Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION:
POTENTIAL OF INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA LEARNING
AWARENESS (IMLA) IN ENHANCING AWARENESS
AMONG AUTISM PARENTS IN MALAYSIA
Jasni Dolah1, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan Yahaya2 and Toh Seong Chong3
Universiti Sains Malaysia
(1jasnidolah@usm.my, 2wajwy@usm.my, 3tohsc@usm.my)
ABSTRACT
This paper reported the feedback from respondents in relation to the implementation of Interactive Multimedia
Learning Awareness (IMLA) in enhancing awareness among Autism parents in Malaysia. A method of
gathering information such as Observation and Interview and have been used in order to identify the current
level of awareness towards Autistic children. Nine respondents have been selected to participate in this
interview ranging from two content experts from Nasional Autism Society (NASOM), a researcher who is an
expert in autism from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, a mother with autistic children, a mother without autistic
children, two parents without autistic children and three women who are not yet married. The finding from this
preliminary investigation confirms that there is a big lack of awareness that need to be addressed by our society.
As a conclusion, thoroughly research and the implementation of Interactive Multimedia Learning Awareness
(IMLA) need to be designed and developed to facilitate and to enhance the awareness level amongst Autism
parents in Malaysia.
KEYWORDS
Interactive; Multimedia; Learning; Awareness; Autism
INTRODUCTION
Autism is a development disorder characterized by impairments in three areas
communication, social and limited imagination, resulting in very narrow interests and
repetitive behaviors. Autism first describes by American psychiatrist Leo Kanner in 1943, is
thought to result from a brain disorder that takes place during the first two and a half years of
childhood. It is characterized by social disconnectedness, failure to recognize and read the
subtleties of human communication behaviors and interactions, an obsessive addiction to
routines and repeatable behaviors, and what psychiatrists call meaningless no contextual
echolalia, the repetitions of sentences and words without regard to their significance or the
context in which they are spoken.
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
(Mey, 2004) listed five main areas of autism and their differences at the below table;
Type
Characters
Autistic disorder
Markedly abnormal or impaired development
in social interaction and a markedly restricted
repertoire of activity and interests, usually
noted within the first years of life.
Asperger’s Syndrome
Severe and sustained impairment in social
interaction and the development of restricted,
repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and
activities. No clinically significant delays in
language acquisition.
Rett’s Disorder
A specific and highly distinctive pattern of
development regression following a period of
normal functioning through the first five
months after birth. Has been diagnosed only
in females.
Childhood disintegrative disorder
Marked regression in multiple areas of
functioning following a period of at least two
years of apparently normal development.
Pervasive developmental disorder not Severe and pervasive impairment in the
development of reciprocal social interaction,
otherwise specified
but the criteria is not met for a specific
pervasive developmental disorder.
Although autistic children look like ordinary people, autism causes them to experience our
world very differently. People who could not understand them often see them as selfish, slow,
distant and odd. There are lonely, yet they find social contact disturbing. Lacking the social
instincts of caring, sharing and pretending, they do not play, chit-chat and make friends.
Because autistic children are never certain of what is happening, they cannot make choices or
express themselves. These scenarios will lead to the wrong perception towards this group if
no proper awareness/intervention affords been made in the future. These issues will lead to a
burden especially to parents if they don’t have the basic awareness on Autism symptoms.
(Mansor, 2010) indicated that in view of the lack of knowledge and exposure, especially in
Malaysia; autism is often misconstrued as mental illness. Consequently, these children are
mostly kept at home, hidden from the outside world. Due to this, most of them do not have
the life chances of others such as obtaining education, which is the basic human rights; and
access to health care hence, we must take that decisive step forward and educate those around
us on autism. We need to spread the awareness on autism. We need to teach parents the
symptoms to look out for if they suspect their children could be suffering from autism. And
we need to assure them that it is not the end of the road nor are they alone if their child is
diagnosed as being autistic. At the same time, we could also encourage their autistic children
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
to take care of themselves, so that they are able to contribute significantly to the society in the
future.
According to (Wikipedia, 2010), awareness is the state or ability to perceive, to feel or to be
conscious, objects or sensory patterns. In this level of consciousness, sense data can be
confirmed by an observer without necessarily implying understanding. More broadly, it is the
state or quality of being aware of something. In biological psychology, awareness is defined
as a human’s or an animal’s perception and cognitive reaction to a condition or event.
Awareness is a relative concept. An animal may be partially aware, may be subconsciously
aware or may be actively aware of an event. Awareness may be focused on an internal state,
such as a visceral feeling, or external events by way of sensory perception. Awareness
provides the raw material from which animals develop subjective ideas about their
experience.
(Morin, 2010) refer self-awareness as the capacity to become the object of one’s own
attention. It occurs when an organism focuses not on the external environment, but on the
internal milieu; it becomes a reflective observer, processing self information. The notion of
‘level of consciousnesses’ has been around for quite some time. More than a century ago, two
of the most influential theorists in psychology were already examining this notion - Sigmund
Freud (1905), with the unconscious, preconscious and conscious, and William James (1890),
with the physical, mental and spiritual selves, and ego.
Awareness can be enhanced by using suitable technology as it constitutes the very
foundations our survival relies on and is all pervasive in modern day human life. The
invention, use and continual improvement of tools and utilities set man apart from other
species. In its most basic definition, technology is nothing more than the practical application
of knowledge to a particular area. Considerable effort has gone into the exploration of
technology to aid in the diagnoses and treatment of the disease, resulting in remarkable tools
and methods that not only have the potential of improving the everyday life of an autistic
person but may also answer some of the open questions about the nature of the disease.
Though a lot of work has been done by researchers around the world to make the knowledge
of Autism become more clearly visible by the society, based on a Preliminary Investigations
(PI) conducted by the researcher, it was found that majority of the respondents do not have
the basic knowledge in Autism. Majority of them do not understand about autism in general
and how to recognize them. Some of the feedback stated that there are reasons to these
problems such as lack of knowledge; awareness given by the authorities was not enough,
level of education background, lack of expertise, facilities and etc. So, the lack of awareness
is the main domain that needs to be tackled by the researchers and this problem could be
enhance by using ICT or multimedia learning.
Multimedia learning is the process of learning, usually in a classroom or similarly structured
environment, through the use of multimedia presentations and teaching methods (Wisegeek,
2010). This can typically be applied to any subject and generally any sort of learning process
can either be achieved or enhanced through a careful application of multimedia materials.
Multimedia learning also can be defined as the delivery of instructional content using
multiple modes that include visual and auditory information and learner use of this
information to construct knowledge.
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
Multimedia learning occurs when people build mental representations from words (such as
spoken text or printed text) and pictures (such as illustrations, photos, animation, or video)
(Mayer, 2005). He added that the multimedia principle epitomizes the rationale for studying
multimedia learning. There is reason to believe that - under certain circumstances people will
learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone. Mayer also explains how
we process information through two basic channels, verbal and visual. Many people assume
that multimedia is obviously better because it uses both channels. He also claimed that the
most straightforward approach to multimedia learning is technology centered. Technology centered approaches begin with the functional capabilities of multimedia and the focus is
generally on cutting edge advances in multimedia technology.
In his article, (Shank, 2005) listed below some of the benefits of multimedia in learning that
could be helpful in enhancing awareness towards autistic children.


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
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



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Alternative perspectives
Active participation
Accelerated Learning
Retention and application of knowledge
Problem-solving and decision making skills
System understanding
Higher order thinking
Autonomy and focus
Control over pacing and sequencing of information
Access to support information
Researchers have found that multimedia could help people learn more easily because it
appeals more readily to diverse learning preferences. So this research will help young
couples, parents and society in learning the characteristics of Autistic children as early as
possible so proper steps for an early intervention could take place. The use of Interactive
Multimedia Learning Awareness (IMLA) should be used to distribute the learning process
that can be accessed anywhere.
FINDINGS
The findings below are based on the literature review and preliminary investigation that have
been conducted through observation and interviews.
1.
LITERATURE REVIEWS
Lately in Malaysia, there has been a considerable increase in the amount of afford to improve
the awareness of Autism children. National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM), revealed
in (Azizan, 2008) as in Malaysia, awareness of autism has increased in the last few years but
more research is needed to access the situation and to draft an efficient support system to
address it. The increasing of the numbers based on cases reported and parents coming to seek
help.
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
Autism Society of America (ASA) as reported in (Azizan, 2008) estimated US$80,000
(RM251,075.12) a year for the average parents to look after an autistic child. This amount to
US$6,666 per month (RM20,992.90). This figure covers the cost of treatment such as early
intervention, physiotherapy, behavioral therapy and others. It does not include other costs like
transport, house rent, food and schooling for their other children. Approximately, 35 million
people worldwide are said to be affected by autism. A local survey conducted a few years ago
revealed that one in every 625 Malaysia children is autistic.
Melaka Tengah Autism Association (MTAA) revealed in(Lai, 2010) that autism is treatable
and early intervention is crucial. She added that parents should be aware of the warning signs
and symptoms of autism so that they can bring their child for diagnosis. Follow up with the
necessary treatment right away. They must not wait and expect the child to catch up later or
outgrow the problem. The more they know about autism spectrum disorder, the better
equipped they will be to make informed decisions for their child.
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INTERVIEWS
I
National Autism Society (NASOM)
Two content experts from National Autism Society (NASOM), Kuala Lumpur, have being
interviewed and they confirmed that lacks of knowledge among our society is the main
reason for these autistic children has been left out. There are a few causes that contributed to
these scenarios such as lack of awareness, lack of related research in this areas, level of
education, lack of facilities provided by the government and the cost was too high for every
autistic children. They also mentioned that awareness is a continuous process that every
member of society should aware and take into consideration. The information provided by the
government was not enough even though there are some funds provided by the Ministry of
Women, what they should do is to leverage information and continue affords in educating
society towards autistic children. Awareness is a must especially for parents and society.
Mainstream media such TV can also help the society tremendously by giving the message
through series. New Media approaches such as Internet, Facebook and Twitter can be used in
persuade the teenagers to get to know this syndrome. At kindergarten and school level,
government can provide more teachers that have the capabilities in recognizing autistic
children so that the so call slow student can be identified earlier. The lack of expertise at local
hospital also should be improved and most of the government hospitals or clinics they don’t
have doctors who are specialized in autism. At this moment, there is no suitable method that
can detect autism. Every center they used different techniques in diagnosing autistic children.
II
An Expert Researcher in Autism Study
An expert from the Intervention Unit of School of Education, UKM agreed that awareness
plays vital steps in helping autistic children getting fair treatment from the community. She
added that the current awareness of autism are very low because the current model of
disability in Malaysia, the way disability treated in Malaysia was through medical module
means and it only can be handled by medical fraternity. In other words, if there is a disease or
what so ever, doctors will take care of it. The way autism been handle in Malaysia is that if
someone have autistic children then this is somebody issues. They don’t see this issue need to
be addressed by society as well, their interpretation is that there’s nothing we can do with
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
autism. Even there are cases that some parents who have PHD also can think why we should
bother with early intervention because nothing much that can be done. People with disability
are not seeing as a benefit to economy. Current information and facilities was very hard to
find. Most parents who have double income usually have to resign in order to provide full
care to their autism children. And then when one parent resigns, you are aware the cost for
therapist still has to be borne by the family.
III
Mother with autistic children
Mother with autistic children agreed that awareness about autism children is still very low
because for example, she only knows her children are diagnosed with autism after 3 years of
ages. Before that, she just read in internet, books and magazine. In terms of facilities and
support may be still not enough and it does not cover all. This is cause by not enough
research has been done by researchers in this area. Majority of people still do not really know
the demand from autistic children. Every autistic child has the potential to become a normal
person if proper help and guidance have been given to them. Research in visual support
definitely will give a big impact to autistic children but this project need to be carried out in
stages so that the children can follow step by step. So far there is nothing similar such as
multimedia learning where parents can learn and at the same teaching their child how to
communicate.
IV
Mother without autistic children
She admitted that she doesn’t have proper an awareness about autism but knows little bit
through movies and magazines. According to her, autistic children are slow, like to be alone
and not as active as normal children. But maybe they have extra capabilities in their own
world. She also agreed that there is no system or method that can help to recognize autism
children characters.
V
Fathers without autistic children
Two fathers without autistic children agreed that they don’t have enough awareness about
autism children and need to be increase because through their assumption, majority of society
doesn’t know well. Even they also not sure what autism is and the characters that they have.
They also agreed that this child need special attention from society and must be treated fairly.
Most of the parents will feel ashamed and cannot accept the fact that they have this kind of
children. They commented, the information regarding this child was not enough and too
clinical to be understood by normal person. Supports from authorities are not well covered
and the campaigns about this are very rare. To both of them, basic awareness about these
children is very important since they don’t have any children with autism, that’s why they
just ignore and don’t bother to know. The process for diagnose is also very hard to do since
there are not enough specialize and facilities. Both of them agreed that awareness need to be
increased in order to give full understanding towards these children.
VI
Young women 1 and 2
Both of the young women agreed that they don’t have any information at all regarding this
autistic children but they agreed that awareness for autism children need to be increased and
educate to the society.
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
CONCLUSION
Based on the literature reviews and feedback from the respondents, showed that the
awareness towards autism children need to be studied urgently in order to help people to
increase awareness in our society. It is like giving basic education to students at primary
schools where this knowledge will be used over and over for the rest of their life. Awareness
is not something that we can achieve in one day since the characteristics of autistic children
was varying. With continued research and support from various parties, it will help the
awareness towards autism children become norm and live it up amongst themselves. Once
awareness has been achieved, it will help the society to be prepared, conscious and aware
mentally and physically on how to deal with this autistic child if they are given one by god.
Most of the feedback agreed that a role of multimedia learning plays an effective approach in
educate society. With the current advancement of ICT technology, such as multimedia
learning, will help society to learn, identify, recognize and consult with experts in less time
than before. It will help to reduce time consuming by attending psychiatrists, expert doctors
and therapy sessions. Even though this research not necessarily will solve all problems faced
by the autistic parents but it will at least help to shorten the unnecessary steps that parents of
autism need to faced before. The continuous support from the government is necessary in
sparkling awareness throughout the nation.
REFERENCES
Azizan, H. (2008). The Burden of autism. The Star Online Retrieved 4 August 2010, from
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/27/focus/21080181&sec=focus
Lai, A. (2010). Walk to create awareness on autism. The Star Online Retrieved 23 August
2010, from
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/6/7/southneast/6257583&sec=southneast
Mansor, R. (2010). THE KIDZCARE CONCERT. from
http://www.pmo.gov.my/datinrosmah/_view_speech.php?submission_id=193
Mayer, R. E. (2005). Introduction to Multimedia Learning. Retrieved 25 August 2010, from
http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/38733/excerpt/9780521838733_excerpt.pdf
Mey, S. C. (2004). The REACH way to transformation. Pulau Pinang: Association of
Resource and Education for Autistic Children.
Morin, A. (2010). Levels of conciousness and self-awareness: A comparison and integration
of various views. Retrieved 2 September 2010, from
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robottheory/self-awareness_review.pdf
Shank, P. (2005). The Value of Multimedia in Learning. Retrieved 26 August 2010, from
http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/thinktank/valuemedia/The_Value_of_Multimedia.pdf
Wikipedia. (2010). Awareness. Retrieved 20 August 2010, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awareness
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Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference of Teaching and Learning (ICTL 2011)
INTI International University, Malaysia
Wisegeek. (2010). What Is Multimedia Learning? Retrieved 24 August 2010, from
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-multimedia-learning.htm
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