DEVELOPMENT OF FINE MOTOR SKILLS THROUGH CREATIVE STRINGING ACTIVITIES FOR AN AUTISTIC STUDENT IN A PARALLEL CLASSROOM UNDER THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CENTER, EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AREA 3, SONGKHLA PROVINCE

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to compare the fine motor skills of an autistic student in a parallel classroom under the Special Education Center, Educational Service Area 3, Songkhla Province, before and after participating in a set of creative stringing activities. The participant was an autistic student who was enrolled in a parallel classroom at Ban Thamniab School. The participant was selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments included: 1) a creative stringing activity plan, and 2) an observation form for assessing the fine motor skills of an autistic student. The quality of the research instruments was examined through content validity using the Index of Item-Objective Congruence (IOC), and inter-observer reliability was determined by two observers using the Inter-Observer Reliability (IOR) method.

The findings revealed that, the autistic student’s fine motor skills improved after participating in the creative stringing activities compared to the pre-experimental stage, which was consistent with the research hypothesis. The results indicate that systematic stringing activities can enhance hand and finger muscle control as well as hand-eye coordination. Furthermore, these activities help reduce limitations in performing daily living tasks and provide a fundamental basis for developing writing readiness and higher-level learning skills.