PSYCHOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY “MY HISTORY” AS A WAY FORMING COOPERATION BETWEEN SPECIALISTS AND PARENTS OF CHILD WIHT AUTISM

Abstract

Methodical peculiarities and practical experience of using psychological technique “My Story” are revealed
for the formation of cooperation between specialists and parents of a child with autism. The analysis
of some peculiarities of Ukrainian experience in providing psychological and pedagogical treatment
to children with autism (problems, tasks of Ukrainian specialists in the field of autism) is conducted.
The article presents the stages of preparation and work with the psychological technique “My Story”
on individual examples. That is a boy (7 years old, Asperger’s syndrome), who could not successfully
maintain a dialogue and answer questions. The author describes the problem situation, the stages
of making the book with photos, the difficulties that have emerged and the ways to solve them. The author
illustrates the basic examples of parents and teachers’ mistakes when writing text to photographs.
The role of a psychologist in the process of work between the parents, the child and the specialists
is disclosed.
The important role of the initial stage of formation of positive interpersonal relations between a child
and a specialist is revealed. Such relationships are a prerequisite for working with psychological technique
“My Story”.
The article presents the results of research on the use of psychological technique “My Story” and changes
in the level of anxiety in children with autism. The author searches for positive changes in the behavior
of children with autism after the use of this technique. Also, the results of research on the reduction
of anxiety level and individual manifestations of maladaptive behavior in children with autism
in preschool age are presented.
The author describes the possible risks and difficulties during the use of psychological technique “My
Story”. The parents may not be motivated to maintain constant communication with professionals
and the child is not prepared to systematically make photos of the child’s life events. The specialists may
84 Педагогічна освіта: теорія і практика. Психологія. Педагогіка
also not be motivated to maintain constant communication with parents and the child, are not ready
to use creative and non-standard forms of activity with a child with autism.
The possible ways of diversifying that continuation of work with the described technique with a child with
autism are outlined.