said that she felt I should not use the phrase "autistic child", but rather "a child with autism". This reminded me of the above blog about using 'person first' language.
She also said that she thought I should re-phrase the first question because it didn't clarify what autism statistics I was referring to. I realised that she was right and that it should have should have said:
"Are you aware of the statistics for how many people in the UK have been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum?"
The email comments and interview responses of my two colleagues helped me with the ethical considerations for my inquiry and I took their views on board when drafting my Ethics Form.
The comments from my SIG made me reconsider the way I have phrased my questions and made me think about other questions that might be more appropriate to ask. I am now looking at other people's BAPP blogs to see how they have phrased their questions for inspiration for another draft of my questionnaire.
A: I'm not sure, it would depend on the costs and how busy I was, but ,yes, in principal.
Discussion
This colleague also made comments about use of ethical language. She said that she felt I should not use the phrase "autistic child", but rather "a child with autism". This reminded me of the above blog about using 'person first' language.
She also said that she thought I should re-phrase the first question because it didn't clarify what autism statistics I was referring to. I realised that she was right and that it should have should have said:
"Are you aware of the statistics for how many people in the UK have been diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum?"
The email comments and interview responses of my two colleagues helped me with the ethical considerations for my inquiry and I took their views on board when drafting my Ethics Form.
The comments from my SIG made me reconsider the way I have phrased my questions and made me think about other questions that might be more appropriate to ask. I am now looking at other people's BAPP blogs to see how they have phrased their questions for inspiration for another draft of my questionnaire.
I suppose this is why our pilot use of tools is so important, as it enables us to see flaws in the structure and content of our research. I certainly haven't thought about the language I am using and of course this has to be seen as an ethical issue, especially for your own topic as it relates so closely to children. This has made me think whether the language I use would apply to me, so this will be something to be aware of for my future use of tools!
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you that piloting the tools and SIG comments is a very valuable exercise for our enquiry. Other people's opinions are really helpful as they can make you think about issues you hadn't explored and also give you constructive criticism.