Dataset Information

Supporting tamariki takiwatanga Maori (autistic Maori children): Exploring the experience of early childhood educators.

ABSTRACT:

Lay abstract

The knowledge and attitudes of educators can have a strong influence on the experiences of autistic children who attend inclusive early childhood settings. Autistic children from under-represented ethnic groups, for example, tamariki takiwātanga Māori (autistic Māori children), are likely to face extra challenges and educators need to consider ways to support their cultural development. For this study, we interviewed 12 educators with recent experience supporting tamariki takiwātanga Māori in inclusive early childhood settings. We constructed three themes and seven subthemes from the interview data. We found that educators' understandings of autism were mostly in line with the neurodiversity perspective, which views autism as a difference, not a disorder. We also found similarities between the neurodiversity perspective and Māori perspectives of autism and a need for more training and resources based upon a Māori world view and available in te reo Māori (the Māori language).

SUBMITTER: Tupou J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10913317 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Supporting tamariki takiwātanga Māori (autistic Māori children): Exploring the experience of early childhood educators.

Tupou Jessica J Ataera Chevelle C Wallace-Watkin Carla C Waddington Hannah H

Autism : the international journal of research and practice 20230703 3

<h4>Lay abstract</h4>The knowledge and attitudes of educators can have a strong influence on the experiences of autistic children who attend inclusive early childhood settings. Autistic children from under-represented ethnic groups, for example, tamariki takiwātanga Māori (autistic Māori children), are likely to face extra challenges and educators need to consider ways to support their cultural development. For this study, we interviewed 12 educators with recent experience supporting tamariki ta ...[more]

PMID: 37401005

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Project description:BackgroundExecutive functioning (EF) varies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and is associated with clinical symptoms, academic, and adaptive functioning. Here, we examined whether middle-childhood EF mediates associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent outcomes in children with ASD.MethodsThe Pathways in ASD Cohort comprising children recruited at the time of ASD diagnosis (at 2-4 years-of-age) and followed prospectively across eight subsequent timepoints over ~10 years was used. A subset of Pathways participants (n = 250) with Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF)-Parent Form data from at least one timepoint when participants were school-aged was analyzed. A mediation framework was used to examine whether BRIEF-measured EF across age 7-10 years (middle-childhood) mediated associations between early-childhood autism symptoms (measured using the parent-report Social Responsiveness Scale across age 2-6 years) and clinical, academic, and functional outcomes, indexed at age >10-11.8 years (early-adolescence) using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)-Internalizing and Externalizing Scales, Academic Performance from the Teacher's Report Form, and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Models were rerun substituting clinician-rated and teacher-rated measures, where possible.ResultsMediation models indicated a significant indirect effect of middle-childhood EF on associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and externalizing behavior, academic performance, or adaptive functioning in early adolescence; kappa squared (κ2 ) effect sizes ranged from large to small. Model findings were stable across raters. Middle-childhood EF did not mediate associations between early-childhood autism symptoms and adolescent internalizing behavior.ConclusionsAmong children with an ASD diagnosis, middle-childhood EF may be one pathway through which early-childhood autism symptoms influence a variety of outcomes in early-adolescence. An experimental study targeting middle-childhood EF to improve adolescent academic, emotional/behavioral, and adaptive functioning is needed to evaluate the clinical meaningfulness of these findings.