Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Autism Spectrum Disorder

An overview

+What do we know?

Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that there is a wide degree of variation in the way it affects people.

Every person on the autism spectrum has unique abilities, symptoms, and challenges.

ASD is a way to describe a learning style.

ASD is a life long disability.

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What are some of the characteristics of ASD?


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Social Interaction

Indicators may include:

Unusual or inappropriate body language, gestures, and facial expressions (e.g. avoiding eye contact or using facial expressions that don’t match what he or she is saying).

Lack of interest in other people or in sharing interests or achievements (e.g. showing you a drawing, pointing to a bird).

Unlikely to approach others or to pursue social interaction; comes across as aloof and detached; prefers to be alone.

Difficulty understanding other people’s feelings, reactions, and nonverbal cues.

Resistance to being touched.

Difficulty or failure to make friends with children the same age.


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Functional Communication


Delay in learning how to speak (after the age of 2) or doesn’t talk at all.

Speaking in an abnormal tone of voice, or with an odd rhythm or pitch.

Repeating words or phrases over and over without communicative intent.

Trouble starting a conversation or keeping it going.

Difficulty communicating needs or desires.

Doesn’t understand simple statements or questions.

Taking what is said too literally, missing humor, irony, and sarcasm.


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Restricted Behavior and Play


Repetitive body movements (hand flapping, rocking, spinning); moving constantly.

Obsessive attachment to unusual objects (rubber bands, keys, light switches).

Preoccupation with a specific topic of interest, often involving numbers or symbols (maps, license plates, sports statistics).

A strong need for sameness, order, and routines (e.g. lines up toys, follows a rigid schedule). Gets upset by change in their routine or environment.

Clumsiness, abnormal posture, or odd ways of moving.

Fascinated by spinning objects, moving pieces, or parts of toys (e.g. spinning the wheels on a race car, instead of playing with the whole car).


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Sensory Processing Differences


Being either under reactive or over reactive to sensory input.

Ignoring people speaking to them, even to the point of appearing deaf. At other times being disturbed by even the softest sounds.

Being highly sensitive to touch and to texture. They may cringe at a pat on the back or the feel of certain fabric against their skin.

Being a picky eater, having difficulty with toilet training, being distracted by the way things look or move.


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Co-existing Medical Conditions

Children with autism spectrum disorder run a high risk of a developing additional medical conditions prior to adolescence.

ADHD / ADD Depression Anxiety Obsessive-compulsive

disorder Seizures


+A video: Look to see if you can spot some of the characteristics of ASD…..

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+ Question:What are the difficulties you have found in successfully teaching a child with Autism?

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+ Where do I start?

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+Focus first on what you can control

1. Increase your knowledge of the teaching strategies and decide what strategies you want to use.

3. Set up an enticing environment and identify daily routines you can use to teach skills

2. Understand each child’s skills, interests and needs.

4. Develop a system to track individual progress

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+1. Increase your knowledge of the teaching strategies… Here are some examples.

Teaching within functional daily routines

Pivotal Response Training

Discrete Trial Teaching

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+ Increase your knowledge of the teaching tools… Here are some examples.

Positive Behavior Intervention Supports

Structured Teaching / Work Systems

Visual Supports

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

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+2. Understand each child’s skills, interests and needs.

Assess each child to determine current skill level

Observe the child and note what they are interested in doing (whether it appears functional or not!).

Identify what skills the child is missing and pick out two or three new skills you want to teach first.

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+What is this child (with the blue shirt) interested in learning about?

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+3. Set up an enticing environment and identify daily routines you can use to teach skills

Arrange the environment so it is clear to the child what is and isn’t a choice and what there is to do in each area.

Provide a variety of activities that interest the child.

Use pictures as needed to support the child’s understanding of expectations and functional communication.

Identify daily routine activities and address the child’s goals during these events

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+Who is having the most fun here?

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+What do you notice about what is happening here?

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+How about here ?….

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+4. Develop a system to track individual progress

Data collection: Data helps teachers decide if the intervention

they are using is having a positive impact. Data helps teachers know if they can move ahead

in a child’s learning, or if they need to change something. If a child is not progressing, it is the adult who needs to do something differently.

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+Themes we have noticed over the years…

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to teaching children on the autism spectrum. Sometimes we make our ‘best guess’ on intervention strategies and observe to see if it has an effect. Sometimes we guess correctly.

Change and improvement usually occurs gradually over time. There is no ‘quick fix’ or ‘cure’.

Parents always know their child best as they spend the most time with them. Teachers can provide ideas, support and encouragement.

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Studies have shown that families with a child with ASD experience more stress than other families who have children with different disabilities.

Families often experience other mental health issues; depression, anxiety, etc.

Families with children who have ASD are challenged taking their children out into the community.

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There is always something else to work on teaching....something more we want each child to learn. Focus on the positives, the improvements and the child’s strengths when it feels like you are struggling or overwhelmed.

It is ok to try and get it wrong. That is how we learn!

Sometimes just enjoying a child for who they are in this moment is necessary to remind us of why we really do we what we do.

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+*Children on the autism spectrum work hard to gain the skills they need to be successful in life.

*Teachers also work hard to build to skills they need to be successful with their students.

*It is a life-long process for both!

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Autism Spectrum Disorders

Education

oregon inclusion project

characteristics of asd

facial expressions

way things

unusual objects rubber

odd rhythm

sensory input

social interactionindicators