Making On and Off the Spectrum: An Inclusive Program to Support Executive Function,Social Engagement,and STEM Interests in Students on the Spectrum

PURPOSE: Adolescents on the spectrum have interests and strengths for STEM-related careers (Grandin & Panek, 2013; Wei et al., 2013). However, Inclusive STEM programs for students on the spectrum are sparse. To support the engagement of students on the spectrum in STEM learning, this project collaborated with educators and program designers to develop and evaluate an inclusive extracurricular STEM program, the Maker Club, to be implemented in public middle schools by school teachers (Martin et al., 2019). This study explored the experience of students, teachers, and parents in the program and investigated the program's outcomes on executive functioning, social participation, and interests in STEM.

DESIGN: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted in three public middle-schools in a large urban area, where the Maker Club was implemented during 2017-2019. All students in grades six through eight were invited to participate, and a total of 150 students (60 were on the spectrum) consented to participate. Students on the spectrum were verbally-fluent, with an average or above-average IQ, and learning in grade-level classes.

METHOD: Data collection included (1) field observation during the program over the three school years; (2) interviews and focus groups with teachers leading the club at mid- and post-program; (3) interviews with 13 parents of the participants; and (4) interviews with 17 student participants. We conducted a thematic analysis to explore participants' experience with the program and evidence of program outcomes on executive functioning, social engagement, and interests in STEM.

RESULTS: Students demonstrated positive engagement and expressed enjoyment in the program. The students were able to incorporate their personal interests with their project, which promoted their engagement. They also expressed their interest in making and designing and developed career interests in engineering and science. Teachers and parents reported observing positive learning experiences and motivation in STEM practice in students. In terms of executive functioning, teachers and parents reported positive outcomes on problem-solving, task planning and organization, and social engagement in the students. Students were able to articulate the challenges they encountered and their process of developing solutions in student interviews and presentations. Field observation confirmed that students demonstrated problem-solving skills and perseverance to overcome challenges. Students also demonstrated positive social engagement in the program. Teachers reported observing students socializing with peers through sharing and exchanging ideas and problem solving with peers.

CONCLUSION: The Maker Club intends to tap into the designing, building, and making potential of students on the spectrum to support the students' strengths and interests in STEM-related fields. Focusing on our clients' preferences and interests to build and tailor our services underlines the importance of client-centered practice, which is the core essence of our profession of Occupational Therapy (Patten-Koenig & Hough 2017) and this program utilized these interests and channels them to build academic, social and executive functions (Martin et al., 2019). The presentation will discuss the collaboration model for the program and strategies used to support the engagement of students on the spectrum.

References

Grandin, T., & Panek, R. (2013). The autistic brain: Thinking across the spectrum. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Wei, X., Yu, J. W., Shattuck, P., McCracken, M., & Blackorby, J. (2013). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) participation among college students with an autism spectrum disorder. J Autism Dev Disord, 43(7), 1539-1546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1700-z

Martin, W., Vidiksis, R., Koenig, K. P., & Chen, Y.-L. (2019). Making on and off the spectrum. Connected Science Learning(10).

Patten Koenig, K., & Hough Williams, L. (2017). Characterization and utilization of preferred interests: A survey of adults on the autism spectrum. Occupational Therapy in Mental Health, 33(2), 129-140.