Educators Describe the “Best Things” About Students with Autism at School

Pat Mirenda; Anat Zaidman-Zait; Katherine Tombeau Cost; Isabel M. Smith; Lonnie Zwaigenbaum; Eric Duku; Connor Kerns; Stelios Georgiades; Tracy Vaillancourt; Mayada Elsabbagh; Teresa Bennett; Peter Szatmari

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05761-2

Educators Describe the “Best Things” About Students with Autism at School

Pat Mirenda^*, Anat Zaidman-Zait, Katherine Tombeau Cost, Isabel M. Smith, Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, Eric Duku, Connor Kerns, Stelios Georgiades, Tracy Vaillancourt, Mayada Elsabbagh, Teresa Bennett, Peter Szatmari

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Education

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study examined educators’ descriptions of the positive character traits of students with autism spectrum disorder at ages 7–8 and 10–11, using an adapted version of the Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths. The most commonly endorsed strengths at both age intervals were kindness, specific skills, self-regulation, and perseverance. Higher scores for challenging behavior were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsement for Happiness and Courage traits. Higher autism symptom severity scores were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsement for Courage traits. Few significant differences were found for endorsement of trait categories by students’ educational placement or the type of curriculum they received. Results may have implications for student-teacher relationships, educational assessments, and school-based interventions that emphasize strengths and resilience.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-17
Number of pages	17
Journal	Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
Volume	54
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-022-05761-2
State	Published - Jan 2024

Keywords

autism spectrum disorder
character traits
children
positive psychology
strengths
teachers

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1007/s10803-022-05761-2

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title = "Educators Describe the “Best Things” About Students with Autism at School",

abstract = "This study examined educators{\textquoteright} descriptions of the positive character traits of students with autism spectrum disorder at ages 7–8 and 10–11, using an adapted version of the Values in Action (VIA) Classification of Strengths. The most commonly endorsed strengths at both age intervals were kindness, specific skills, self-regulation, and perseverance. Higher scores for challenging behavior were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsement for Happiness and Courage traits. Higher autism symptom severity scores were associated with a lower likelihood of endorsement for Courage traits. Few significant differences were found for endorsement of trait categories by students{\textquoteright} educational placement or the type of curriculum they received. Results may have implications for student-teacher relationships, educational assessments, and school-based interventions that emphasize strengths and resilience.",

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AU - Duku, Eric

AU - Kerns, Connor

AU - Georgiades, Stelios

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AU - Bennett, Teresa

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Educators Describe the “Best Things” About Students with Autism at School

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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