서번트 증후군을 지닌 자폐성장애 학생에 대한 교육전문가의 경험

Special Education Expert’s Experience on the Students with ASD and Savant Syndrome

본 연구는 서번트 증후군을 지닌 자폐성장애 학생에 대한 특수교육전문가의 교육 경험과 인식을 살펴보는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 연구 목적을 위해 자폐성장애 학생 교육 경력이 20년 이상인 교육 전문가 9명을 대상으로 심층면담을 실시하였다. 면담참여자들은 특수학교, 특수학급, 아동발달센터 등 다양한 형태의 특수교육 기관에서 서번트 증후군을 지닌 자폐성장애 학생을 교육하고 있는 전문가이다. 면담 방법은 심층면담과 포커스그룹 면담을 병행하였으며, 면담내용은 지속적 비교분석법에 따라 분석하였다. 본 연구 절차를 통해 수집된 자료를 분석한 결과 5개의 핵심주제와 16개의 하위주제가 도출되었다. 연구 결과에 따른 핵심주제는 1) 이런 것이 서번트 증후군이었을까? 2) 특별한 능력도 스펙트럼, 3) 놀라운 능력 보다 먼저 보이는 어려움, 4) 특별한 재능을 대하는 부모의 다양한 모습, 5) 특별한 재능이 어떤 의미를 갖기 까지이다. 연구 결과를 기반으로 교사가 경험하고 인식한 서번트 증후군을 지닌 자폐성장애 학생에 대해 논의하였으며, 향후 교육적 지원 방안에 대해 제언하였다.

The purpose of this study was to examine the educational experiences and perceptions of ASD and Savant Syndrome by special education experts. For the purpose of this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with nine educational experts who had more than 20 years of experience working with autistic disorders. The participants worked at various types of educational institutions such as special education schools, special classroom and child development centers, and were able to present various and rich experiences. The interviews were conducted through in-depth interviews and focus group interviews, the contents of these interviews were then analyzed according to the continuous comparative analysis method. As a result of analyzing the data a collection of 5 core themes and 16 subthemes were derived. The five core themes are as follows: 1) Savant syndrome, which I didn’t know well, now that I think about it, it was Savant syndrome maybe; 2) Savant syndrome is as diverse as the spectrum; 3) the difficulties related to autistic disorder preceded amazing abilities; 4) parents’ expectations toward their children’s special abilities are very diverse; and 5) Educational support measures that can help students’ special talents become meaningful abilities for students with ASD and Savant syndrome. Based on the research results, the similarities and differences between teachers’ and parents’ experiences of students with autism and Savant syndrome were discussed, in addition, future educational supports were suggested.