Autism Education in the Highly-Advanced Information Age(<Special Issue>Educational Research in the Age of Information Society: Themes and Concerns)

With the arrival of the highly advanced information age, the introduction of technology, such as computers and the Internet, has made progress in the education of physically and mentally handicapped children. The author proposes the following four reasons for incorporating technology into the education of physically and mentally handicapped children. 1. When technology assists and substitutes an obstacle, the life of a handicapped child becomes more comfortable. 2. Through technology, information about education for physically and mentally handicapped children can be efficiently collected, and straightforward information exchange becomes possible. 3. Technology facilitates more effective learning during educational activities. 4. The knowledge acquired in technology research can provide insight into the education and intellectual development of handicapped children. The 1st and 2nd points are discussed in the present report with a focus on my previous research. Regarding the 3rd point, 'Computer-Aided Instruction' (CAI) is investigated as a central theme in the present research. In particular, the present report examines the 4th point in detail. This point originates in the deadlock that has occurred in the autism educational field. In general, school-based education for physically and mentally handicapped children has been lead by the teacher. This practice relies on the teacher to take the lead and teach each child independently in a thorough and careful manner, moving from simple tasks to more complicated tasks according to the characteristics of each child. This has been the dominant pedagogy in modern Western culture. However, the deadlock in the one-way educational method of 'from teacher to autistic child' is now accepted. This 'deadlock' is identical to the deadlock known as the 'frame problem', which occurred in robot research in the 1980s. When robot research encountered the 'frame problem' the conventional fundamental design paradigm was abandoned and a new direction was adopted. Finally, robot researchers considered that as daily life is complicated and ambiguous, a robot must self-learn through daily life. In my research on the education of a child with a severe autism, I referred to the knowledge from robot research and applied the educational method different from conventional methods. I did not adopt the conventional one-way educational method consisting of 'from teacher to autistic child'. Instead, I adopted a 'polite child-rearing' method and worked with an autistic child for more than 15 years. This 'polite child-rearing' method is ideal for supporting the development of a child's innate abilities while valuing the child's relationships with the individuals around him and with the environment. Consequently, the autistic child developed beyond my expectations. The method utilized in this research is based on the 'situated learning theory', which developed from cognitive science in the 1980s.