Turkish Parents, Teachers, and Faculty Members’ Opinions and Experiences on Safety Skills Instruction for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Elif  Tekin-Iftar; Nursinem  Sirin; Belva C.  Collins

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2021) Special Issue: Social Skills Development and Strategies for Success

Turkish Parents, Teachers, and Faculty Members’ Opinions and Experiences on Safety Skills Instruction for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Elif Tekin-Iftar
Nursinem Sirin
Belva C. Collins

Published March 9, 2021 | Pages: | Views: 428

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Abstract

Although sometimes neglected, safety skills instruction should be considered as important a teaching area as others (e.g., self-care, academic, communication skills) because these skills can lead to more independence in a less restrictive environment. The researchers designed this study to reveal the opinions of Turkish parents, teachers, and higher education faculty members regarding safety skills instruction for children with an autism spectrum disorder.
They interviewed parents (n = 11), special education teachers (n = 16), and higher education faculty members (n = 11) and analyzed the resulting data descriptively. Findings showed both parents and teachers lacked information about safety skills and how to teach them. Higher education faculty members advised using evidence-based practices in teaching safety skills and stated that safety skills instruction was not covered in the special education teacher training curriculum in the programs in which they taught. Implications and future research needs are discussed.

<p>Although sometimes neglected, safety skills instruction should be considered as important a teaching area as others (e.g., self-care, academic, communication skills) because these skills can lead to more independence in a less restrictive environment. The researchers designed this study to reveal the opinions of Turkish parents, teachers, and higher education faculty members regarding safety skills instruction for children with an autism spectrum disorder.<br />They interviewed parents (n = 11), special education teachers (n = 16), and higher education faculty members (n = 11) and analyzed the resulting data descriptively. Findings showed both parents and teachers lacked information about safety skills and how to teach them. Higher education faculty members advised using evidence-based practices in teaching safety skills and stated that safety skills instruction was not covered in the special education teacher training curriculum in the programs in which they taught. Implications and future research needs are discussed.</p>

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Affiliations

Elif Tekin-Iftar

Nursinem Sirin

Anadolu University

Belva C. Collins

University of North Carolina Charlotte

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How to Cite

Tekin-Iftar, E. ., Sirin, N., & Collins, B. C. . (2021). Turkish Parents, Teachers, and Faculty Members’ Opinions and Experiences on Safety Skills Instruction for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 13(3). Retrieved from https://iejee.com/index.php/IEJEE/article/view/1489