26/05/2009 Uncategorized
description
Structured teaching is an approach which emphasizes friendliness and predictability.
Esther Susabda (right) and her team in? seminar and workshop Autism at UPH
Lippo Village (22/5) ? Universitas Pelita Harapan?s (UPH) Faculty of Psychology invited Esther Susabda, the ?Head of?Program Magister Konseling (MK)?in Sekolah Tinggi Theologi Reformed Injili Indonesia (STTRII), and her team in? seminar and workshop to discuss about treating autism. In the seminar, Susabda introduced a new autism treatment approach: structured teaching.
Structured teaching is a treatment method which trains autistic children?s to be independent through structured understanding. This method is not specifically designed to cure the autistic children, but it is aimed to make them to do activities normally.
This structured teaching method is a part of Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) program which is developed in University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, US. The program, which was introduced by psychologists Erich Schopler and Robert Riechler, emphasizes on four main factors: structured room, schedules, study system, and visual instructions for treating and training autistic children.
?Structured teaching is an approach which emphasizes friendliness and predictability. The method gives understanding for the autistic children, without any force, on what the society actually demand from them. Children will understand better when they enjoy what they are learning,? said Susabda.
In addition to Susabda?s statement, a teacher of UPH?s Faculty of Psychology and also the?committee of this seminar, Esther Kurniawati Witarsa, pointed out three things which specialize this method: friendliness, structured learning, and independence training.
?Autistic children usually lack in their ability of languages and socialization. The method creates comfortable condition where children can overcome the obstacles without feeling scared or anxious,? said Witarsa.
The seminar which began on Thursday (21/5) and ended on Saturday (23/5) invited the participants to bring along their autistic children to practice structured teaching for two hours in the workshops.
The workshops were designed based on ?structured room? concept, in which the room was divided into several areas such as playing area, eating area, group activity area, and individual area.
