Photography and Autistic Students

" In addition to improving engagement, photography provides autistic students with a subject that’s accessible and allows them to participate actively and inclusively alongside their peers." -Jennifer Sullivan

 Reflecting back on our last class and hearing about universal design I came across an article written by a teacher about her use of universal design in the classroom. She has started to use photography with her students as a tool to engage and make the subjects she teaches more accessible for all of her students. More then anything she saw the chance to improve the engagement of her students on the Autism Spectrum while benefiting all her students. 

THE BENEFITS OF PHOTOGRAPHY FOR AUTISTIC STUDENTS

1. Photography encourages independence
2. Students’ creative and unique perspectives are valued and empowered
3. Students gain flexibility in their thinking
4. Students improve their communication skills
Personally for me I have had students with Autism and while elements maybe similar between them I have discovered each child with Autism is different and has their own challenges and strengths. Providing digital tools and using them in your teaching is a very creative way of helping this child communicate. I remember last year when I had a student on the spectrum I was constantly changing and incorporating new tools and strategies, fully hoping it would help him but also seeing benefits for the rest of the class as well. 


Comments

  1. JaneNovember 29, 2018 at 10:51 AM

    This is such a great example of universal design. Thanks for posting. I've seen some great examples of young children photographing a piece of work they'd done that might be unconventional, and then dropping it into an app that allows them to narrate what they did and why. It enabled teachers to have another way of understanding children's thinking and to dialogue with children about learning -- and all a pretty simple workflow. So many possibilities.

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