AutismBy: Denae Wiley and Heather Gamble

What is Autism?

APA definition:

Clinically significant, persistent deficits in social communication and interactions, as manifest by all of the following:

Marked deficits in nonverbal and verbal communication used for social interaction.

Lack of social reciprocity

Failure to develop and maintain peer relationships appropriate to developmental level.

Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities, as manifested by at least two of the following:

Stereotyped motor or verbal behaviors, or unusual sensory behaviors.

Excessive adherence to routines and ritualized patterns of behavior

Restricted, fixated interests.

Symptoms must be present in early childhood.

Characteristics

Impaired Social InteractionDeficits in social responsiveness

Babies/toddlers don’t respond normally to being picked up/cuddled.

Might not show differentiated response to parents, siblings, or teachers, compared to strangers.

Smile/laugh when something isn’t funny

Might not learn to play normally

Might not develop typical attachment to parents/ friends

App’s to help…Social Stories Creator

Students are able to create their own stories through the use of different scenarios which teach vital social skills.

This app is helpful to the teacher and the students.

Characteristics

Impaired CommunicationCommunicative intent: desire to communicate for social purposes

Mute: use no, or almost no, language.

Speech sound robotic

Echolalia: echoing what they hear

Reverse pronouns

Lack eye contact

App’s to help…iCommunicate:

Uses flashcards for children with speech impairments.

Allows for communication through various pictures and sentences.

You can upload personalized photographs/audio for certain requests or verbal cues.

Characteristics

Repetitive Patterns of BehaviorStereotyped motor or verbal behaviors: repetitive, ritualistic motor behaviors.

Ex.) twirling, spinning objects, flapping hands, and rocking

Extreme fascination or preoccupation with objects and a very restricted range of interests.

Impaired CognitionDifficulty in coding and categorization of information.

Rely on literal translations

Remember by location in space

Might have exception capabilities in playing music, drawing, or calculating

App’s to help…

iPrompts-Visual Supports, Schedules and Picture Prompts for Autism and SPED

Contains a detailed schedule of the day including timers and alarms.

Contains a variety of choices.

Characteristics

Abnormal Sensory PerceptionsEither hyper-responsive or hypo-responsive to particular stimuli in environment.

Hyper= overly

Hypo= under

App’s to help…

The Calm Counter- Social Story and Anger Management Tool

Used as a visual and auditory tool to help calm students down when they are angry or anxious.

Asperger Syndrome:

Asperger Syndrome is much like Autism.

Children with Asperger Syndrome have symptoms much like Autistic symptoms just less severe.

There is also an absence of language delay in Asperger Syndrome.

Interests may border on the obsessive.

Students with Asperger Syndrome want to fit in, but simply do not know how.

Diagnosis

When? Typically from 6 months - 2 years.

Early signs:6 months: No big smiles or joyful expressions

9 months: No back-and- forth sharing of sounds, smiles, other facial expressions.

12 months: No consistent response to own name, no babbling, no back- and- forth gestures (pointing, showing, reaching, waving)

16 months: No words

24 months: No two-word meaningful phrases

Where are they educated?

Public schools

Through special programs in the public schoolsEx.) TEACCH: employs an approach called Structured Teaching, which emphasizes a highly structured and predictable classroom environment and the use of visual learning.

Inclusion in the general education classroom

Self contained classrooms

Resource classrooms

Educational Considerations

Due to the varied symptoms of Autism, it has been fertile ground for faddish and unproven treatment methods.

As one authority says, “The ASD field is particularly well known for its willingness to embrace and/or maintain a liberal tolerance toward unproven and controversial interventions and treatments. A number of these purportedly effective methods apparent to have neither empirical nor logical foundation. Simpson, 2004, p.139)

How will we educate students with Autism academically?

Through the use of Direct Instruction:Highly structured, direct approach; use basic principles of behavioral psychology.

Applied Behavior Analysis: highly structured approach focused on teaching functional skills and continuous assessment of progress.

Positive reinforcement/rewards for desired behavior

Instruct in the natural setting:Behavioral psychology is more effective when taught in the natural settings and with natural interactions by which children normally learn language and other social skills.

What would this look like in your classroom?

How do you manage behavior?

Many students with autism display highly inappropriate behaviors, such as biting, hitting, or screaming.

A combination of functional behavioral assessment and positive behavioral intervention and support may reduce or eliminate these behaviors.

Functional behavioral assessment (FBA): determining consequences, antecedents (trigger), and setting events that maintain such behaviors.

Positive behavioral intervention and support (PIBS): ways to support positive behavior rather than punishing negative behaviors.

Earliest Sign of Autism

Did you know that you can detect Autism in infants as earlier as 2 months of age?

A New York Times article informs readers that a new study shows that infants who later developed Autism spent less time looking at people’s eyes as they grew older.

Now lets take a deeper look at the new study:

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000002543364/spotting-autism-in-an-infants-

gaze.html

Resources:http://www.defyingthespectrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/AutismAwareness2013FACTS.jpg

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/

Hallahan, Daniel P, James M. Kauffman, and Paige C. Pullen. Exceptional Learners: An Introduction to Special Education. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2009. Print

http://educationnext.org/autismandtheinclusionmandate/

http://www.nytimes.com/video/science/100000002543364/spotting-autism-in-an-infants-gaze.html

http://www.autism-society.org/about-autism/aspergers-syndrome/