Understanding and Supporting the Communication and Agency of a Child without Speech: Educators' Perceptions and Reflections
Sirkko, Riikka; Viljamaa, Elina; Aikas, Aino (2025-02-03)
Stockholm University Press
03.02.2025
Sirkko, R., Viljamaa, E., & Äikäs, A. (2025). Understanding and Supporting the Communication and Agency of a Child without Speech: Educators’ Perceptions and Reflections. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 27(1), 62–75. https://doi.org/10.16993/sjdr.1164
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202504222828
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202504222828
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
Social environments can hinder the interaction of children with disabilities. In school settings, educators’ roles of hearing and understanding these children are essential. In this case study, we asked two questions: 1) How does the school environment affect the communication and agency of a child with a severe disability who communicates without speech? 2) How do the classroom educators perceive, interpret, and feel their understanding of this child’s communication and support their agency? The data consists of video material and educator interviews. The data were analyzed guided by hermeneutic circle principles. The themes identified were the double empathy problem, relations, body language, pedagogical perspective on communication, and motivation. The school structures may limit the possibilities of communication and agency for children with severe disabilities even if it has the opposite intention. Even though the educators identified the child’s method of communication, there were challenges in understanding.
Social environments can hinder the interaction of children with disabilities. In school settings, educators’ roles of hearing and understanding these children are essential. In this case study, we asked two questions: 1) How does the school environment affect the communication and agency of a child with a severe disability who communicates without speech? 2) How do the classroom educators perceive, interpret, and feel their understanding of this child’s communication and support their agency? The data consists of video material and educator interviews. The data were analyzed guided by hermeneutic circle principles. The themes identified were the double empathy problem, relations, body language, pedagogical perspective on communication, and motivation. The school structures may limit the possibilities of communication and agency for children with severe disabilities even if it has the opposite intention. Even though the educators identified the child’s method of communication, there were challenges in understanding.
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