Socratic Dialogue in Education of Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

This paper presents the theories and rationales guiding a forthcoming project of testing a dialogic program, using Socratic dialogue, to enhance social and emotional abilities of children diagnosed as autistic. The main study will be performed next year. The aim of this paper is to outline and examine the possibilities of Socratic dialogue as a basis for pedagogical thinking and practice when teaching students with autism, and to present a model for doing so in remedial classes. First, an introduction of the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs), and the current educational interventions for children diagnosed with these disabilities is presented, using research from different sources. Research results from using Socratic dialogues as a pedagogical method with students in regular classes is presented, showing that systematic Socratic dialogue enhance the social and emotional skills of students, as well as their critical thinking. This is followed by a discussion where we show the potential advantages of dialogic learning as an effective strategy for intervention and remidiation of individuals diagnosed with autism. The hypothesis is that Socratic Dialouge can be used to enhance the social and emotional development also of children diagnosed as autistic. The argument is presented based on evidences on the impact of dialogue on typical and atypical students’ learning and thinking. It is generally considered that the social nature of dialogic learning may equip children with specific abilities to effectively interact with others and perceive their emotions. However, the method might have to be revised to function with children diagnosed as autistic. Accordingly, the paper ends by introducing a dialogue based teching design that is compatible for children diagnosed with ASD, using weekly seminars in class.