The effect of diagnostic labels on teachers' perceptions of challenging behaviour of students with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Research has shown that the awareness of an individual's ASD diagnosis is linked to more positive affective responses towards their behaviour. For example, in Brosnan & Mills (2016) and Butler & Gillis (2011), college students were found to have more positive responses towards someone demonstrating social difficulties or difficulties with changes when the person is labelled with an ASD, than when they were labelled as a typical student.<br> In Singapore, despite the availability of specialised services and resources in mainstream schools for students with special educational needs, as well as greater ASD awareness and training for teachers, parents may still be hesitant to disclose their child's diagnosis of ASD, for fear of stigma or negative attitudes from teachers and peers.<br> Despite the concerns of labelling and prior studies on the effect of diagnostic labels on peers/caretakers, no study has sought to investigate the effects of diagnostic labels on teachers' perceptions of ASD-typical behaviour in mainstream school settings, within the context of students with ASD. As such, this proposed study aims to examine this relationship.