Effective Strategies for Teaching Students with Autism

Thursday, August 23, 2012 - 1pm / Eastern Time

Summer Live Chat: Summer Live Chat:  Communication Characteristics of Autism

Presented by Diane VanDriesen, Director of Wawa House Services for the Eden Family of

Services

Sponsored by

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Communication Characteristics of Students

with Autism

Learning Characteristics of Students with Autism

• Lack of imitation skills• Difficulty with generalization• Splinter skills• Little or no response to social reinforcement• Inconsistent response pattern• High distractibility• Lack of incidental learning• Lack of initiation

Language Characteristics of Students with Autism• History of having language then losing it• Oral motor dysfunction• Apraxia• Echolalia• Acting as if deaf• Preservative Speech• Comprehension deficits• Jargon

Social Characteristics of Autism• Limited or no interest in interacting with people• Limited use of nonverbal behaviors such as eye

contact, point, or facial expression• No sharing of interests• No imaginative or social imitative play• Limited or no signs of attachment to people

Comprehension of Language

• Cognitive Issues• Comprehension Deficits• Auditory Behavior• Difficulty with Abstract Concepts

(literal language)

Comprehension of Language

What is the individual responding to?

Paralinguistic Cuese.g. intonation

Nonverbal Behaviore.g. gestures, facial expressions

Situational Cuese.g. child hangs up coat upon entering the classroom

What is the individual responding to?

Word Emphasis/ Positional CuesE.g., child responds to the last word from a whole utterance

Linguistic CuesE.g., child responds correctly to the utterance without any context or reference

Use of Language

• Lack of gestures• Lack of social imitative play• Impaired use of nonverbal behavior• Difficulty initiating or sustaining a conversation• Difficulty self-generating language

Augmentative Communication Systems: Considerations• Manual Sign Language/Baby Signs• Picture Exchange Communication (PECS)• Voice Output systems• Object Boards

Functional Communication Strategies

Functional Communication Strategies

Deficit Strategies and treatment

Lack of gestures • Teach a functional point

• Provide communicative

temptations

Comprehension • Assess comprehension

level

• Use sign language/visuals

• Teach to level

Deficit Strategies and treatment

Cognitive Issues

• Teach curriculum

systematically

• Use Discrete Trial

Teaching

Oral Motor Issues/ Apraxia

• Focus on all issues

• Teach imitation skills

• Use shaping procedures

Deficit Strategies and treatment

Mutism • Augmentative or alternative

communication

Echolalia • Determine function

• Teach appropriate response

Difficulty with social language

• Scripting

• Role play

• Token systems

Communicative Temptations (Prizant and Wetherby 1985)• Initiate a familiar and an unfamiliar social game with the

child until the child expresses pleasure in the game, then stop and wait.

• Open a jar of bubbles, blow the bubbles, then close the jar tightly. Hand the closed jar to the child.

• Blow up a balloon and slowly deflate it. Hand the deflated balloon to the child or hold the deflated balloon up to your mouth and wait.

• Hold a food item/toy that the child dislikes out near the child to offer it.

Your Partner for Student Success

Curriculum Solutions Specifically for:Autism ● Learning Differences ● Intellectual Disabilities

www.pcieducation.com

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Join us for the next webinar

Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - 4pm / Eastern Time

Setting up your Classroom to Maximize Efficiency

Presented by Nina Finkler, M.Ed., LDT/C, B.C.B.A., BACB ACE Coordinator, Eden Autism Services.

Sponsored by

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Thank you to our co-hosts

and to our sponsor