responds for week six interactive psy635

Interactive Assignment Script

Amber Norris

PSY635: Research Design and Methods

Instructor:  Pamela Murphy

June 8, 2017

INTRODUCTION

One major issue that accompanies Autism is sensory challenges. Sensory challenges or issues tend to go hand in hand with individuals that have autism.? Individuals with autism can have good and bad sensory experiences.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Why does sensory cause so many challenges and issues for individuals that have autism? What are sensory issues or challenges? How can we make sensory more of a positive than negative experience?

EXPLANATION

As humans we have five senses: smell, taste, touch, sound and vision. Not all individuals have all of their senses. Some individuals have more sensitive senses than others or may lack in one area and very strong in other areas. Individuals that have autism may have more heightened senses than others. Some areas an individual with autism may experience these senses in a different way. This research is conducted in order to find out how sensory experiences can be more positive for individuals that have autism.

WHAT IS THE RESEARCH DESIGN UTILIZED?

A quasi-phenomenological study was utilized in this study. The study demonstrated that the quasi-phenomenological method provided a great deal of data that could be analyzed qualitatively (Dickie, et al. 2009). “The method allows for a larger sample than is generally found in qualitative studies, it supports some generalization of findings and permits deeper analysis of subgroups of participant responses” (Dickie, et al. 2009).

The parents were asked two main questions about their children. Each parent(s) were asked to describe how their children reacted to good and bad sensory experiences and how they perceived their children’s feelings from the experiences. When the parents were interviewed they may be asked to explain more in detail how their child reacted to the situation; like what happened to present them with the answer they obtained.

FINDINGS OF THE RESEARCH?

“The most common unpleasant experiences for both groups of children was related to sound” (Dickie, et al. 2009). The findings were placed into two different categories: (1) the sensory-related experiences of children as described by their parents and the parents’ understandings of the concept of sensory experiences and (2) the manner in which their children responded to such experiences (Dickie, et al. 2009).

Sound and noise experiences with the children presented a bad sensory reaction. There were some positive experiences from sound like music that they child liked but the negative outweighed the positive. The visual experiences that the children had also presented negative responses more than positive. Food experiences reported by parents of the children with autism explained many negative experiences. Many of the children had issues with gagging or throwing up from different textures or smells of food items (Dickie, et al. 2009).

Touching experiences provided a larger positive response than negative when it was related to hugs or cuddling because the children like the “pressure” of a hug. Movement was reported to be the most positive response to all of the sensory questions presented. Children like movement like swinging, jumping, running or dancing to music.

CONCLUSION

“The most common pleasurable experience from all of the children involved touch and movement” (Dickie, et al. 2009). “Children with autism were reported to have more extreme or unusual experiences (Dickie, et al. 2009). The parents of the children with autism provided a more detailed responses during their interviews. Also, the parents of the children with autism seemed to either want to make their child “normal” or “special” in order to explain their disorder or non-disorder. All children have different reactions to sensory experiences. These experiences provide parents with a better understanding of what their children like and dislike.

References

Dickie, V. A., Baranek, G. T., Schultz, B., Watson, L. R., & McComish, C. S. (2009). Parent

Reports of Sensory Experiences of Preschool Children With and Without Autism: A Qualitative Study. American Journal Of Occupational Therapy, 63(2), 172-181.