Classification of challenging levels of problem behaviors of students with autism spectrum disorder according to teachers' electrophysiological reactions

The aim of this study, which was designed with the correlational survey model, was to evaluate the emotional responses of teachers to the problem behaviours commonly exhibited by students with ASD through objective and subjective measures. For this purpose, the relationship between EEG signals collected from 34 teachers working with students with ASD and self-reported emotional data and behavioural patterns was examined. Vignettes and videos reflecting problem behaviours were used to evoke teachers' emotions. The findings show that special education teachers experienced intense negative emotions and reported high levels of anxiety in all behaviours, especially self-harm and aggression behaviours, in the face of problem behaviours. The findings also indicate that teachers' self-awareness of their negative emotions and anxiety levels is at a limited level. The findings were discussed in the context of other studies in the literature and various suggestions were made. Keywords: Autism spectrum disorder, Problem behaviour, Teacher emotions, Recogni-tion of emotions, EEG.