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ABSTRACT

THEORY AND OBSERVATION OF EXPRESSION
IN AN AUTISTIC CHILD
By
Debra Lee Wallett

The purpose of this study is: (l) to gain a theoretical
understanding of the expressive process, particularly as it
relates to an autistic child, and (2) to present two styles
of inquiry organized on mechanical and organic structures.

The theory of expression to be examined is based on
R.G. Collingwood's, The Principles of Art. This theory does
not utilize the common meanings of expression, such as
communication, ventilation of feelings or symbolic
representation, but rather relies on a definition of
expression as a process of self-clarification. The expressive
process,as thus defined.is concerned with elements of
internal processing as well as observable behavior. This
study maintains that in such processes the meaning behind
the observable is as significant as an accurate description
of the observed.

The two methods of research utilized were: (1) a
reliability study aimed at developing an accurate behavioral
account of a prototypic example of expression, and (2) a

phenomenological, historical inquiry which attempts to

Debra Lee Wallett

present the meaning behind the observable event through re-
flecting the consciousness of the child and his teacher.
Each method of inquiry brings to the research a set of
presuppositions which influence the procedures and type of
information gathered. Based on a discussion of a theory of
presuppositions, the set of presuppositions for each method
will be presented.

The research was based on a project entitled, "Multi-
Sensory and Expressive Approach to Teaching Autistic
Children." The subject was a four-year-old autistic child
who participated in this program. The presuppositions upon
which this program was based and the teaching methodology
will be presented. In addition to a description of this
particular project, a rationale for expressive education
will be developed.

Results obtained from the reliability study showed a
high degree of agreement between judges on all test items.
Further, affective behavior was reliably observed by all
judges in their assessment of the expressive process. The
judges were also as reliable in their qualitative assessment
as in the observation of molecular behaviors.

The phenomenological historical inquiry emphasized
the concrete nature of the phenomena and tended towards
preserving the "lived experience" and providing insight into

the more internal elements of the expressive process.

Debra Lee Wallett

It was concluded that if the primary purpose was to
produce generalizations and abstract accounting of the
phenomena, then a behavioral inquiry and presentational
style seemed sufficient. However, if the primary interest
was in non abstract patterns and how to get at the meaning
behind the event, then a phenomenological historical

writing style seemed proper.

THEORY AND OBSERVATION OF EXPRESSION
IN AN AUTISTIC CHILD

By

Debra Lee Wallett

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of Art

1976

AC KN OWLEDGEMEN T

The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge the

guidance and direction of Dr. Charles Steele in the

preparation and completion of this research project.

ii

Chapter
1.
2.

5.

TABLE

INTRODUCTION . . . . .
THEORY . . . . . . . .
Expression . . . . .
Autism . . . . . . .
Presuppositions . . .
RESEARCH SETTING . . .
Subject . . . . . . .
Observational Setting

Discussion . . . . .
MECHANICAL ORGANIZATION

Presuppositions . . .
Reliability Study . .
Subjects . . . . . .
Procedure . . . . . .
Results . . . . . . .
Discussion . . . . .
ORGANIC ORGANIZATION

Presuppositions . .

Case History . . . .

iii

OF CONTENTS

OF PHENOMENA.

OF PHENOMENA. .

Page

10
15
15
16

19
20

20
21
23
23
25
26
27
29
3o

Chapter

6. EXPRESSIVE EDUCATION

7. CONCLUSIONS

FOOTNOTES . .
BIBLIOGRAPHY .

.iv

Page
36

45
49

51

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study is twofold: (l) to gain a
theoretical understanding of the expressive process,
particularly as it relates to an autistic child, and (2) to
present two styles of inquiry organized on mechanical and
organic structures.

Emphasis will be placed on: (1) developing the con-
ceptual framework for the expressive process in accordance
with R.G. Collingwood's book, The Principles 9: Art,

(2) describing two methods of inquiry which may be utilized
in an attempt to understand this process, and (3) presenting
educational rationale based on a multi-sensory and ex-
pressive approach.1

The concept of expression in this study focuses on a
notion of expression, particularly artistic expression, as
a process primarily of self-clarification. As thus defined,
the expressive process is vitally concerned with the
elements of internal processing as well as observable
behavior. In such a concern the meaning behind the
observable is as significant as an accurate description of
the observed. This problem is particularly complex in an
autistic child where the behavioral cues that one usually
relies on to gain access to internal processing are either

frequently absent or their meanings are so uncommon to be

easily misunderstood.

In Chapter II a theory of expression and the con-
sciousness of the self as stated by R.G. Collingwood is
presented. This is followed by a discussion of autism and
behaviors that, (l) are identified consistently in some
form throughout the literature on autism, and (2) have
relevance to the theory of expression. Lastly, this
section describes the function of presuppositions in the
formulation of thought, particularly concerning scientific
thought.

Chapter III presents the setting of a project entitled,
"Multi-Sensory and Expressive Approach to Teaching Autistic
Children" conducted by the author and others at the Kresge
Art Center, Michigan State University, during the summer
of 1975. From the materials gathered on a four-year-old
autistic child, one of the subjects of this study, an
attempt will be made to apply the theoretical and
methodological considerations discussed to an actual case
study.

Chapter IV contains a mechanically organized analysis
of pre-selected video tapes in an attempt to ascertain
whether the occurrence of behaviors indicating "expression"
can be reliably observed as well as the presuppositions
upon which a methodology is based.

The presentational style which the author finds more

compatible with understanding the meaning behind the

observed behavior is phenomenological history. The
organization, presentational style as well as the pre-
suppositions are developed in Chapter V.

The concern of Chapter VI is the development of a
rationale for expressive education and the examination of
such concepts as individuality, idiosyncratic meaning and
causality.

Chapter VII concludes with a summary and further

observations.

CHAPTER II
THEORY
Expression
The concept of expression presented here is based on a
theory of expression developed by R.G. Collingwood in his
Principles 2; Apt. In defining expression, Collingwood

 

utilizes none of the common meanings, such as communication
of one's self to another, ventilation of feelings or symbolic
representation. Expression, as viewed by Collingwood, is a
process phenomenon characterized by the development of self-
clarification.

Human experience, according to Collingwood, always con-
tains emotional elements even though the individual may not
be conscious of them. Therefore, an individual may
misinterpret, be confused about or be unable to attend fully
to his experience and thus operate on either incomplete or
inaccurate information concerning his own being, the world
around him, and his interaction with that world. In the
expressive process these emotions are brought to the level
of consciousness.

Collingwood discusses the emotional affective response
in ”expression as a process” by explaining that the
emergence of a feeling and the expression of this feeling
occur simultaneously.2 Thus, for example, feelings are
not experienced at a conscious level then expressed, but
rather through the process of expression feelings become

conscious. 4

Collingwood also makes explicit the distinction between
the expression of an emotion and merely ”exhibiting the
symptoms" or ventilation of an emotion. In the latter, all
that is required is that the individual display some
response, such as a cry in response to pain. However, that
response need not contain any element of awareness or
consciousness of the self.

Although Collingwood's discussion of expression
focuses on the element of emotion, he does not intend that
experience and one's awareness of his experience be
divisible into emotion versus the external world or awareness
of one's emotions as being separate from awareness of the
experience as a whole. As one's idiosyncratic meaning
system is the basis for understanding not only of the self
but of the self within a context, clarification of the self
necessarily includes a simultaneous clarification of the
lived experience in which one finds himself.

For Collingwood, the consciousness of self includes the
emerging awareness of one's surroundings, more specifically
of others.

Consciousness does not begin as a mere
self-consciousness, establishing in each one

of us the idea of himself, as a person or

centre of experience, and then proceed by some

process, whether of 'projection' or of argument

by analogy. to construct or infer other

persons. Each one of us is a finite being,

surrounded by others of the same kind: and the

consciousness of our own existence is also the

consciousness of the existence of these others.
Being a form of thought, consciousness is

liable to error (Chapter X9 7): and when first

a child discovers its own existence it

simultaneously discovers the existence not only

of its mother or nurse but of other persons

like a cat, a tree, a firelight shadow, a piece

of wood, where errors in admitting this or that

neighbour to the category of person are no doubt

correlative to errors in its conception of its

own personality. But, however much the

discovery (like any other discovery) is at first

involved in error, the fact remains that the

child's discovery of itself as a person is also

its discovery of itself as a member of a world

of persons.

. . the discovery of myself as a person

is also the discovery of other persons around

me.3

Collingwood also recognizes that not every experience
is alike in quality or complexity. Specifically, he
identifies a hierarchy of three levels of experience:
psychical, imaginative and intellectual.

The psychical level of experience is concerned primarily
with experience at the body level and the emotions
accompanying the level are for the most part automatic
involuntary bodily responses, such as the startled reaction
of a child to a loud unexpected noise or the tense muscles
of a man under attack.

It is at the imaginative level that consciousness or
awareness first becomes evident. Experience at this level
is no longer fleeting but distinguishable, attended to,
recognized, held in one's memory and reflected upon. The
sense in which Collingwood uses imagination is to equate
it with consciousness.

At the intellectual level, experience which has become

conscious is available for comparison with other experience
and construction of relationships between experience. At
this level one may begin to consider the meaning of an
experience beyond that which is straightforwardly presented,
such as the understanding of symbols and abstractions.

These levels of experience are utilized by Collingwood
primarily to provide an understanding of the complexity of
the substance of experience and prevent the over-simplifi-
cation of the material which is available to the individual
in the process of expression.

Although stating these levels of experience in the
form of a hierarchy, Collingwood takes care to point out
that each higher level of experience contain elements of
the lower. Thus although emotions at the psychical level
are not in themselves ones of which the person is conscious,
this does not exclude them from being contributing features
of self-clarification. Indeed in terms of the hierarchy of
experience they form the primitive foundation upon which

all experience is based.

Autism

Since Kanner's initial identification of the autistic
syndrome, numerous theoretical descriptions and behavioral
checklists have been postulated for use in diagnosing the
autistic child. Still there exists a considerable amount
of disagreement as to the specific characteristics which

should be utilized in determining autism and thus no one

description has been accepted as definitive by professionals
working with autistic children.

Characteristics, such as aloofness, avoidance of
social contact, excessive self-stimulation, unrealistic
fears, inappropriate affect, discrepant intellectual skills,
sensory abnormalities, preoccupation with mechanical objects,
insistence upon sameness, repetitive behaviors, difficulty
with eating and toileting, unusual or non existent speech,
and distortion in mobility patterns have been identified
with varying frequency in the literature as indicators of
childhood autism.

Rather than attempting to examine such a broad range
of characteristics, the author has chosen in this study to
focus on two general categories of behaviors that, (l) are
identified consistently in some form throughout the
literature with autism, and (2) have relevance to the
theory of expression.

The first such category has been referred to by such
terms as “autistic aloneness",u ”aloofness and social
withdrawal"5 and extreme ego-centricity. Although the
terms differ with each author, such descriptors refer to a
common category of autistic characteristics concerned with
the child's disinterest in or even aversion6 to the
external world. Within this general category it is possible
to identify more specific characteristics which have been

observed in varying degrees of frequency in autistic

populations. Such characteristics are: lack of exploratory
play, avoidance of social contact, unrealistic fears, lack
of awareness of other people or the environment, in-
appropriate or non existent verbal communication, and
excessive self-stimulation.

Closely related to this both in terms of interactive
function and behavioral description is a category generally
referred to as lack of self-awareness.7 The characteristics
of this category include such behaviors as inappropriate or
non existent affective response, lack of initiative
behaviors, peculiar posturing and self-directed aggression.

In utilizing such categories and characteristics it
must be noted that not all need be evident nor will the
form of the observed characteristics necessarily be the
same in every child. For example, disinterest or rejection
of the external world may be exhibited in one child primarily
by lack of exploratory play and avoidance of social contact,
while another child may participate in exploratory play but
be affectively unresponsive, non communicative and maintain
social contact with only one particular individual avoiding
all others.

Often the autistic child is highly aware of selected
aspects of his environment, such as an extreme concentration
when spinning small objects, watching his fingers move as
they are held in the sunlight, despair over a remembered

object moved from its usual place, or the song that was

lO

heard once on the radio which becomes the only words to be
spoken by him.

Rarely does this extreme selectivity serve to bring
the child to a higher consciousness: i.e., an awareness of
himself, but rather fixates and fosters rigidity. On the
other hand, the self-clarifying function of expression
provides the child with strategies which are necessary for

effective and continued growth.

Presuppositions

In all research the method of inquiry ought to be
appropriate to the nature of the phenomena being studied.
Each methodology, be it historical inquiry, empirical
analysis, biographical description or phenomenological
observation brings to the inquiry some presuppositions which
influenced the format, the assumptions concerning the basic
nature of the phenomena and the possibilities of
interpretation. This section will serve to provide the
reader with some understanding of the function of pre-
suppositions in the formulation of thought, particularly
concerning scientific thought.

Collingwood makes a distinction between the function
of three basic forms of thought - prepositions, suppositions,
and presuppositions.8 Propositions are those statements
which are subject to verification: i.e., those statements
which may be shown to be either true or false. Suppositions

are statements made not for the purpose of verification, but

11

for the purpose of examining the questions which might
arise from the making of such a statement. Presuppositions
are those statements upon which any question or proposition
is based. Presuppositions function in all thought as
logically prior to the statement or questions to which it
is related.

In scientific thought presuppositions function not
only as logical prior to the thoughts to which they are
related, but also temporally prior. According to
Collingwood, a person who is thinking scientifically rather
than casually is aware that the statement he makes is made
in answer to a question and that the question asked is based
on a presupposition. When engaging in scientific thought,
the person not only recognizes the existence of pre-
supposition, question and statement, but takes care that his
thoughts proceed temporally in the proper order.

An important distinction to remember in Collingwood's
theory is that prOpositions are subject to verification,
whereas suppositions are not. Thus any attempt to verify
a supposition results in a nonsensical argument. This
distinction between propositions and suppositions is also
useful in understanding Collingwood's definitions of a
relative and an absolute presupposition. Since in addition
to functioning as the logically prior thought to a state-
ment or question, a relative presupposition also

functions as an answer to a question, a relative presupposition

12

like a proposition is subject to verification: i.e., it
may be examined as to its truth or falsehood. However, by
definition an absolute presupposition functions only as
the logically prior thought upon which any statement or
question is based, never as an answer. It, like a
supposition, is not subject to verification. Any
examination of an absolute presupposition like that of a
supposition, may be concerned only with exploring the
logical efficacy or the questions that arise from such a
presupposition.

The fallacies to be found in pseudo-scientific
thinking arise, according to Collingwood, chiefly from
(1) a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of a
prOposition as distinguished from a supposition and thus,
(2) either the refusal to recognize the existence of
absolute presuppositions or the equation of absolute
presuppositions with relative presuppositions.9

The function of absolute presuppositions in thought
is described by Collingwood as follows:

We do not acquire absolute presuppositions by
arguing: on the contrary, unless we have them
already arguing is impossible to us. Nor can
we change them by arguing: unless they re-
mained constant all our arguments would fall

to pieces. We cannot confirm ourselves in them
by 'proving' them: it is proof that depends on
them, not they on proof. . . . We must accept
them and hold firmly to them . . . .

But not without asking what they are.10

13

Although Collingwood adopts the attitude that
absolute presuppositions are not subject to verification,
he does not absolve them from the necessity for serious
examination of another nature. In the last statement in
the previous quote, Collingwood indicates the first step
in this examination - that of asking what are the absolute
presuppositions upon which one is basing his thoughts. In
relation to the presuppositions made by others, this
inquiry, he maintains, is of an historical nature concerned
with discovering what absolute presuppositions served as
the foundation for various schools of thought.

In defining the study of absolute presuppositions as
an historical inquiry, Collingwood acknowledges that there
is neither a universal set of presuppositions operating
throughout time, nor within a given time merely one set of
presuppositions held by all. Admittedly a set or as
Collingwood terms it a "constellation" of absolute pre-
suppositions may dominate an historical era: however, he
maintains these presuppositions are subject to continual
strain, indicating the existence of conflicting pre-
suppositions held by others and accounting in part for the
eventual formation of a new set of predominate absolute
presuppositions. In identifying the absolute
presuppositions held by a group of people, one is involved
not merely in identifying a single absolute presupposition,

but a set or "constellation."

14

Once a person is aware of such presuppositions, then
he ought, according to Collingwood, to examine what it
means to have such presuppositions.

All the same, knowing that he does it

means more than being able simply to state the ‘

fact that he does it: it means also being able

to explain what exactly it is that he is doing.11

The importance of such an examination lies not in
attempting to determine the truth or falsehood of such
presuppositions but in being able to determine the
logical efficacy or questions which may rightfully be
derived from such presuppositions.

Chapter III will describe the research setting and
present the educational presuppositions. Chapters IV and
V will each contain a research method of inquiry.. Each
methodology will be based on a certain ”constellation” of
absolute presuppositions and according to Collingwood the
proper examination of absolute presuppositions lies not in
arguing for the truth or falsehood, but in knowing what they

are and what knowledge one might reasonably expect to gain

from the respective presuppositions of each method.

 

 

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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH SETTING

This chapter will contain a description of a research
project entitled, 'Multi-Sensory and Expressive Approach to
Teaching Autistic Children” conducted by the author and
Charles Steele at the Kresge Art Center, Michigan State
University, during the summer of 1975. From the materials
gathered on Jerry, one of the subjects in this study, an
attempt will be made to apply the theoretical and
methodological considerations discussed to an actual case

study.

Subject
The subject was a h% year-old male child previously

diagnosed as autistic. Reports obtained from the parents
before participation in the project stated that the subject
had no speech other than a random emission of the ”ah"
sound, no eye contact, either banged his head on objects
or banged his head with objects, avoided contact with
anyone other than his mother, would spin rather than play
appropriately with circular objects, such as the wheel on
his wagon, become highly anxious and have temper tantrums
if wet or messy clothes were not removed, displayed little
affect, was fearful of various objects and activities,
such as his tricycle and bathing or swimming, would wander
away and not respond to his name and had a short attention

span together with hyperactivity.

15

l6

Observational Setting

The ten week project was conducted on the following
schedule: 2% hours per day, 3 days per week for the first
5 weeks: 5 hours per day, 3 days per week for the second
5 weeks.

During the project the participants varied from five
to ten children with the major segment of the project
(seven weeks) being conducted with an average of seven
children participating. The subject and his older brother,
both diagnosed as autistic, participated for the full ten
week period. With the exception of two week placements
each of a retarded child, a hyperactive child and an
emotionally disturbed child, the other participants were
normal children from a local school district and attended
on an average of seven weeks each. The children were
divided into two groups -- the first from ages 3 to 6,
the second from ages 7 to 12. The staff ranged in number
from three to seven and participated on a rotating basis
with the number of teachers in the room ranging from two
to four adults. Sessions in the room and most special
activities were video taped. With the exception of daily
outdoor activities and special activities, such as
swimming, ice skating, picnics, canoeing and camping, the
project was conducted in a large room divided into three
basic sections: one small area for video tape equipment,

one area for materials, such as tools, toxic paints,

l7

sewing materials, etc., reserved for use by the older
children, and a large area to be used by both groups of
children. The large area contained materials and space for
expressive media activities, gross motor activities, fine
motor activities, reading and story time, games, toys and
music. All such materials in this area were placed for
easy access by any of the children.

Although specific activities varied daily, the basic
structure of the subject's program for the last five
weeks consisted of independent study (child-initiated
activities), expressive media activities, clean-up, out-
door activities, snack. teacher-directed learning
activities, lunch, rest period, music and gross motor
activities.

The program was based on the following pre-
suppositions:

1. In order to develop perceptual awareness

and accuracy of the world, children need
structured input from adults.

2. However, every child also needs an acceptable
means of self-expression. Expression is
defined as primarily the active clarifying
of one's covert imagination, emotions and
unreflected experiences. Such expression
is an integral part of the development of
self-identity.

3. Growth requires experiences to be internalized
and integrated in the child's life. We can
cause a child to change his external behavior:
however, the processes of internalization and

integration are less subject to simple cause
and effect relationships.

18

4. The intrinsic needs of an autistic child, such
as security, stimulation, expression and
identity are similar to those of the normal
child: only the manifestations are different.

The basic components of the methodology were:

1. A primary concern will be the daily establish-
ment of a constant nurturant and trusting
relationship between the teacher and student
through affective interrelating combining both
verbal and non verbal aspects.

2. Materials which are geared to the child's
needs and interests, such as puzzles, manipula-
tive toys, art supplies, gross and fine motor
materials, musical instruments, etc. will be
gradually introduced to the classroom. The use
of these materials will be primarily determined
by the child's interests with the teacher
guiding his experience when necessary. The
room arrangement and materials should reflect
a multi-sensory emphasis aimed at developing
a child's perceptual awareness and accuracy.

3. Activities involving expressive media, such as
water, sand, pudding, finger paint, shaving
cream, clay, etc. will be scheduled on a
regular basis. The primary function of these
activities is to provide the child with a media
for self expression which is at a level meaning-
ful to him. Ancillary functions are the
development of fine and gross motor skills,
facilitation of perceptual awareness (including
such specifics as color and shape discrimination),
language development and encouragement of social
and affective interrelating.

#. All instruction of a specific nature, such as
language acquisition, fine and gross motor
competency, social relating discriminatory
abilities, etc. which involve structured input
from the teacher, should occur in a meaningful
experiential context rather than in isolation.

The author of this study participated as a teacher-
researcher with the majority of time being spent in a one-

to-one relationship with the subject.

19

Discussion

In order to conduct further examination of the process
of expression in an autistic child, it was necessary to
first establish evidence of the existence of expression as
an observable phenomenon. The results of the study indicate
that the behaviors may be reliably observed and, therefore,
subject to further study. Given the high reliability of
observation on all of the ten categories, further
examination could focus on establishing correlations between
the various categories. Such examination could provide
information concerning the structure of the expressive
process. Attention given to the frequency of the
observable behaviors within various activities could
provide information concerning the development of expression
in relation to instructional or therapeutic programming.

Establishment of correlations between observable
behaviors and rating scales may also provide information
concerning what behaviors observers' rely upon in the
making of judgements.

The similarity in reliability between participant
observers and observers indicate that even those who have
not had experience in working with autistic children are
able to make accurate observations from the video tape
presentations. However, all of the judges in the study had
some experience in the field of art and, therefore, may
represent a bias with respect to their observation of

expressive behavior.

CHAPTER IV
MECHANICAL ORGANIZATION OF PHENOMENA

One of the concepts which played a major role in the
educational approach to working with autistic children in
the program described in Chapter III was that of
expression as developed by R.G. Collingwood.

The focus of this chapter will be to describe a
mechanically organized analysis of pre-selected video tapes
in an attempt to ascertain whether the occurrence of
behaviors indicating "expression" can be reliably observed.

Before presenting the research methodology and
results obtained, the following represents the
constellation of absolute presuppositions upon which such

a methodology is based.

Presuppositions
The following method presupposes:

l. A mechanical organization defined by the
notion that the whole may be understood as
an addition of its parts. In the mechanical
view a phenomenon may be unique and complex
because there may be an infinite number of
elements to be considered: however, were all
of the elements known they would function in
a simple additive fashion in forming the
whole.

2. The proper method for examining phenomenon
is to reduce the molar event down to those
molecular elements which may be directly
observed and measured.

3. Objectivity as observed by overt behavior.
Objectivity is defined as those elements of

20

21
phenomena which have physical prOperties
and are observable.

4. The notion of operational definitions,

i.e., that an idea is scientifically
meaningful only when defined by a measurable
process.

5. A deterministic viewpoint in which for

every effect there exists a cause and it
is assumed that all behavior is a function
of causal factors. Coupled with a
reductionistic approach, these two pre-
suppositions aim towards a methodology which
seeks to account for phenomena by reducing
it to a series of causal factors.
Reliability Study,

In an effort to establish the reliability of behaviors
indicating expression by an autistic child, judges were
asked to make recorded observations from edited video
tape selections of a particular autistic child during his
participation in the summer program. Two edited tapes were
prepared for observation. One was intended as a prototypic
example of expressive behavior, the other as an example of
non expressive behavior.

In keeping with the concerns identified in the
previous discussion of autistic characteristics and
components of expression, both the behaviors selected for
observation and the rating scales were concerned with the
child's response to another individual. Because the
occurrence of repetitive behavior in autistic children is

frequently mentioned in autistic literature, two non

interactive categories (Repetitive Verbalization and

22

and Repetitive Physical Behavior) were included.

Behaviors selected for observation were as follows:
(1) positive physical interaction defined as any movement
by the child towards another person which is directed
towards a common goal: (2) positive verbal interaction
defined as any vocalization by the child indicating either
pleasure, such as laughter, giggling, and/or any
vocalization indicating agreement with the other, or is
an attempt to produce sounds requested by the other:
(3) negative physical interaction defined as any physical
movement directed towards another person where the goal
is to indicate displeasure or induce the other to move
away from the child: (A) negative verbal interaction de-
fined as any vocalization, such as cries or screams, which
indicate displeasure or disagreement with the other:
(5) avoidance - any movement by the child in which the
goal is to move away from the other, or any refusal by the
child to respond to either the physical and/or verbal
response by the other reoccurring: (6) repetitive behavior
defined as any physical movement in which the goal and
movement are unchanging: (7) non repetitive behavior
defined as any physical movement in which the goal and
movement are changing: (8) repetitive verbal defined as
any vocalization which is reoccurring, monotoned, and
unchanging.

In addition to recording the observation of the

23

above behaviors, judges were also asked to rate their
impression of the child's awareness of self and others on
a five point scale of sufficient to insufficient awareness
and his affective response on a five point scale of

appropriate to inappropriate.

Subjects

Seven judges were asked to score the video tapes.
The criterion for selection of judges 4,5,6,7 was that they
all had participated as teachers in the autistic program.
In addition, judge h is a certified elementary school
teacher with eleven years teaching experience, judge 5 is
an assistant professor of art education and certified art
teacher with fifteen years teaching experience, judge 6 is
a graduate student in art education and author of this
paper, judge 7 is an undergraduate in special education.
The criterion for selection of judges 1,2,3 was that they
had no participation in the autistic program. Judge 1 is
a graduate student in education, judge 2 is an undergraduate
in art education and judge 3 is a graduate student in art

education.

Procedure

From a selection of one hundred 60-minute tapes, four
edited tapes were prepared. The first served as the
training tape for observing non expressive behavior: the

second served as the training tape for expressive behavior:

24

the third was the research tape exhibiting non expressive
behavior: the fourth was the research tape demonstrating
expressive behavior. Each tape was edited so that thirty
seconds of visual material appeared followed by ten seconds
of blank tape. There were six 30-second cuts on each
training tape and seventeen 30-second cuts for each re-
search tape. Sony video tape playback equipment provided
rewind, stop, forward, pause and fast forward operations.

All judges were required to complete one training
session immediately preceding the scoring of the research
tapes. The following procedure with one noted exception
was followed for scoring both the training and research
tapes.

Prior to viewing the tape, the definitions of
behaviors listed previously were verbally presented. Any
questions concerning the definitions were discussed. Each
30-second segment of the tape was presented in the following
manner: during the first viewing judges were directed to
observe the material, but make no recordings. During the
second viewing, judges were directed to score for physical
behaviors (definitions l,3,5,6,7,9,lO). During the
third viewing, judges were directed to score for verbal
behaviors (definitions 2,#,8). Previous to viewing the
tapes, judges were instructed to record observation of
the defined behaviors during the viewing of the segments
and to mark the five point scales after viewing the

segment the second time.

25

After each 30-second viewing during the training
session only, the judges' recorded observations were com-
pared and discussed. Frequently, examples of each of the

behaviors defined were pointed out by the trainer.

Results

Analysis of the data using coefficient alpha showed
a high degree of agreement between the seven judges on all
ten categories.

Coefficient alpha for each of the ten categories over

thirty-four trials was computed with the following results.

 

 

 

TABLE I
Category Reliability Coefficient Alpha
All Judges P (l-fi) P-O (4-?)

Pos. Phy. .98h6l .96726 .97669
Pos. Verb. .98775 .9834? .9751?
Neg. Phy. .99259 .98295 .98663
Neg. Verb. .97951 .89433 -99164
Avoidance .97780 .95398 .9799?
Rep. Beh. .98n33 .9u119 .9799u
Non-Rep. Beh. .9663? .92862 .9253?
Rep. Verb. .98121 .9290? .9777h
Awareness .9866h .978h? .97hh2
Affect. Resp. .9905? .9810# .981fi0

26

Discussion

 

In order to conduct further examination of the process
of expression in an autistic child, it was necessary to
first establish evidence of the existence of expression as
an observable phenomena. The results of the study indicate
that the behaviors may be reliably observed and, therefore,
subject to further study. Given the high reliability of
observation on all of the ten categories, further examination
could focus on establishing correlations between the various
categories. Such examination could provide information
concerning the structure of the expressive process.
Attention given to the frequency of the observable behaviors
within various activities could provide information con-
cerning the development of expression in relation to
instructional or therapeutic programming.

Establishment of correlations between observable
behaviors and rating scales may also provide information
concerning what behaviors observers' rely upon in the
making of judgements.

The similarity in reliability between participant
observers and observers indicates that even those who have
not had experience in working with autistic children are
able to make accurate observations from the video tape
presentations. However, all of the judges in the study had
some experience in the field of art and, therefore, may
represent a bias with respect to their observation of

expressive behavior.

CHAPTER V

ORGANIC ORGANIZATION OF PHENOMENA

The intrinsic character of expression, "individuality,"
personal meaning and the idiosyncratic nature of any
particular person makes these concepts understandably
difficult to examine by the methods of inquiry which rely
upon the logical positivist notions of operational
definition and empirical verification. However, the
difficulty here may well lie more with the limitations of
a methodology than with the validity of the concept.
Therefore, rather than discard the concept of expression,
let us turn to a method of inquiry which may prove more
suited to the nature of expression.

In The Iggg of History, Collingwood describes an
historical method of inquiry concerned with the perception
of observable events and alsg to the "penetrating to the
inside of events and detecting the thought which they
express."12 This he maintains requires more than con-
sciousness as defined as awareness or perception. It
requires self-consciousness in which the perceiver becomes
aware of something and, in addition, becomes aware of himself
as entering into thought concerning what he perceives.
Empirical observation is concerned primarily with the
observation of an event, its relation to other observed

events and the laws of cause and effect by which one may

27

28

generalize about the relation between events and often form
predictions concerning future events.

In historical inquiry which is concerned with the
nature, thought or meaning within the event, one must
attempt both to reconstruct the thought of the individual
and to be aware of the process of thought in which one is
engaged. To enter into such an inquiry it is necessary
not only to accurately perceive the single event, but to
maintain a perception of the wholistic nature of the
individual over time and space and to know, confront and
interpret the characteristics of one's own thought processes.

The presentational style which is compatible with this
more elusive aspect of expression is called "phenomenological
history.”13 Phenomenological history is an attempt to
explain or to minimally formalize patterns in a non
abstract manner. Its style maximizes the pure phenomenon
rather than making a priori attributions of a general
nature.

There are various styles which may be employed in
getting at the meaning behind the event. For example,
writings of Virginia Woolf, Henry James and Richard Hughes
represent literary styles utilized in the attempt to get at
the consciousness of children.14 Despite the variation in
presentational styles an adult, in trying to present a
child's consciousness, is performing an investigation

similar to the business of an historian in the sense

29

discussed by Collingwood. Both are concerned with re-
constructing the events as experience rather than primarily
as a generalizable abstraction. The task is particularly
difficult in Jerry's case as evidence reconstructing the
form and content of his consciousness is complicated by the
fact that he is both a young and non verbal child.
Utilizing the concepts presented in Collingwood's
view of historical inquiry and based on the following
presuppositions, this chapter will attempt to get at the
meaning behind the observable event: i.e., to gain some

insight into the expressive event as a lived experience.

Presuppositions
The following method presupposes:

1. An organic organization in which the whole may
not be understood simply as the sum of its
parts. Rather the structure has a way of
transforming the whole so that its meaning is
greater than the sum of its parts. In the
organic view, as opposed to the mechanical,
complexity and uniqueness may not be attributed
to the notion of an infinite number of elements.
Even if the elements were finite and identifiable,
the inter-relationship among them would transform
the whole so that it has a characteristic of its
own.

2. In examining a phenomenon a certain amount of
reductionism is necessary: however, care should
be taken to minimize the reduction and pre-
serve the integrity of the whole.

3. The criteria for objectivity is that it be un-
prejudiced, unbiased, non emotional, value-free
and non perspectible. This criteria does not
insist that objectivity be equated with external
observable events and placed in Opposition to
subjectivity. In this sense, it is possible for
elements involving internal consciousness, such

30

as thought or the making of qualitative
judgements to be considered objective as lohg
as they meet the above criteria. Such
objectivity is concerned with seeing a thing
for what it is rather than what you want it
to be.

u. The validity of an idea does not depend on its
being observable nor must it be subject to
operational definition and empirical
verification. Rather, any serious inquiry
which adds to the understanding of the
phenomenon and whose structure is not
arbitrary, but objective in the sense defined
above, may be considered.

Case Histogy

 

The following account reflects a movement in
presentational style from an emphasis on observational
reporting to an expression of the meaning of the events
and also indicates a corresponding change in the con-
sciousness of the child and the teacher.

Unlike many autistic children whose behaviors are so
noticeably bizzare, Jerry's autism was more subtle and
initially difficult to assess. At first, he appears active,
curious, independent and a physically attractive child.

As a rather distant and intermittent observer, one is
minorly impressed with some peculiarities in body stance
and a continual voicing of the "ah-ah-ah" sound.

I had been involved in various capacities for the
previous two years with normal, autistic and retarded
children. Jerry was one of the most difficult children to

touch that I had experienced.

31

At times, his rejection of physical contact was active --
displaying itself by pushing me away, pulling himself away,
running from my presence, crying or hitting. Most
frequently, however, he was quite passive but so efficient
in his avoidance that it seemed calculated. For example,
he would position himself so that the table, chair, toy or
some such object was between him and me or he would adOpt
a route of movement that maintained a sizeable distance
between himself and others. Whether active, passive or
some combination of both, the net result was that Jerry's
avoidance of contact with people seemed a consistant and

natural life style.

Although such observations seemed to fit rather
neatly with the literature on autism, I found that they
did not provide me enough insight into Jerry's life. In
focusing primarily on the standard categorizations, such
as avoidance and perseveration, these a priori categories
frequently operated to narrow my consciousness of his
experience. I, therefore, began to examine these
observations in a manner which might provide me with more
insight into their meaning.

Generally, I believe Jerry found people to be an
interference, an irritation to his contentment in being
by himself. He was completely absorbed and occupied when
playing by himself. He would stack and cuddle soft blocks

for a much greater period of time than my patience would

32

have allowed me to do. He would be so intent and energized
that simply classifying his behavior as perseverative
seemed somewhat over-simple. What could he have been
experiencing with those six-inch multi-colored soft blocks?-
Can Jerry even think verbal comments? Would Jerry think
verbally? Were he to verbally describe his experience,
might he talk of:

"Colors, colors, colors! Yellow, red, blue, black!
Focus and I see only one. Move and they blur. Pile them
up and look down. The pile is short! Squat and look up -
it's tall! Push the pile over - the colors move, separate,
bounce. Pick them all up. Soft on my hands, soft on my
face. Press my head into them and they disappear. Stand
up - there they are again!"

Could this be an almost endless monologue, an endless
excitement for Jerry in the sensations he experienced with
his favorite toys? An excitement that was more than mere
repetitive stimulation, rather an involved concentration
that allowed him to continually discover those immediate,
sensuous elements of experience which children learn to
yield to the process of categorizing and objectifying
their sensibilities in preparation for conceptualization.
If this were so, how might Jerry see the approach of a
communicative person.

"Colors! Colors! Colors! Focus and I see only one.

Blur them all together . . . Gone! The colors are gone!"

33

"Jerry, what do you have there? Look, there is an
elephant on this block."

"I want to see the colors blur. You're moving them
around. Can't see my colors!"

"There is a dog and a tree and . . ."

"Away! Go away! You're moving the colors and I can't
see them! The colors were falling and you picked them up
before they bounced. Let me see them!"

As I tried to get into Jerry's consciousness, his life
began to take on a coherence in which the initial impression
of Jerry as an active, curious, noisy, independent,
attractive child converges with the behaviors of avoidance,
perseveration and inappropriate affect. More than a mere
addition of these descriptive elements, Jerry's presence
began to have a consistency to it.

I was somewhat apprehensive about using expressive
media with Jerry. If he and I were sharing an experience
which I directed, he would be required to stay with me and
attend. In the past, this had been a source of difficulty.

It was rare that Jerry allowed himself to want
something I would present to him. Frequently, while in my
presence, he would reject whatever new item I showed him.
Later he would go by himself to try it out. Even though
he seemed to have an intrinsic love for moving,
manipulative objects, he would rather delay his curiosity

than deal with my presence.

34

Initially, being unaware of this strategy, I wondered,
"Were the materials too difficult? Was there some common
but subtle characteristic about them which he finds
offensive but I was missing? Have I assessed his skills
inaccurately?" It was not until I paid as close
attention to his independent wanderings over the entire
span of the day, sometimes days, that I began to notice
his gradual use of the new materials when I was a safe
distance away. I then realized that his curiosity was
active and that he was not afraid to explore, but such
exploration could not be demanded. Could he be drawn out?
Perhaps.

I needed something that would intrigue him yet push
him forward, help bridge the gap between the strategies
with which he was comfortable and new strategies that
might expand his awareness. What did he get excited about?
He loved motion and being able to manipulate material:
however, he seemed less interested in things that required
a prescribed form of manipulation to produce action. He
seemed to respond to the sensory elements of experience--
touching, smelling and watching things move. Could I
incorporate myself into his experience, not as an inter-
ference, a dictator of his actions, but as a companion,
compatible with the flow of his desires and whose input
added to the experience.

I decided on shaving cream. It was tactile, easily

manipulative and could be put into motion. Yet it

35

required some new strategies. Although it could be
manipulated, each action produced a somewhat different change
in the material. It would move but Jerry or I would have to
keep it moving, for unlike the mechanical motion of a
spinning t0p or a pull toy, its motion required continual
interaction.

I put some on his hands and then clapped mine together.
The shaving cream splashed. Jerry saw it fly and then
clapped his hands. It splashed again. He giggled and ran
away only to circle back, still laughing, to reach up to me
for more shaving cream. I was laughing with him. Jerry
had not only stayed but, for the first time, he showed a
desire to continue, an obvious emotional acceptance of my

presence.

CHAPTER VI
EXPRESSIVE EDUCATION

The concern of this chapter is to develop a philosophy
of education and to examine this philOSOphy systematically
by utilizing Collingwood's method of identification and
examination of presuppositions of the following question:
what is the function of a teacher in the education process
of an individual learner?

Although at first sight the question appears to be
common enough, it does involve three important pre-
suppositions: (1) that a teacher serves some function:
(2) that education is a process: and, (3) that the learner
has individuality of his own. Beginning in reverse order,
these presuppositions will be examined.

The concept of individuality in its fullest sense
and the one used in this discussion is concerned with
more than that which enables us to simply identify and
separate one person from another. It is concerned with
that which gives each of these distinguishable lives
personal meaning. Here "meaning" is not used in the sense
of symbolic interpretation, but rather as indicating
intention, purpose, significance or knowledge.15 Personal
or idiosyncratic meaning is that knowledge or signification
which, though it might be communicated or expressed, is

peculiar to the individual and operates to interpret,

36

37

guide and integrate experience from within.

Beittel, in Mind and Context ig_the Art 2: Drawing,
describes the integration of experience with idiosyncratic
meaning. Thus, experience:

. . . reflexively enters into idiosyncratic

meaning. . . . They become part of images and

plans, or of organized structures into which a

hierarchy of acts of execution are already

integrated.l6
In fact, even when we carry ideas

foreign to us, or of an abstract nature, to

the drawing situation they are immediately

transformed into idiosyncratic meaning 'in

situ' or we feel we cannot proceed as exploring

decision systems.l7

Most of the content of education, such as reading
skills, math and science concepts, etc. is of this external
nature and requires input by either teacher or materials to
initiate comprehension. As external they are understood to
be neither of first nature "intrinsic" or of second nature
"internalized" to the child. They are in some manner
foreign to the child and will remain so until the elements
of integrative processing come into play facilitating
internalization. When "integrative processing" occurs
the content matches the child's meaning system and provides
him with maximal understanding. This meshing of
idiosyncratic meaning with content is a basic component
of internalization. An educator who establishes the con-

ditions necessary for the content to merge with idiosyn-

cratic meaning, but whose content lacks potency, has failed

38

to be a responsible teacher. However, one whose content

is well organized and worthwhile knowing, but who fails to
establish the conditions necessary for the child to
internalize this content has also failed. Organization

of content is concerned primarily with methods of
instruction, generalizations about individual and group
development and empirically oriented evaluation procedures.
The nature of this information concerned with either
technique or generalizations allows for the appropriateness
of means-end terminology and a priori description. It is
communicated primarily in the "public” language of the
educational community. As "public" language the terms used
are characteristically generalizations which may be
operationally defined.

"Integrative processing," being less subject to the
"public" language of operationally defined events have
received much less attention. As pointed out earlier,
content without "integrative processing" (the meshing of
content with a child's idiosyncratic meaning system) is
as ineffective as the converse. Therefore, education,
despite the more elusive nature of the conceptualizations
required in discussing this process must also seriously
consider this area.

Beittel speaks both of the elements of technique, i.e.,
external content and idiosyncratic meaning. The analysis

provided concerns drawing: however, as before may be

39

applied without loss of significance to any content area.

. . . training which ignores idiosyncratic

meaning seems progressively to usurp its place,

leaving us with art as technique, with the

academic and not the imaginative. Then the

artist must struggle to overthrow what is

irrelevant in his habits and what does not

produce sufficient uncertainty between desired

and remembered conditions to keep his own

processes alive. He must find his way back

to a personal base.18

Training which ignores idiosyncratic meaning and
necessitates an individual finding his way back to his
personal base, rather than maintaining and developing that
personal base as an integral part of the educational
process, has either ignored or misunderstood the concept and
function of expression in human development.

Idiosyncratic meaning without form or content represents
feeling at the unconscious level. As part of our existence
of which we are unaware, these feelings have an effect on
our experiences but over which we may actively exert little
influence or control. Form and content without
idiosyncratic meaning represents elements extrinsic and
foreign to our existence and thus often incapable of being
utilized.

Expression as a process in which idiosyncratic meaning
and content are integrated and brought to conscious
awareness functions as internalized knowledge which the

individual may use in directing his own experience.

As stated by deCharms:

4O

. . when man perceives his behavior as stemming
from his own choice he will cherish that be-
havior and its results: when he perceives his
behavior as stemming from the dictates of
external forces, that behavior and its results,
although identical in other respects to
behavior of his own choosing, will be devalued. 19

Most teaching methodologies use techniques oriented
to both means-end terminology and a priori description.
The "integrative process” of expression, however, is
subject to neither of these practices. In his Egggyhgg

Metaphysics, Collingwood identifies one sense of the word

 

cause:
Here that which is 'caused' is an event

in nature, and its 'cause' is an event or

state of things by producing or preventing

which we can produce or 2prevent that whose

cause it is said to be.2

"Cause" is concerned with control. Two events in
nature are identified in the following manner:

As events grouped in pairs where one

member in each pair, C, is immediately under

human control, whereas the other, E, is not

immediately under human control but can be

indirectly controlled by man because of the

relation in which it stands to 0.21

Within this framework Collingwood describes situations
where one could potentially find multiple 'causes' for a
particular effect. What determines the identifying of
one in particular as the 'cause' is that, (1) it is
subject to human manipulation and, (2) such manipulation
brings about the effect we are trying to achieve. "Cause"

in this sense is further seen as conditional and relative.

41

"Conditional" means that cause, by itself, may never produce
the effect unless certain other conditions are fulfilled.
"Relative” means that the cause is identified in relation
to that over which one has control. In this sense, means-
end terminology more accurately describes the relation
between the two events. The end being that which we con-
ceive in anticipation of its actually occurring: the means
being that which we manipulate in order to achieve the goal.
Not just any means will do, however. Because one is aware
of the desired end, the conditional factors and one's
position with respect to control, the nature of the means
is pre-determined.

Thus a fundamental aspect of this sense of the word
'cause' or more appropriately the means-end relationship
is that both the end and the means are pre-determined.
The fact that one achieves a goal different from that
originally identified does not contradict the pre-
determined nature of this relationship, but rather indicate
that one was inaccurate in assessing either the nature of
the end in mind, the existing conditions, one's position
in relation to control or the appropriateness of the means.

Thus those things in education which are concerned
with operationally identifiable means and ends rightfully
include discussion of objectives (ends), teaching
techniques (means), child deve10pment, classroom organization,

etc. (conditions) and teacher-role (relativity of control).

42

However, in the crucial process of integration of
content with idiosyncratic meaning, the end is not pre-
determined and thus the application of the means-end
procedures is not only inappropriate, but serves to further
the misunderstanding of this process and hinder its
occurrence.

Expression, previously defined as the integration of
idiosyncratic meaning with content may also be understood
as the active clarifying of one's covert imagination,
emotions and unreflected experiences. Although one may
say that an end of self-clarification may be identified in
relation to the process of expression, this end is one of
an emerging consciousness and its form and meaning cannot
be known in advance of its occurrence. Its identification
is necessarily a posteriori rather than a priori. As such
there are no generalizable techniques or means which may
be formulated based on a knowledge of the desired end. The
procedures utilized must, in fitting with nature of
expression, also be emergent, reflexive, changing and of
the moment. In this sense the act of teaching itself may
be defined as expressive and analysis of the conditions
more clearly aligned with historical inquiry, as previously
described. The process thus not only involves the emergence
of the consciousness of the child, but also the emergence
of the consciousness of the teacher as an integral part

of the alive learning situation.

43

The role of a teacher in education as "integrative
processing" is thus intimately related as an observer to
the role of an historical rather than scientific inquirer
and as a participant to an expressive rather than pre-
scriptive agent. The teacher must be able to not only
observe events, but with a wholistic understanding of the
student realize the meaning behind the observable. He
must not only be able with this knowledge to direct and
prescribe, but to participate in the consciousness of the
student so that his directions and involvement have an
internal rhythm and meaning to both the child and himself
rather than being routines whose reference is an external
structure.

Tsugawa has described the nature of this relationship
as follows:

In a relationship between a master and a
pupil (consider Socrates and Meno), the master
needs to know how far the pupil can be pushed,
what his intellectual as well as spiritual re-
sources are: that the pupil indeed wants to,
and should become what he aspires to achieve.
But none of this is worth anything unless the
teacher is aware of the extent and boundaries
of his own resources, especially in his
capacity to draw things out of the pupil . . .
The pupil is like a plant - to be loved, and
nurtured, but sometimes to be forced. But one
must know when to do so. . . Where there is
love (and thus respect), there will be freedom,
too, for the pupil to become his full self,
though whatever he does will, of course, show
its roots in his tradition. It is false love
that binds the pupil in the vise of his
training, preventing his individuation. . .
Chains of influence that as a whole do not
yield coherent meanings do not constitute a
tradition.22

44

Direction should be such that the student comes to
more clearly comprehend the nature of his personal base
so that he may come to rely with increasing confidence on
his ability to meaningfully direct himself. A path which
leads the student away from his personal base and towards
reliance on external feedback for affirmation of the
credibility of his existence has undermined one of the
characteristics which distinguishes man from all other
beings - his capability for self-consciousness. Thus at
a fundamental level such direction is essentially de-

humanizing.

CHAPTER VII
CONCLUSIONS

The method of inquiry employed in Chapter IV focused
on accounting for the occurrence of observable behavior.
Its aim was to provide an understanding of the structure or
pattern of the phenomenon at an abstract level. This
chapter presented a mechanically organized analysis of pre-
selected video tapes in an attempt to ascertain whether the
occurrence of behaviors indicating expression could be
reliably observed.

Although, as indicated in Chapter IV, there are many
other aspects that can be researched from the material
gathered on the summer program, it can be reasonably con-
cluded that there was a very high degree of agreement among
judges on all test items: the video tapes were a successful
way to gather valuable information about the program: with
very little instruction judges could be trained to identify
expressive activities: affective behavior was reliably
observed by all judges in their assessment of the expressive
process: and the judges were also as reliable in their
qualitative assessment as in the observation of molecular
behaviors. In working with the data, an apparent high
correlation between the subject's affective growth and
expressive activities was observed.

In Chapter V, the method of inquiry was specifically

concerned with gaining insight into the meaning behind the

45

46

observable. Such a focus tends to emphasize those aspects
of phenomena which are concrete and particular. Emphasizing
inquiry into the concrete nature tends towards preserving
the "lived experience" of the phenomena.

Chapters IV and V described two methods of inquiry and
their underlying presuppositions. After applying the
respective presentational styles from a specific case study
from the project entitled, "Multi-Sensory and Expressive

Approach to Teaching Autistic Children, it was concluded
that the presentational style depended upon the research
methodology and the kind of question that was posed.

If the primary purpose is to produce generalizations
and abstract accounting of the phenomena, then a behavioral
inquiry and presentational style seems sufficient. However,
if the primary interest is in non abstract patterns and how
to get at the meaning behind the observed, then a
phenomenological historical writing style seems proper.

Just as various methods of inquiry tend to get at
different types of information, educational methods effect
the nature of the learning which a child may experience.

The bias assumed here in terms of educational methodology
is that education which incorporates such concepts as
expression, individuality and idiosyncratic meaning will
most effectively provide the child with the learning base

necessary for meaningful growth. Such a bias particularly

includes that educational method which ought to be

4?

implemented with the special education child.

The special education child no less than any other child
has a personal base through which he attempts to make sense
of his world. As indicated by his classification as in need
of "special" education, this child's relationship with some
setting is usually more obviously different than other
"normal” children in that setting. However, it should be
noted that every child is in some manner different, even
handicapped at a more subtle level. Not to recognize this
is to make the difference one of kind rather than of degree
and leads to the denial of fundamental considerations that
ought to be afforded all children. Education that does not
recognize, (l) the importance of "integrative processing”
as well as structure, (2) the nature of individuality and
idiosyncratic meaning as well as observable behavior and,
(3) the function of a teacher as an expressive as well as
prescriptive agent is as unjustified in special education
as in the regular classroom.

Much of what constitutes the content of special
education falls under the heading of survival skills. Even
fine arts education, if included at all, is usually
relegated to communication skills or mindless kids for
therapy rather than self-expression. As education this is
to afford the child with little more than what our society
would provide for him regardless of his ability to function

productively. What constitutes the critical factor in the

48

education of a special child as well as ”normal" child is
whether or not this survival has personal meaning, i.e.,
intention, purpose and significance.

In conclusion, where effective communication by the
student is frequently hampered and alternatives narrowed,
an arrogance of power, even by sincere and well-intentioned
individuals may easily develop. In such a situation it
is crucial for the teacher to be as perceptive as possible
to the meanings behind the observable and to enter into
the expressive process as described, for otherwise one risks
relying upon generalizations and techniques as the source of
guidance rather than the child himself. In doing so one
may, according to some abstract generalizable system, be
preceding appropriately, while in relation to the child's

experiential reality be mistaken.

FOOTNOTES

FOOTNOTES

R.G. Collingwood, The Principles 9: Art, (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1958)}

 

Ibid., p. 238.
Ibid., p. 248.

Bernard Rimland, "Infantile Autism: Status and
Research,” Child Personality and Psychopathology,
Vol. 1, 1974, pp. l37-166.

L. Kanner, "Autistic Disturbances of Affective
Contact,” Nervous Child, Vol. 2, 1943, pp. 217-250.

M. Creak, "Schiz0phrenic Syndrome in Childhood:
Further Progress Report of a Working Party,”
Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Vol. 6,

1954. PP- 530-535-

Eric Schopler, ”Changes of Direction with Psychotic
Children,” Child Personality and Psyphqpathology,
Vol. 1, 1974, pp. 205-234.

 

L. Wing, Autistic Children, (New Jersey: The
Citadel Press, 1972).

J. Stevens-Long & O. Lovaas, "Research and Treat-
ment with Autistic Children in a Program of
Behavior Therapy," Child Personality and
Psychopathology, Vol. 1, 1974, pp. 169-202.

M. Creak, "SchiZOphrenic Syndrome in Childhood:
Further Progress Report of a Working Party,”
Develppmental Medicine and Child Neurology, Vol. 6,

1964. pp- 530-535.

Eric Schopler, "Changes of Direction with Psychotic
Children,” Child Personality and Psychppathology,
Vol. 1, 1974, pp. 205-234.

 

R.G. Collingwood, Ag Essay pg Metaphysics,
(Chicago: Henry Regnery Co., 1972), pp. 23-32.

Ibid.
Ibid., p. 173.

49

11.
12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.
18.
19.

20.

21.
22.

Ibid., p. 174.

R. G. Collingwood, The Idea of History, (New York:
Oxford University Press, 195 7).

 

Kenneth R. Beittel, Alternatives for Art Education
Research; Inquiry Into the Makipg of Art. (Dubuque,
Iowa: W. C. Brown Co., 1973).

Virginia Woolf, The Waves, (London: The Hogarth
Press, 1950).

 

Henry James, What Maisie Knew, (New York: Doubleday
& Co., Inc., 1908).

 

Richard Hughes, A High Wind in Jamaica, (New York:
Harper & Row, 1965).

James A. H. Murray (ed. ), A Compact Edition of the
Oxford English Dictionary, (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1971), p. 275.

Kenneth R. Beittel, Mind and Context in the Art of
Drawin , (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc.,
1972) p. 124.

Ibid.

Ibid., p. 126.

Richard deCharms, Personal Causation, (New York:
Academic Press, 1968), p. 273.

R. G. Collingwood, Essay on Metaphysics, (Chicago:
Henry Regnery Co., 1972), p. 285.

Ibid., p. 286.

Albert Tsugawa, "Technique and Artistic Discipline,"
Art Education, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, (January 1971),

p. 6.

 

50

BI BLI 0G RAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beittel, Kenneth. Alternatives for Art Education Research:
Inquiry Into the Makipggf Art. Dubuque, Iowa:
W.C. Brown Co., 1973.

 

. Mind and Context in the Art of Drawing.
New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 1972.

 

 

Bullett, Gerald. Critic of New Statesman and Nation.
Quoted from book cover of Woolf, Virginia, Jacob's
Room & The Waves. New York: Harcourt Brace & Co.,

1959-

Collingwood, R.G. Essay QA Metaphysics. Chicago: Henry
Regnery Co., 1972.

 

. The Idea of Histor . New York:
Oxford University Press, 195.

 

. The Principleso _fA rt. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1958.

 

 

Creak, M. "Schizophrenic Syndrome in Childhood: Further
Progress Report of a Working Party,” Developmental
Medicine and Child Neurology, Vol. 6, 1964.

deCharms, Richard. Personal Causation. New York:
Academic Press, 1968.

Hughes, Richard. A High Wind in Jamaica. New York:
Harper & Row, _1965.

 

James, Henry. What Maisie Knew. New York: Doubleday &
Co., Inc., 1908.

 

Kanner, L. "Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact,"
Nervous Child, Vol. 2, 1943.

 

Murray, James A.H. (ed.) A Compact Edition 9f_the Oxford
English Dictiona_y. New York: Oxford University
Press, 1971.

 

Rimland, Bernard. "Infantile Autism: Status and Research,"
Child Personality A Psychopathology, Vol. 1, 1974.

 

Schopler, Eric. "Changes of Direction with Psychotic
Children," Child Personality and Psychopathology,
Vol. 1, 1974.

 

51

Stevens-Long, J. & O. Lovaas, "Research and Treatment With
Autistic Children in a Program of Behavior Therapy,"
Child Personality and Psychopathology, V01. 1, 1974.

Tsugawa, Albert. "Technique & Artistic Discipline,” Art
Education, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, January 1971.

 

Wing, L. Autistic Children. New Jersey: The Citadel
Press, 1972.

Woolf, Virginia. The Waves. London: The Hogarth Press,
1950.

 

52

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