theory and research - SENCology

I read a story last week about Alan Brown, a man who, following a massive stroke and 16 hours of emergency surgery to save his life after a blood vessel burst in his brain, was able to draw and paint masterpieces having previously struggled to draw even ‘stick men’.

This story reminded me of a similar case I read about last summer; ‘The Case of the colour-Blind Painter’, a chapter in the seminal work by Oliver Sacks, An Anthropologist on Mars. It discusses a successful painter (‘Mr I’) who was involved in a car accident which initially left him ‘unable to distinguish colours or letters’. After some time his eyesight recovered remarkably, he even describes that he was '…able to see a worm wriggling a block away'. But despite this targeted improvement he remained absolutely colour-blind.

In an essay on the chapter, James Lawley considers that Sacks’ work can be mapped directly onto a Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP) framework (1). He concludes that '…[Mr I] had the very rare cerebral achromatopsia - total colour blindness caused by brain damage'.

Lawley also notes significant changes in Mr I that developed from this stem change:

'Robert Dilts' (2) model of Neuro-Logical Levels of experience also gives us insight into Mr I's condition. At the Environmental level he experienced a physical change in his brain. This resulted in a reduction of choice at the levels of Behaviour and Capability (he lost his ability to paint in colour). This in turn affected his Beliefs and Values, regarding food and people for instance. Very quickly the changes at the lower levels called into question his Identity as an artist. From here he experienced doubts about the meaning in his life and the contribution he could make to something more than himself, i.e. the Spiritual level.'

Mr I's case clearly shows how dramatic change can occur 'from the bottom up' triggered by occurrences on the neurological levels.

Neurology has always been a fascination of mine, but this article about Alan Brown’s remarkable creative ability, as a direct result of a massive brain injury, is an inspiring one.

It also reminds me of the 5 years I spent working with a young man who had an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). It was a fascinating road of discovery, and certainly not easy, but last week I was pleased to hear that, living and working in a heavily supported and structured environment, he is succeeding. Just goes to show how even out of the most significant trauma, positive end results can emerge.

(1) Lawley, J. (1996) Vision is not Black and White - The Colourless Case of Mr I. Rapport, 34 Winter

(2) Dilts, R. (1990) Changing Belief Systems with NLP (Meta Publications, Capitola)

Today I had the pleasure of entertaining two research students from a local university studying MAs in autistic spectrum conditions (ASC). Since this is a particular area of interest of mine, the local program lead for the MA course recommended that they came to our school and had a look at the provision we are developing for students with needs on the autistic spectrum.

The students were self-funded from Greece, with specific interests in autism. As Europe prepares for the beginnings of free choice in schools for students with specific needs, their studies are timely. Greece, along with several other European countries is bracing itself for ‘inclusion’!

I spent some time referring to research I have written, articles published and good practice at our school that has been recognised by Ofsted as ‘outstanding’. Then we discussed how their research projects could be developed within our school, and I referred them to a reading list I have found useful in the past.

Inclusion for me is so much more than just in our school; to be truly inclusive you have to see the bigger picture and support the wider community. I relish the opportunity to support others striving to make a difference for young people abroad, and it compliments last week’s visit to France well..

ASC reading list
Allan, J. (1999) Actively Seeking Inclusion: Pupils with special needs in Mainstream schools
(Routledge Falmer)

Bowler, D. M. (2007) Autistic Spectrum Disorders, psychological theory and research (John Wiley & Sons Ltd)

James, W. (1890) within LeDoux, J. (2002) Synaptic Self – how we become who we are (Viking Penguin)

Jones, G. (2002) Educational Provision for Children with Autism and Asperger Syndrome –
meeting their needs (Fulton Publishers)

Pollak, R. (1997) The Creation of Dr B; a biography of Bruno Bettelheim (Touchstone)

Willis, P. (1977) Learning to Labour (Saxon House)

Over the past 12 months our school has been part of an ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) research project, looking at the inclusion of young people with ASC in mainstream schools.
It looks at groups of young people with ASC (Autistic Spectrum Conditions), SpLD ( Specific learning difficulties) and those without any identified specific need. This first stage tracks the interactions and participation of the young people; in lessons, at social times, and during unstructured learning opportunities.

Last year we provided five groups for the researchers and this term they are back for three more! The organisation needed from the schools point of view is considerable: parent/carer approval for all students; school acceptance with regard to (sometimes up to 5) researchers wondering around and sitting in lessons; questionnaires and interviews; a questionnaire to fill in as SENCo…this is taking me a long time!

The benefits of being a part of such a significant piece of research are not just short term. For inclusion to really mean something it has to ‘branch out’; we have to share the word. The findings of the research will then inform more in-depth study into the inclusion of students with ASC in our mainstream schools.

I think we do a good job of supporting students with ASC in our school, but you can always do better. Being part of this research project has been an important part of the work we are doing to promote understanding and awareness of “hidden” disabilities and autism.

Off to find the questionnaire now to try and complete it, ready for when the researchers come back to school next week to ‘mop-up’ observations and collect questionnaires.