SEN0361

Written evidence submitted by Experts By Experience, Research Centre for Global Learning, Coventry University

Celebrating the Autistic Advantage

Using visual media creativity to enhance the SEND educational experience.

Authors: Dr Sam Grant,  Dr Ken Fero, Annie Grant

A: Introduction

Our submission addresses the question of how can specialist provision, especially support for conditions which occur infrequently but require a high level of support and which may be beyond the capacity of individual local authorities, best be provided and commissioned. It does so by proposing a Spectrum Hub across the system to address the current pressures and challenges.

B: Organisations and reason for submitting

This research project was a collaborative effort between the Centre for Global Education, at Coventry University and Experts by Experience (EbE) Solihull CIC. The latter is a community interest company providing various forms of support and guidance for individuals with neurodiverse conditions (e.g. autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, etc) and physical disabilities. Specifically, this means helping them to access education and employment, alongside performing a range of additional activities with the National Health Service which will increase the general quality of provision. This includes working in educational settings, youth justice, and in the community with young people to increase engagement and improve outcomes. They also deliver training as part of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training for Autism and Learning Disability, and participate in LeDeR reviews, which is a national project that  investigates the deaths of people with autism and learning disabilities to prevent such circumstances in the future.

Grant had experienced first-hand the difficulties impacting neurodiverse engagement with educational settings, as he himself was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. Fero provided Grant with an unusually flexible working environment, allowing him to stim (repeat physical movements) in class or step out of the room during periods of stress or echolalia. The result was a learning environment which allowed Grant to feel comfortable in class, but also promoted trust between student and pedagogue where Grant was able to be open about his difficulties and Fero was able to recommend things that may help him.

Specifically, Grant confided in Fero about his difficulties with alexithymia and interoception. Fero used this as an opportunity to further familiarise Grant with experimental cinema, an approach to filmmaking which places the sensory properties of images over conventional narrative. Producing these films allowed Grant to explore his sensory processing difficulties, communicate said difficulties to others, and in doing so, improve his interaction with his educational placement. Grant would go on to receive a distinction and further explore the capacities of experimental film in his PhD thesis. During his doctoral work, and his work with EbE, Grant has continued to work with experimental film to address issues of neurodiverse engagement with areas of state provision, and is passionate about promoting it to others like himself who may also find it beneficial. They have collaborated on original research that informs the evidence being presented to the committee. [1] This research experience has led to the proposed intervention of the Spectrum Hub which we are presenting to the committee. This is a strong example of how outcomes can be improved with the right approach.

C: Our Evidence

Our research premise was to question if the current inclusion tactics in schools are ignoring the potential strengths of autistic students and we have engaged in qualitative research and document the experiences of autistic people, parents, carers, and providers.

Most research in the area of Autism is deficit-based, focusing on a problem or a lack which is often defined by people in power. This has been thoroughly debunked by the autistic community who are increasingly focussed on the ‘Autistic Advantage’[2]

an asset-based approach focusing on strengths and contributions.

Emerging research has identified that autistic brains have higher levels of adaptability in the form of generating new neural pathways, known as hyper-plasticity, which impacts on creativity, learning and memory.[3] Yet, autistic people generally experience low rates of educational achievements.[4] The Spectrum Lab will explore and engage in autistic qualities and strengths through the use of film as a means of expression. In the correct environment, qualities such as hyperfocus, ‘flow’, creative thinking and attention to detail lend themselves to expressive film practices.  By placing ‘the Autistic Advantage’ at the core of the research we question the dominant deficit-based approach. The project will break boundaries and challenge perceptions through its practice and outputs which will centre on moving image making as a means of inquiry.

Film can be a powerful tool for neurodiverse expression in educational contexts. The project advocates expressive filmmaking, working outside typical cinematic conventions and towards an approach that relays an internal subjective reality.

Autistic people tend to have unique sensory experiences which inform their immediate engagement with the world. Given that experimental film is more about form (colour, shape, motion, texture) than it is about content (narrative, themes, characters) it is an effective method of art creation for engaging with the direct sensory and emotional experience of autism and other neurodiverse conditions. Due to this, it has unique potential in aiding autistic people in addressing difficulties regarding alexithymia and interoception.

The practice of using film as a device for exploring and developing neurodiverse subjectivity is a developing area of study. Much has been written on the relationship between autistic people and media but it has been primarily concerned with representation of autistic people in popular art and the underlying cultural axioms regarding individuals.[5] Limited work exists on the subject of neurodiverse people engaging in film production itself. The intention of the Spectrum Labs and the Spectrum Hub is to expand beyond the remit of representative narrative and into more inclusive, participatory experimental and expressive media art forms suited to neurodiversity.

Our project seeks to establish pedagogy that uses expressive film practices for participatory educational purposes. The aim of the project is to establish that Autism can be an enhancement not just for neurodiverse students but for the neurotypical class as a whole in the learning and sharing of expressive film practice as an alternative form of pedagogy. The Spectrum Hub intervention has a focus on raising the attainment of socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people in SEND. In time, addressing sensory and communicative barriers will lead to a sharing of ideas and experiences in educational settings between neurodiverse and neurotypical school children.

The Spectrum Hub model engages in a methodology of praxis, summed up as ‘learning through making’. Through experimental practice based on Participatory Action Research[6] the Laboratory will develop methods of creative production based on the innovative fusion of approaches to creative practice and media technologies. The research model of the creative laboratory has been successfully employed through projects like the Sensory Ethnography Lab (SEL) at Harvard.[7] The team presenting this evidence have experience of this praxis approach for over a decade whilst running an MA in 21st Century Practice at Coventry University[8] and have explored the area of the Autistic Advantage in depth.

There is an additional technical benefit. The disabled experimental filmmaker Stephen Dwoskin’s approach is to “generally work with less complicated equipment” as the “simplicity of equipment puts more dependence on the image, whose meaning becomes the content.” This “breaking down the technical mystique and making it seem like anyone can make a film”[9] is  notable for film practitioners living with any form of neurological or physical difference. The simplicity of equipment does not require neurotypical cognitive capacity but still powerfully conveys emotionally resonant images whose content is the practitioner’s personal approach to visual language. Research shows that, in terms of visuals:[10]

●       They are part of everyone’s communication system

●       They can attract and hold a student’s attention

●       They allow the student to focus on the message and not lose focus

●       They help the student express their thoughts

Neurodiverse conditions are often associated with other mental and physical health conditions. The medium of expressive cinema can be achieved by anyone with access to any type of filming equipment, even something as simple as a mobile phone.

Our research shows evidence for the use of film methodologies that challenges the entrenched views around Autistic students as problematic. Responses from the autistic community to pilot film work produced by autistic students include the following response:

Participant K  “Transformed my view of myself.”

Participant C  “Helped me understand my sons behaviour.” 

Participant L “This is exactly how I feel.”

Participants E and A “We watched it with mum and all of us cried.” 

The use of expressive film can take pedagogy beyond the required inclusivity of autistic students and become an area of creativity, sharing and learning for the whole class rather than on one with a focus on special needs of the individual. The project is an intervention and an addition to the curriculum in mainstream schools and special educational needs (SEND) provisions to enable children with special educational needs to fulfil their potential. Each individual provision is referred to as a Spectrum Hub. The project achieves these goals by connecting neurodiverse and neurotypical school children around a creative outlet which brings value to their lives and reduces alienation from educational settings.

D: Our Intervention

Our research proposes the following Project Activities, Outputs and Impact by the Department for Education to pilot as a provision available to all schools with SEND needs through the online Spectrum Hub. Within 12 months the following consolidation of research activities will be undertaken followed by a national roll out.

Spectrum Labs x 12

Each Spectrum Lab will research, design and trial an expressive media project, focussing on alexithymia and interoception. This will help participants understand the relationship between their sensory experience and their engagement with the educational environment. Lab durations will vary from 2 to 8 weeks, a flexibility requirement that will allow neurodiverse engagement. The participants will be drawn from the neurodiverse spectrum with a focus on Autism to engage with the project in person in praxis-led-workshops. 200 participants will be drawn through our partner, wider schools and university networks. Lab numbers will vary from 2 participants up to 20 depending on the type of lab activity. Participants may emerge that engage in more than one Lab which we will encourage as organic intellectual growth. The creative process, experience and results of the lab will be developed and refined so that it becomes a defined work plan activity that can be utilised across the educational sector. Each of the labs will take a particular creative process of media expression leading to guided work plans for users to utilise and produce their own expressive media once launched on the project website, known as the Spectrum Hub.

Impact: Participants will gain tangible knowledge, skills, confidence and agency through their engagement.  We will engage 200 participants and there is an added significant impact to their families and the wider community. Schools participation will increase this significantly. These labs will also be exemplars for other universities and schools to successfully implement a Lab in their own environment, both in terms of research and teaching delivery with a focus on ‘Autistic Advantage’ through arts and media activities. This will be shared via the Spectrum Hub and be publicly available.

Neuro Lux Sharing Events x 3

These events are designed to scrutinise the Neuro Labs. They will engage the wider neurodiverse community to ensure the proposed online site has functional capability within education. The intended impact is research community wide awareness of the value of the ‘Autistic Advantage’ within the practical application of visual based communication through media arts practice.

Neuro Lux National Education Conference

Sharing of the project findings as primary dissemination event for academics, educationalists, participants and community to present and discuss the Neuro Lab outputs and academic findings.

This will be an important forum for neurotypical educationalists to learn as well as to inform the invited policy makers from the Department for Education. There will be a social media strategy to maximise the outreach and ensure widespread debate on the ‘Autistic Advantage’. The team have significant experience in this area.

Impact: Dissemination of the philosophy and practice of the project to a wide public audience. There will be a national media launch with Q&A sessions and a screening tour to raise the project profile.

Spectrum Hub Website

The website is the open access repository of good practice for the Neuro Labs, documentary and all outputs. Educators will be able to download guidance and materials enabling them to develop Spectrum Labs for groups or individuals. The philosophy of ‘access for all’ and the ‘Autistic Advantage’ will be embedded across to ensure engagement is for the both neurodiverse and neurotypical users based on participatory mutualism. This will be achieved through the network established in preparing the conference.

National Impact: The advantage of the Online approach is that the resource is available in the classroom, at home, and with those at risk of poor engagement having the ability to access a safe online interface with a positivist philosophy. The project can scaled up by bringing in currently siloed research and practice in one location affordably and effectively.

We are happy to provide the committee with further detailed evidence for any of the above.

January 2025