The theoretical basis of the research consists of the concept of the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1983), which provides opportunities for the development of an individual development perspective. The concept defines two possible areas of learner progress: topical and upcoming. The real, already existing opportunities of the child at the current stage are identified as an area of current development, and the potential opportunities of the child are those that he or she can perceive and use the help of a teacher - as an area of proximal development. The study presented in the article is constructed based on the logic of the proximal development area, capturing the expression of both the current and the proximal area of development.

The research is also based on the integrity of the creative process, according to which wholeness in the creative process manifests itself in the merging of all the components that determine creativity into a single structure. The factors that merge in creation are the following four types of experiences: emotional, intellectual (cognitive), sensory (sensory) and aesthetic (Lowenfeld, Brittain, 1987). This important creative trait responds to a child’s natural development and holistic approach to education. Locher et al. (2019) raises the significance of the creative process and notes that integrity first manifests itself during the stages of the creative cycle: perception, production, reflection. This full cycle of the process of creative expression is crowned by learning.

Scientists claim that autistic people have an impaired mirror neuronal system, which hinders learning by observing others and impedes verbal and nonverbal communication, emotional stability, and empathy (Galkienė & Puškorienė, 2020). This means that such children are often immersed in their fantasy world, closed and unaware of social norms, they are usually interested in their personal lives and the inner world (Ramalho & de Sá Sarmento, 2019). Their desires and needs are met in their own imagination. Thus, it can be stated that autistic personalities live in a world they have created, dominated by a very volatile imagination, but the image of the real world remains very schematic and closed. For this reason, educational practice is looking for ways and means to strengthen and establish / activate a child's relationship with reality.

Francesconi, D. & Tarozzi, M. (2019) points that a proximate impact, that includes not only what we hear, see, or think, is essential for experience. Proximate experience functions in a different way. It provides experience that awakes body’s reactions and feelings that cannot be experienced by watching the objective material externally.

The integrative approach is demonstrated in neuroscience theories, on the basis of which the concept was developed, that each individual sees, perceives and learns the world differently, therefore, the educational process should be diversity-oriented, in which the goal of education can be achieved in very different ways and measures (Meyer et al. 2014). Also, it is concentrated on the role of lived body in educational practice (Francesconi &. Tarozzi, 2019; Agostini & Francesconi, 2020).

In this context, the practice of pedagogical activity recognizes individual trajectories of children's development cognition, which become especially significant for a teacher working with children with different educational needs (Lapeniene, 2021). The article actualizes the problem of overcoming learning difficulties in autism spectrum conditions. Considering artistic activity as an integrative field, it seeks opportunities for the development of active interaction with the environment.

The purpose of the article is to disclose possibilities of Active interaction with the environment through plastic expression for children with autism spectrum disorders.

For achieving the results of the research, an action research was conducted where the participants were 6 children with autism spectrum disorders. During the research, 48 experiential situations that influenced the change of the molding scheme were recorded and analysed. The methodology for the development of the active relationship with the environment of children with autism spectrum disorders is based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised version by Kratwohl, 2002) and The Reggio Emilia experience (Edwards et al., 2012) of creating intelligent dialogues with materials: clay and paper dialogue, clay and rope dialogue, clay and stone dialogue, clay and sheet dialogue, clay and twig dialogue, clay and shell dialogue. Based on this, a double stimulation methodology was developed, which provided for the establishment of an active relationship with the environment during the four stages of the activity realization: 1. The child's sensory experience with a specifically selected material or object is developed. 2. Seals of this material or object are made in clay. 3. The experience is expressed with a new form of integrating an object into your mold. 4. The process of claying is reflected. Before this process repetitive children’s works were collected, and photos were taken. Six groups of clay work schemes were registered. In this model scheme, children’s clay works become a datum-point and reflect the child’s current level of development. The variation of the scheme tells us about varied relations to the surroundings and the effectiveness of educational influence. The research based on this model was carried out in Educational Centre. Research Participants were six 7-11 years old children with autism spectrum disorders. The attention was concentrated not on the age but on the level of expression to which the work of the child was classed. The participants for the action research were selected using Criteria-based sampling. In addition to diagnosed autism spectrum disorder, the children: • Had little changing and well-established depiction patterns (i.e., constantly molding the same); • Children with different levels of language development; • Hypersensitivity to tactile stimuli. The duration of every theme’s expression was 30-40 minutes. Throughout the study, the data were recorded using the free unstructured e-diary method (Bartlett & Milligan, 2015) and the analysis of creative works was performed.

Creative learning activities, like any other, need to respect Vygotsky's zone of proximal development with appropriate scaffolding provided by the teacher. If an ASD child is often unable to create creative habits and stays in the same world scheme for a long time, which is reflected in his / her constantly predictable drawings / moldings, the teacher needs to find new methods and tools for creating real and sensitive ASD children relationship with the environment. Plastic expression through the combination of clay and other materials can be used to create such a relationship. Tactile experience-based double stimulation methodology as the system of learning tools, has created the opportunities to go systematically through all stages of cognition: from the stimulation of sensory experience to the stage of creative expression. In the first stage of creative expression, creating the seals of a specific object activates tactile sensations and establishes a closer relationship of the child with the world, and only later moves to a situation of creative expression. The e-diary method allows to capture the individual trajectories of ASD children's development cognition and to collect very natural / real data. "Instant information" collected in a real environment allows you to capture a realistic picture of a situation or important details of everyday life without losing or forgetting significant details of it. This allows one to gain a deeper understanding of the activities in which learners are participating. The thematic analysis of the entries in e-diary will be conducted according to the following three aspects: emotional, cognitive, and the change in practical activity.

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