ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY Faculty of Health Social Science and Education Expressive Arts in Ecotherapeutic Contexts: a social intervention for Autism. Kevin Burrows A thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Anglia Ruskin University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy This research programme was carried out in collaboration with the Sound and Vision Reference Service of The British Library Submitted: August 2017 Acknowledgements I would like to extend my thanks to all who have supported me during my doctoral studies, particularly my wife, Margaret, and my children Tim and Sophie for their support and patience. I would also like to thank my first supervisor, Dr Melanie Peter, for her support and encouragement throughout my PhD journey. I am also grateful to my critical reader, Dr Paulette Luff, and my specialist advisor, Sara Knight, without whom this would not have been possible. Additional thanks goes to my Expressive Arts Therapy clinical supervisor, Professor Ellen Levine, and Eco-psychologist Dr Martin Jordan for their help and encouragement. i KEVIN BURROWS ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT FACULTY OF EDUCATION DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Expressive Arts in Ecotherapeutic Contexts: a social intervention for Autism. Within the current education environment there are those who, due to differences in brain architecture that affect social understanding, are outside of what is regarded the norm, of the neural typical (NT). For these people with an autism spectrum condition (ASC), the world can be a confusing and frightening place (Jordan, 2007). It can be argued that reductionistic/behaviourist models of learning, based on a competitive performance and targets measured against predetermined national standards of achievement, create environments that isolate and constrain, causing anxiety for people with autism. How the topic was investigated As part of their further education art and performing arts curriculum, four 16 to 19-year-old students with ASC engaged in art making of masks while in natural woodland. Expressive Arts Therapy was used as an alternative model to support assessment of their work, by enabling the viewer to re-experience the sensate experience held in their ASC artwork/masks through Schaverien’s (2000) concept of ‘scapegoat transference’. This entails an embodied, attuned, non-verbal, dance/movement response to the ASC-made mask, followed by visual art making, which embeds an aesthetic countertransference into poetry. What was found Coding this intermodal poetry through Galvin and Todres’ (2010) ‘embodied interpretation’ and Faulkner’s (2009, p.27) poetic ‘research tankas’ arrived at a distilled version of the original ASC live art process as a series of embodied interpretation tankas poems. When read, these evoked in the viewer or reader the heuristic essence of the ASC live art process (Baggs, 2007). What conclusions were drawn from the evidence Creating such sensate ASC live art tankas poems may form an appropriate assessment method for visual art making for those with and without ASC. As such, it makes an original contribution both to assessment in the arts and intervention for ASC. I claim that my methodological journey and pedagogical interpretations make a unique contribution to knowledge in this discipline. Key Words o Neural-Typical (NT) o Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) o Expressive Arts Therapy o ‘Scapegoat Transference’ o Intermodal Transference o ‘Embodied Interpretation’/‘Research Tankas’ ii CONTENTS PAGE Chapter One: Personal Narrative and Autoethnographic Insights 1.1 Introduction………………………………………………………………1 1.2 Tracing the Thread……………………………………………………….1 1.3 From Autoethnographic Insight to Intervention for Autism……………..7 1.4 Autoethnography and reflexivity: towards a new methodology…………9 1.5 A multi-modal approach to experience…………………………………14 1.6 From Autoethnography to meeting a gap in knowledge………………..16 1.7 Identifying a gap in knowledge……………………………………........16 1.8 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………17 1.9 Towards an art-based methodology…………………………………….17 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction………………………………………………………….....19 2.2 The particular challenges of researching into autistic experience……...20 2.3 Historical perceptions on Autism (a positivistic approach?)…………...25 2.4 Current Perceptions of Autism………………………………………….31 2.5 Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) Interventions and Empowerment...35 2.6 A Sense of Self and Sensate in Autism………………………………....46 2.7 Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) Perception………………………...48 2.8 Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) Perception as Neurology…………53 2.9 The Amygdala, Limbic System and Mirror Neuron function…………...56 2.10 Education, Aesthetics and the Power Dynamics of Pedagogy…………..59 2.11 Sensate Learning and Ecotherapeutic Learning outdoors…………….....63 2.12 Forest School, Nature, Outdoor and Eco-Therapy………………………72 iii 2.13 Separatist Art Therapies, Expressive Arts Therapies and Expressive Arts Consultant Education…………………………………………………………………....79 2.14 Towards A Curriculum and Pedagogy of Perception………………….…93 2.15 Conclusion to Literature Review………………………………................95 Chapter Three: A Road Map of my Methodological Journey 3.1 Introduction to forming a Methodology………………………………..97 3.2 A blue print for my methodological road map…………………………98 3.3 Case Study of Fieldwork………………………………………………100 3.4 Phase one: Case Studies and Overview…………………….………….100 3.5 Art Based Research of the Art Object using Expressive Arts Therapy research tools…………………………………………………………………………………….103 3.6 Coding analysis framing the data/ live art experience………………………………………………………………………………107 3.7 Working out a coding/frame method: Cut Up and IPA………………. .107 3.8 Working out a coding/frame method using visual art and poetry in an intermodal way………………………………………………………………………………..…….113 3.9 Expressive Arts Therapy ‘Architecture’ as Coding ‘Cut Up’ Poems……..………………………………………………………………………….....116 3.10 Tankas Research and embodied interpretation…………………………….…..….120 3.11 The co-researchers intermodal and tankas poems as raw and coded data…..…………………………………………………………………………………121 3.12 My findings in a context of education and therapy pedagogy…………………....127 Chapter 4: Research and Design Methodology Heuristic Research Tools across NT and ASC Perceptual Boundaries 4.1 Introduction and context………………………………………………128 4.2 Ethics………………………………………………………………….129 4.3 Background ‘Research design’, Pilot Project…………………………132 4.4 Pilot study as Composite Case Study…………………………………133 4.5 Phase one Preliminary analytic reflections of workshop designs…….138 4.6 Phase two from Pilot to Designing a pedagogy - The earth and woodland as experience………………………………………………………………143 iv 4.7 Counsellors and Psychotherapists Outdoors (CAPO) group - Lake Coniston…………………………………………………………….................145 4.8 Counsellors and Psychotherapists Outdoors (CAPO) Group – Battle, Hastings……………………………………………………………………..148 4.9 Post NHS Ethical Clearance Case Studies with participants who have Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC)…………………………………………….……151 4.10 Pilot Phase- Forming Expressive Arts Based Research Tools………...152 4.11 Arts based research as exhibition, discussion and informal interview and reflective dialogue……………………………………………………..153 4.12 Personal Inter-modal process at the Van Gogh Museum……………....155 4.13 A multi modal / intermodal approach as a method to access and interpret the live art scapegoat transference held in art work…………………………161 Chapter Five: Methodology Two: Post NHS Ethics Project 5.1 Introduction and Overview………………………………………………...162 5.2 Post NHS approved case studies…………………………………………...164 5.3 Methodological Strategies Finalising a Methodology…………..................167 SECOND PHASE: FORMING A METHODOLOGY FOR ANALYSIS Data analysis procedure: Arts based research and Arts based Educational research 5.4 The range of potential methodologies…………………………….……...168 5.5 Forming Methodology………………………………………....................172 5.6 Aesthetics and how they relate to AS perception……………...................175 5.7 The Expressive Aesthetic……………………………………...................177 5.8 Rationale for selection of final approach/reflexivity……………………..179 5.9 Fathoming research tools…………………………………………...…….182 v PHASE THREE: INTERPRETING AND PRESENTING 5.10 Art Based Research tools as Empirical Research Findings……………………………………………………………………………..188 Chapter Six: Conceptual Framework 6.1. Expressive Arts Based Research Methodology and Storyline Analysis………………………………………………………………….191 6.2. Small Story Analysis................................................................................193 6.3. Conceptual Framework for an inclusive model of Perception…………………………………………………………………………..195 6.4. Neurological Conceptual Framework for an inclusive model of perception………………………………………………………………..196 6.5. Conceptual Framework Art, Neurology and Environment……………...199 Chapter Seven: Case study presentation and analysis of findings 7.1. Case Study of Fieldwork ……………...………………………………..201 7.2. ASC participants’ masks ……………………………………….............202 7.3. Case Study Jack……………………………………...……….................208 7.4. Case Study Leonard ……………………………………...…..................216 7.5. Case Study Ivan……………. ………………………………..................220 7.6. Case Study Austin …………………………………….........…………..227 7.7. Conclusion and Critique: …………………………………………….…233 vi Chapter Eight: Discussion of Analysis and Reflection of Findings 8.1. The Reality of Emergent Intermodal and Tankas Research Poems …………………………………………………………………………….……....236 8.2. Methodological Journey ……………………………………………....236 8.3. Co-researcher's