Strategies of students with autism when solving a permutation problem without repetition

Abstract

In this research, we identify the strategies of students with autism when solving a problem of permutations without repetition. Eight students associated with different educational levels and schooling modalities participated. On the one hand, three of them answered the question of the problem correctly, relying on strategies such as the use of representations or the systematic enumeration of possible triples. In both cases, the use of graphic schemes and tables facilitated a good organization of the information, both to determine the number of possible triples and the configuration of each one. On the other hand, the participants who resorted to alternative strategies or simply did not adopt a clear one, gave incorrect answers. In this article we conjecture the possible causes why this could happen, understanding that they could be related to the characteristic cognitive traits of people with neurodiversity.