Autism and engagement with material culture

Wright, Barry; Pearson, Hannah; Spikins, Penny; Scott, Callum; Schofield, John

doi:10.1080/03080188.2021.1951062

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 138 publications

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“…Furthermore, current research evidences significant architectural and brain-functional differences between people on the AS and neurotypical people (O'Reilly et al, 2017), supporting the argument that their engagement with the world is affected by their condition (Wright et al, 2022). This is consequential in understanding affordances for material engagement and its role in shaping cognition.…”

Section: Social Participation and Materials Engagement In Autismsupporting

confidence: 76%

Material engagement shaping participation of children on the autism spectrum: Embodiment and subjectivity in small-group learning

Ferreira,

Muniz

2024

Eur. J. Psychol.

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This study investigated the material engagement and their affordances for participation of children on the autism spectrum (AS) in small-group learning. Framed by a methodology called Idea Diary that fosters social interactions in classroom environments, our focus was on understanding how and when the construction and manipulation of the diary supported children’s participation and knowledge construction in small groups. This investigation was guided by the intersection of the theory of subjectivity developed by Fernando González Rey and enactive accounts of cognition. This framework provided the view of the singularity in the communicative process of children on the AS and the necessary support for examining the mechanisms of engagement that led to children’s participation. We present two case studies of 9–10-year-old boys. Data consists of the diaries produced and used by children and video recordings of children’s interactions during small-group discussions. Our analytical approach included a qualitative semiotic analysis of the materials and a micro-analysis of the social interactions. The results showed, first, that children on the AS continuously engaged in the construction of the diary, expressing elements of their subjectivity—experiences, ideas and the system through which they interact with the world. Repetition framed children’s productions and signalled engagement. Second, material engagement enabled participatory sense-making, which in this study appeared in creating new communicative resources between the child on the AS and their peers and in adapting the narratives, approximating children’s perspectives in conversations. Although contextualised within a specific pedagogical practice, the study contributes to advancing our understanding of the role of material engagement in social participation in learning situations involving children on the AS, particularly relevant in educational psychology and education.

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Section: Social Participation and Materials Engagement In Autismsupporting

confidence: 76%

Material engagement shaping participation of children on the autism spectrum: Embodiment and subjectivity in small-group learning

Ferreira,

Muniz

2024

Eur. J. Psychol.

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“…How individuals with ASC interact with the material world around us today show subtle differences Wright et al 2021). A far greater percentage of individuals with ASC today have extraordinary talents in realistic depiction as a direct result of their enhanced detail focus, for example .…”

Section: Reflecting On a Sensitivity To Emotional Motivations And The...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden Depths: The Origins of Human Connection

Spikins

2022

Self Cite

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In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikins explores how our emotional connections have shaped human ancestry. Focusing on three key transitions in human origins, Professor Spikins explains how the emotional capacities of our early ancestors evolved in response to ecological changes, much like similar changes in other social mammals. For each transition, dedicated chapters examine evolutionary pressures, responses in changes in human emotional capacities and the archaeological evidence for human social behaviours. Starting from our earliest origins, in Part One, Professor Spikins explores how after two million years ago, movement of human ancestors into a new ecological niche drove new types of collaboration, including care for vulnerable members of the group. Emotional adaptations lead to cognitive changes, as new connections based on compassion, generosity, trust and inclusion also changed our relationship to material things. Part Two explores a later key transition in human emotional capacities occurring after 300,000 years ago. At this time changes in social tolerance allowed ancestors of our own species to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies, making human communities resilient to environmental changes. An increasingly close relationship to animals, and even to cherished possessions, appeared at this time, and can be explained through new human vulnerabilities and ways of seeking comfort and belonging. Lastly, Part Three focuses on the contrasts in emotional dispositions arising between ourselves and our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Neanderthals are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today. This new narrative breaks away from traditional views of human evolution as exceptional or as a linear progression towards a more perfect form. Instead, our evolutionary history is situated within similar processes occurring in other mammals, and explained as one in which emotions, rather than ‘intellect’, were key to our evolutionary journey. Moreover, changes in emotional capacities and dispositions are seen as part of differing pathways each bringing strengths, weaknesses and compromises. These hidden depths provide an explanation for many of the emotional sensitivities and vulnerabilities which continue to influence our world today.

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