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Running head: A SENSE OF BELONGING 1
Instilling a Sense of Belonging Through the Development
of Social Competence for Children Diagnosed with ASD.
A Research Paper
Presented to
The Faculty of the Adler Graduate School
________________________________________
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Master of Arts in
Adlerian Counseling and Psychotherapy
_____________________________________
By:
Angela Anh Bui
_____________________________________
Chair: Marina Bluvshtein
Member: Erin Rafferty-Bugher
_____________________________________
December 2015
A SENSE OF BELONGING 2
Abstract
While autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the United States, many
individuals in Western society do not have the accurate understanding of what Autism Syndrome
Disorder is and how it affects an individual developmentally. Every individual is innate of
having the desire to be significant and have a sense of belonging, but children diagnosed with
ASD struggle with a sense of belonging every day due to the lack of social competence. While
the diagnosis of autism impairs an individual's social communication and social interaction,
many academic teachers are unaware of the different strategies and interventions they can
implement in their classrooms to help the development of social competence. On average, a child
diagnosed with autism costs families in the United States on average $60,000 annually for
services. While the diagnosis is rising, it is leaving many families and communities feeling
hopeless due to there being no medical detection or cure for the diagnosis. As the individuals on
the spectrum become older, the Western society lacks resources to help individuals who are
diagnosed with ASD find careers. Helping increase the awareness of autism while also providing
families with the right services to help their child begin early interventions by age three will help
children overcome social competence at a faster rate. This project brings awareness of autism
interventions and strategies towards helping discouraged children become instilled with a sense
of belonging through the development of social competence.
A SENSE OF BELONGING 3
Table of Contents
Instilling a Sense of Belonging ....................................................................................................... 5
Brain Development and Learning ............................................................................................... 6
Social Competence ...................................................................................................................... 6
Social Interest .............................................................................................................................. 8
Sense of Belonging.................................................................................................................... 11
Positive Reinforcement ............................................................................................................. 13
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 13
Personal Summary ........................................................................................................................ 15
Personal Evaluation ................................................................................................................... 15
Participants’ Evaluation ............................................................................................................ 16
Proposed Improvements ............................................................................................................ 16
Future Plans for the Manual ...................................................................................................... 17
References ..................................................................................................................................... 19
A SENSE OF BELONGING 4
Instilling a Sense of Belonging Through the Development of Social Competence for Children
Diagnosed with ASD
Inclusive education of children with special education needs (SEN) is becoming more
popular, but the effectiveness of educating these children in this environment has not yet been
proven, mainly because there has been a lack of empirical investigation (Hornby, 2011). Further,
Vislie (2003) stated that, apparently, the implementation of efforts to include children with SEN
in general education is difficult for teachers and is not always evident. It is very important for
school professionals to work together with parents to help children with SEN reach their
educational objectives (Eccleston, 2010). It is crucial to a child’s improvement that both
teachers and parents work together in determining the educational needs by collaborating on
choosing and implementing interventions and strategies together. Smit, Driessen, Sluiter, and
Sleegers (2007) pointed out that it is necessary for parents to be aware that their involvement in
the education of their child includes being involved at home (e.g., home supervision) and at
school (e.g., participation in school activities with their child or in aspects of the school’s
organization).
Parental involvement in education enhances children’s social functioning and addresses
behavioral problems due to both the teachers and parents working together to implement an
individual education plan. Pomerantz, Moorman, and Litwack (2007) stated that parental
involvement in schooling encourages the development of children’s cognitive and metacognitive
skills and fosters their achievements because parents with higher socioeconomic status and
higher levels of education are more likely to get involved in their children’s education. It has
been observed that parents are more likely to get involved in their children’s education when
parent-teacher relationships are equal (Kim et al., 2012). The likelihood of the child succeeding
A SENSE OF BELONGING 5
at school increases when what he or she does at school is supported and continued at home (Sad
& Gurbuzturk, 2013). The researchers found that the parents who communicated well with the
teachers were more likely to perceive that they were equal partners with the teachers. It is
crucial that teachers make it a priority to involve the parents in the children’s education.
Pomerantz et al. (2007) also found that parents who also have a higher level of education would
be more involved in the education of their child with SEN than will parents who have a lower
level of education.
Carr (2013) found that children with SEN experienced more difficulties in doing
homework than peers did, and that homework tasks were an important factor in improving the
achievement of these children. According to Vignes et al. (2009), implementation of inclusion
education is influenced by many factors, but the key factors are attitudes of teachers, parents, and
peers toward children with SEN who are pupils in mainstream schools. Based on the findings in
this study, and those of other researchers suggest that education leaders should place more
emphasis on parental involvement in promoting inclusive education of children with SEN with a
strong focus on those parents with lower levels of education and those who lack the pedagogical
knowledge of the specific individual educational needs of children with SEN (Sukys, Dumciene,
& Lapeniene, 2015).
Instilling a Sense of Belonging
The key purpose of the presentation is to bring awareness to general education teachers and
effective interventions to use in their classrooms. Although much of this review is not presented
as Adlerian based, many Adlerian beliefs and values were useful in both the understanding of the
research found as well as during the presentation. The most useful term that was used during the
presentation was a sense a belonging and all behavior being purposeful (Ansbacher &
A SENSE OF BELONGING 6
Ansbacher, 1956). Adlerian beliefs were intertwined throughout this entire presentation and was
very useful in helping illuminate the importance of positive social interaction and reinforcement.
Brain Development and Learning
The autism spectrum disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social
communication and interaction while many times the child portrays repetitive patterns of
behavior, interests, and-or activities. From this early and primary disruption, abnormal brain
development is canalized because the individual with an ASD must develop in a highly social
world without the specialized neural systems that would ordinarily allow him or her to partake in
the fabric of social life, which is woven from the thread of opportunities for social reciprocity
and the tools of social engagement (Pelphrey, Shultz, Hudac, & Vander Wyk, 2011). Individuals
diagnosed with ASD have difficulties managing complex social interactions with peers due to
not having the innate inability to understand other people’s goals and intentions. While a
majority of individuals with ASD display some level of intellectual impairment, the severity of
ASD varies. Psychologists argue that the reciprocal relationship between brain disruption and
atypical social development drives homogeneity in the syndrome’s presentation even in the
presence of enormous phenotypic and genotypic heterogeneity (Pelphrey et al., 2011).
Social Competence
Social perception refers to the initial stages of evaluating the intentions and psychological
dispositions of others by using their gaze direction, body movements, hand gestures, facial
expressions, and other biological-motion cues (Allison, Puce, & McCarthy, 2000). The first
signs of autism become prevalent when the child is two years of age. Normal brain development
is canalized because the individual with an ASD must develop in a highly social world without
the specialized neural systems that would ordinarily allow him or her to partake in the fabric of
A SENSE OF BELONGING 7
social life, which is woven from opportunities for social reciprocity (Pelphrey et al., 2011). The
label the social brain was coined by Brothers (1990), and it served to elegantly capture the core,
emerging idea. The social brain is defined as the complex network of areas that enable
individuals to recognize other individuals and to evaluate their mental states (e.g., intentions,
dispositions, desires, and beliefs). The key idea is that human beings, in response to the unique
computational demands of their highly social environments, have evolved cognitive mechanisms
and an associated, dedicated neural system that support such abilities as recognizing other agents
and their actions, individuating others, perceiving the emotional states of others, analyzing the
intentions and dispositions of others, sharing attention with one another, and representing another
person’s perceptions and beliefs (Pelphrey et al., 2011).
Once neuroscientists began to become familiar with the concept of the social brain, they
became exceptionally interested in social perception. It was first discovered that neurons within
the temporal cortex and amygdaloidal complex of monkeys were sensitive to and selective for
social objects (e.g., faces and hands) and complex social stimuli (actions in a social context and
direction of gaze; Brothers & Ring, 1993; Brothers, Ring, & Kling, 1990; Desimone, Albright,
Gross, & Bruce, 1984; Perrett, Rolls, & Caan, 1979, 1982; Perrett et al., 1984, 1985; Rolls, 2014.
On the basis of these findings, researchers began to think seriously about the possibility of the
network of the different brain regions dedicated to processing social information. The key idea
is that human beings, in response to the unique computational demands of their highly social
environments, have evolved cognitive mechanisms and an associated, dedicated neural system
that support such abilities as recognizing other agents and their actions, individuating others,
perceiving the emotional states of others, analyzing the intentions and dispositions of others,
sharing attention with one another, and representing another person’s perceptions and beliefs
A SENSE OF BELONGING 8
(Pelphrey et al., 2011). Individuals with autism grow up in such a stressful environment that
demands high social competencies. For example, in Western society, it is rude of an individual
not to engage in eye contact while someone is speaking with him or her.
Findings have shown that specific brain regions are dedicated to processing social
information. Researchers have begun to find information pertaining to the brain development of
children with ASD, which has in return helped behavior analysts create independent treatment
plans for each child based on their lacking skills and brain development.
Social Interest
Many times students who have a disability tend to struggle more to be successful in
general classrooms than their peers. In time, the first signs of innate social interest appear, the
organically determined impulses of affection blossom forth and lead the child to seek the
proximity of adults (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). It is common for these particular students
to experience significant social difficulties in class that make them stand out from their peers.
Many times they lack skills such as establishing friendships and have feelings of isolation and
loneliness. As social interest is one of the most important terms in Adlerian therapy as it is in
everyday life, teachers need to be educated on strategies and interventions that can be used to
create environments that support and promote social competence and acceptance. General and
special educators face the challenge of creating environments that support and promote both
academic and social success for students in their schools. These educators must address the
diverse values and social norms to assist students in becoming more socially competent (Meadan
& Monda-Amaya, 2008).
According to Interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC),
the teacher understands how children develop and can provide learning opportunities that support
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the intellectual, social, and personal development of each learner (Principle 2). Although
INTASC has increased the emphasis on social development, many students in today’s
classrooms do not validate the social competence skills that are essential for successful
interaction amongst the society in whole. Given the current emphasis through No Child Left
Behind (NCLB; 2002) on academic content and skills, it becomes important not to overlook
social competence, a powerful predictor of school adjustment, success in school, and later
success in life.
Many educators and parents do not always realize the importance of promoting and
enhancing social competence in today’s schools; however, in order for social competence to be
enhanced in everyone’s community, it requires collaborative efforts amongst everyone involved
in each child’s life. Yet, it is not uncommon for the home-based life of children to not have
social competence be a priority in their home environment. With that being said, collaborative
efforts among general classroom teachers, special educators, and support personnel is crucial.
Teachers working together to achieve common goals is essential to major school reform efforts,
most importantly those aimed at improving the inclusive education for students with disabilities
(Brownell, Adams, Sindelar, Waldron, & Vanhover, 2006). School is many times misunderstood
to society in general. Although general and special educators collaborate routinely on their
students’ academic programs, they should not neglect the importance of promoting social
competence while also preventing problem behaviors.
It has been found that students with a learning disability (LD) demonstrate more social
difficulties while student with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) tend to experience
difficulties establishing and maintaining relationships. Mathur and Rutherford (1996) stated that
social skills could be viewed as “socially acceptable patterns of behaviors that enable students to
A SENSE OF BELONGING 10
gain social reinforcement and acceptance and avoid aversive social situations” (p. 21). Although
there is not a written rule for the social skills construct, it can be represented in three categories
that include social interaction, prosocial skills, and social-cognitive skills. Gresham, Sugai, and
Horner (2001) wrote, “Social skills are behaviors that must be taught, learned, and performed
whereas social competence represents judgements or evaluations of these behaviors within
across situations” (p. 333). In order for educators to attend to students’ social skill needs, both
general education and special education teachers should create environments that support the
development of social competence. It is also important that teachers stay attuned to levels of
social adjustment and have an awareness of how their students process social information. A
good way for education departments to guarantee their teachers are attuned is to have mandatory
in-services with social competence being the focal point. When teachers have an awareness of
how students process social information, they will be able to know what specific social skills
each child needs to develop greater levels of social competence.
Children show an interest in their peers from an early age, and this interest develops into
complex social interactions that characterize peer relations throughout later childhood and into
the adult years. “It is important to have at least one friend” (Bryan, 1997, p. 63). It has been
found that developing and sustaining friendships plays an important role in children’s social
development and mental wellbeing. Finally, teachers should collaborate on how to create
opportunities for social interaction throughout the school day. Activities that encourage peer-
mediated learning (e.g., cooperative learning, class-wide or cross-age peer tutoring; Dion, Fuchs,
& Fuchs, 2005). Another piece of information that is found to be very astonishing is that students
with mild disabilities tended to have lower social status in general education classes while they
improved when placed with disabled peers. Mental health workers can draw one conclusion:
A SENSE OF BELONGING 11
physical placement alone (in the general classroom) is not sufficient for improving the social
status or social competence of students with disabilities (Conderman, 1995; Sale & Carey, 1995).
The environment should foster a sense of belonging in the classroom among class participants.
The teacher of the classroom should never tolerate teasing, harassing, or bullying behaviors. By
promoting positive attitudes toward diversity in the classroom, teachers should be able to discuss
the importance of individual contributions to the community and stress individuality through
their curricular choices and the delivery of instruction adapted to the student’s needs (Meadan &
Monda-Amaya, 2008). Students should also be encouraged by the teacher to express their
individuality and strengths by taking on responsibilities throughout the school day (e.g., line
leader).
Sense of Belonging
Researchers have demonstrated the importance of peer relationships in childhood and
later life adjustment (Meadan & Monda-Amaya, 2008). Peer relationship difficulties in
childhood could result in later serious internalizing difficulties, including withdrawal and
depression in adulthood. In addition, low acceptance by peers has been found to be a predictor
of grade retention, school dropout, mental health problems, and behavior problems (Asher,
Erdley, & Gabriel, 1994; Ladd, 1999). It is typically very difficult for disabled children to
establish peer relationships due to their lack of social competence, but many times peers of
disabled children lack the knowledge of the cause and reasoning behind their disabled peers’
bizarre and unwanted behaviors. Children with ASD are known to look at a person’s lips instead
of eyes while someone is speaking to them, which in turn causes reciprocal communication
difficulties (Meadan & Monda-Amaya, 2008). Another abnormal behavior that children with
A SENSE OF BELONGING 12
autism many times have a lack of understanding about is emotions and other personal
boundaries.
Children with disabilities are many times discouraged because they lack understanding of
others, and others lack an understanding about them. All behavior has meaning and is
purposeful. Every time a child with ASD negative behaviors increase, it is many times due to
the fact that they feel discouraged and belittled. Pavri and Monda-Amaya (2002) noted that
teachers are responsible for creating environments in which students learn the skills and
strategies needed for solving social problems, resolving conflicts, developing friendships,
learning to work cooperatively with others, and enhancing self-esteem.
Creating a classroom community in which the students feel safe, valued, and have a
strong sense of belonging. Sapon-Shevin (1999) described characteristics of a classroom
community as
• Security: classroom community is a place where students feel safe to be themselves;
• Open-communication: students accept individuals’ differences and talk openly about their
concerns;
• Mutual linking: students are encouraged to know their classmates;
• Shared goals; students work together and help each other reach a shared goal; and
• Connectedness and trust: students feel they are valued and important members of the
community.
Building such a community provides a foundation for all students to develop social
competence and feel academically successful in a supportive learning environment (Meadan &
Monda-Amaya, 2008).
A SENSE OF BELONGING 13
Positive Reinforcement
Positive behavior support (PBS) is a systems approach to enhance the capacity of
schools, families, and communities to design effective environments. PBS focuses on creating
systems of support to improve lifestyle outcomes for all children and youth by reducing problem
behavior (United States Department of Education Technical Assistance Center on Positive
Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2006). When a child presents a behavior or task that is
desired, it is important that the teacher or care-taker provide positive reinforcement. Contracting
for different types of positive reinforcement can be one of the most difficult tasks for someone
that begins working with the child. It is crucial to write down what stimuli effectually works and
what does not. When the child realizes if they engaged in a certain behavior, and the behavior
gets them what they want, the child is more likely to engage in that specific behavior again. For
some children, a simple pat on the shoulder may be a high reinforcement for a specific child, but
another it may be a lot more difficult to find what the child will work for. For example, JT will
contract for multiple trials of gross motor work for a ‘piggy back’ by the therapist, but RJ may
only effectively work if he gets a few minutes of playing with her iPad. The term positive is
used in conjunction with reinforcement to signify a specific form of reinforcement. It does not
necessarily mean something good but instead the term positive relates to the mathematical term
of adding.
Conclusion
Although scientists and researchers have yet to find a cure for autism, the more people
who are educated about and have a grasp of the understanding of the diagnosis, the more the
community itself can work together to help individuals with autism gain a sense of belonging.
Children who have an organ inferiority, who are weak, clumsy, sickly, retarded in growth, ugly
A SENSE OF BELONGING 14
or deformed, or who have retained infantile forms of behavior are very prone to acquire through
their relations to the environment a feeling of inferiority (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956).
Interventions that have been created to help build the skills of individuals with ASD have helped
family members of those diagnosed gain a better understanding of the disorder as well as coping
skills to help decrease their child’s undesired behaviors. The development of the child is
increasingly permeated by the relationships of society to him or her. One of the most important
aspects of the individual diagnosed is to have a strong and positive support system to enhance the
feelings of encouragement and a sense of belonging. If children desire only to rid themselves of
difficulties, they will continue backward (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). The child can only
keep their courage if they have a purpose in view for their efforts. For example, the
interventions that are implemented towards a child’s independent treatment plan (ITP) are
designed to support the child’s self-growth in lacking areas and also to increase the child’s self-
confidence. Humans desire the positive feelings of affection. Human beings are innate to acquire
the desire of a hug, kiss, friendly smile, wave, etc. Any child desires this satisfactory feelings not
only from their family but also comes to desire it from his teachers and later from society. The
need for affection thus becomes an essential part of the social feelings (Ansbacher & Ansbacher,
1956).
It is common for children with ASD to lack the social skills of establishing friendships
and many times experience feeling isolated and lonely. To help the child build better social
skills, teachers need to be educated on strategies and interventions that can be used to create
environments that support and promote social competence and acceptance. Peer relationship
difficulties in childhood could result in the individual to have insufficient relationships as well as
lack self-worth later on in life.
A SENSE OF BELONGING 15
If a child is to draw together his powers and overcome his difficulties, there must be a
goal for his movements outside himself, a goal based on interest in reality, interest in others, and
interest in cooperation (Ansbacher & Ansbacher, 1956). Helping a discouraged child become
instilled with a sense of belonging is not an easy fix that occurs quickly. It takes persistence and
the practice of different strategies to help that particular individual become introduced with the
feelings of significance and a sense of belonging. For the child to make improvements, it is
crucial that all support systems collaborate due to the importance of the child’s reinforcements
and prompts to be consistent. According to Vignes et al. (2009), implementation of inclusion
education is influenced by many factors, but the key factors are attitudes of teachers, parents, and
peers toward children with SEN who are pupils in mainstream schools. According to those
findings, it is important for educational providers to prioritize parental involvement in children’s
education.
Personal Summary
Personal Evaluation
I became very passionate about autism when I began working as a behavior therapist
throughout my time as a student at Adler. In the beginning of my journey, working with children
with autism, I never expected to see myself wanting to do anything else. The more kids I worked
with, the more passionate I became about the disorder. I believe the most thrilling part about
being a behavior therapist was working with children who were diagnosed all over the spectrum.
From ages 4 to 12, I have never met a child who I can describe as the ‘same.’ Each child has
their strengths and weaknesses, as anyone does. Although, there has not been a cure for the
diagnosis of autism, it is unfortunately becoming more prevalent in the United States. My
A SENSE OF BELONGING 16
personal goal is to enhance the autism awareness in my community as well as those surrounding
me.
Writing this manual enforced me to deepen my understanding and knowledge of autism
by researching scholarly articles, supporting statistics, and research findings. The hardest part
for me was being able to break down the information that I established and to present it to those
in my hometown community. I wanted to make sure that the information I presented would
increase the knowledge and understanding of autism for the audience, but my main goal
throughout this project was to instill the passion I have in autism with others to share the
knowledge they learned through me with others in their community. Another important aspect of
my manual was to promote social competence and provide strategies for prevention and
intervention in managing challenging behaviors.
Participants’ Evaluation
Copies of the participant’s evaluations were handed out in the beginning of my
presentation. Many general education teachers said that they learned a lot of new knowledgeable
material that will be beneficial to use in their classrooms while some special education teachers
mentioned that they knew a lot of the material presented yet said that they took one or two new
strategies from the presentation. There were approximately 30 participants who came to listen to
my presentation, and most of them acknowledged that they felt how passionate I am about
autism and working with children.
Proposed Improvements
Overall, I felt that I brought my A-game to present for not public speaking for over 9
years. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone during this master’s project by stepping in
front of a crowd, and even more so, presenting to many of my own high school teachers;
A SENSE OF BELONGING 17
however, I definitely can acknowledge and own that I am perfectly imperfect after spending my
last 2 years in courses at Adler. There are a few things that I wish would have gone differently.
One was being cut short on my overall presentation due to many teachers leaving and clocking
out of work 30 to 35 minutes into my presentation. This made me feel anxious because I
practiced and timed my presentation to last 45 minutes, and my inferiorities set in when I started
seeing participants leave the presentation early due to it not being on their ‘timed work hours.’ I
must admit that this made me feel inadequate and that my presentation was not good enough for
them to stay and listen to. The discussion piece of my presentation was also cut short due to a lot
of participants leaving; however, there were about 10 people who stayed after my presentation to
discuss questions and resources.
Future Plans for the Manual
This manual is part of my final requirements for the completion of my Master’s Degree
in Adlerian Studies. Although, my career path has changed direction since the beginning of my
journey at Adler, every experience and individual that I have met at this school has had a positive
impact on my life. I plan on continuing to work with children with autism and in school districts.
Someday, it would be great to share my manual with other schools and teachers. Throughout the
process of the master’s project, I most definitely faced a fear of public speaking and gained new
insight and knowledge about autism and social competences in the classroom. Writing this
manual confirmed the passion I have for working with children with disabilities. It has most
definitely made my career path clearer, as it was fairly foggy the past 12 months. After
graduating, I want to continue to reach out to teachers, parents, and the community in whole to
bring awareness of social competence and autism. It takes an entire community to help make a
change. Collaborating together and brainstorming strategies and interventions to help inclusion
A SENSE OF BELONGING 18
children improve their social competence skills is one step towards helping a child find their
sense of belonging.
A SENSE OF BELONGING 19
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