Chapter 11

1. Chapter 11 Understanding Students with Autism

2. Autism Is… • a complex neurological, developmental disability • typically appears during the first three years of life • affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others • defined by a certain set of behaviors • a "spectrum disorder" that affects individuals differently and to varying degrees. * There is no known single cause for Autism. *Children do not "outgrow" Autism. *Studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes.

3. Defining Autism • IDEA: Autism is a developmental disability that affects children prior to the age of three in three areas: • Verbal & nonverbal communication • Social interaction • Academic performance • Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) • Autistic disorder, Rett’s disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger’s disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified • Educators often use the term autism spectrum disorders when referring to some of all of these disorders

4. Prevalence of Autism • 1 out of every 150 • Fewer students with Asperger’s Syndrome • Males outnumber females four to one • Different theories for the increase in prevalence: • Greater public awareness • More refined diagnostic procedures

5. Characteristics of Autism • Language Development • Ranging from no verbal communication to complex communication • Delayed Language • Echolalia • Social Development • Delays in social interaction and social skills • Impaired use of nonverbal behavior • Lack of peer relationships • Failure to spontaneously share enjoyment, interests, and achievements • Lack of reciprocity

6. Characteristics of Autism • Repetitive behavior • Obsessions, tics, and perseverations • Problem behavior • Self-injurious behavior • Aggression • Need for environmental predictability • Sensory and movement disorders • Intellectual functioning • Savant syndrome

7. Characteristics of Autism • Difficulty understanding social cues • Hard time starting and maintaining friendships, withdrawn • Difficulty communicating • Repetition of movements, words, or phrases • Over or under sensitivity to their senses • Obsessions or narrowly focused topics of interest • Poor problem solving skills • Poor organizational skills • Difficulty applying or generalizing learned skills

8. Daily Goals for AS • Strive for independence • Expand opportunities for students to RESPOND • Minimize & fade prompts (esp. verbal) • Increase engaged time • Minimize down time • Look for opportunities for peer coaching • Provide awareness ed. for typical peers

9. Determining the Causes • Biomedical causes • Abnormalities in brain development • Neurochemistry • Genetic factors

10. Determining the Presence • Usually in early childhood • Often uses some of the same tests given to students with intellectual disabilities and multiple disabilities • Criteria may include: • Speech and language • Academic achievement • Cognitive functioning • Medical physical status • Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised

11. Possible Behaviors • Flapping of hands/arms • Biting nails/fingers, picking at nose/skin • Pacing • Talking at inappropriate times • Crying/ Yelling (melt downs) • Covering ears/ headphones • Excessive talking about preferred topic • Not responding to directions/questions • Off topic/abrupt comments/questions • Direct sharing of thoughts/feelings (no regard) • Inappropriate touch of self or peers (unintentional)

12. Determining the Nature of Specially Designed Instruction and Services • Functional assessment — an ecological assessment • Describe the nature of the behaviors • Gather information from interested parties • Determine why the student engages in problem behavior • Hypothesize relationship between behavior and events before, during, and after the behavior • Incorporate functional assessment information into the IEP • Help student develop alternative behaviors

13. Teams conduct functional behavioral assessments and develop positive behavioral support plans Teams usually have six members and should use these six features: Procedures defined Procedures taught Procedures actively used Budget and resources applied Records kept Leadership secured Partnering for Special Education and Related Services

14. Determining Supplementary Aids and Services • Address the domains of access, classroom ecology, and task modifications • Access involves modifications to the community, campus, building, or classroom to ensure physical and cognitive access • Also provide “behavioral access” • The lunchroom is a frequent environment in which problem behaviors occur; consider modifications to seating • Include accommodations for before and after school and in the hall between classes

15. Planning for Universal Design for Learning • Some characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorders are potential areas of learning strengths and provide a basis for curriculum adaptation • Ability to focus attention on detailed information • May excel in areas of the curriculum that are not as language-based, such as math or science • Mnemonic strategies • Keyword • Pegword • Letter

16. Planning for Other Educational Needs • Provide students instructional supports that enable them to develop and maintain friendships • Promoting friendships • Include students in all areas • Use peer buddy programs • Use person-centered planning models that involve peers • Ensure peers learn about the goals of inclusion

17. Planning for Other Educational Needs • Students’ IEPs should address the following instructional areas: • Trustworthiness and loyalty • Conflict resolution • General friendship skills • Positive interaction style • Taking the perspective of others

18. Early Childhood Students • Early intervention and preschool programs use different approaches, including the following: • Applied behavior analytic techniques, such as discrete trial training • Incidental teaching in natural environments • Communication, sensory processing, motor planning, and shared affect with caregivers and peers • Social stories address the “hidden curriculum”

19. Elementary and Middle School Students • Schoolwide positive behavior supports • A systems-level and evidence-based method for improving valued social and learning outcomes for all students • Proactive, problem-solving, and data-based approach to improving appropriate behavior and achieving important academic, social, and communication outcomes • Also seeks to rearrange school environments and change school systems to prevent students from engaging in problem behaviors • Includes three components: universal support, group support, and individual support

20. Secondary and Transition Students • The techniques underlying positive behavior support emerged from a set of strategies referred to as applied behavior analysis (ABA) • ABA uses the principles of operant psychology • Discrete trial training is based on the “three term contingency” outlined by applied behavior analysis: • Presentation of the discriminative stimulus (cue) • Presentation of the prompting stimulus (if needed) • The response • The reinforcing stimulus

21. Measuring Students’ Progress • Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning (ASIEP-2) • Five components: Communication, social interactions, behavior, academic content, other • Teacher also need to measure outcomes related to school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports • Direct counts of problem behavior • Problem behavior reported by environment or time of day • Indirect indicators of success • Data collection tools • School Wide Information System • School-Wide Evaluation Tool (SET) • School-wide Benchmarks of Quality (BoQ)

22. Making Accommodations for Assessment • Students with autism may perform better on standardized assessments when provided more frequent positive reinforcement • They may also perform better when assessments are administered by a familiar person • Presence of the examiner minimizes the students’ anxiety and stress associated with testing

23. What might an AS student’s social skills look like? • No desire to interact (shy) • Doesn’t know how to interact (abrupt, inappropriate) • Not flexible to changes in routine (hostile) • No personal space awareness (grabby, too close) • Poor to no eye contact or facial expressions (weird) • Difficulty interpreting non-verbal cues (dumb) • Struggles to maintain a “give & take” conversation (rude)

24. What might an AS student’s social skills look like?Continued… • Sensitivity to lights, sounds, foods, touch, etc. • Few but dominative interests (age appropriate?) • May talk only about their own interests (1-sided) • Anxiety (interacting w/peers) • Low self-esteem, sits/works by self • Minimal initiation of conversation • Awkward/uncomfortable • Eager to please • Trouble sharing, taking turns, or consenting to group choice

25. Social Skills Philosophy • Students diagnosed on the autistic spectrum, (ASD), present unique challenges with social interaction, language, social cognition, and behavior. To best meet the needs of our students a strong social skills program is a key component in all AS classrooms. For the AS classroom, social goals are as important as academic and life skill goals.

26. Social Skills Continuum Scale • Self- Regulation • Focus, task persistence, impulse control, sensory input, stress management • Knowledge of Conventions • Routine, transition, rules • Social Interaction • Teasing, group choice, sharing, play, rule following • Social Motivation • Being social, self-advocacy, identify emotions in self • Communication • Body language, function, non-verbal, sentence length, topic maintenance, exchanges, initiate/join • Perspective Taking • Personal space, thoughts, identify emotions in others

27. *Melt Downs* • If you notice a student getting upset or “melting down” for any reason… • Soothe them FIRST • Do not feed their anger/frustration • Remove them from the situation (temporarily) • Let them take a sensory break • Figure out WHY or WHAT caused them to get upset & try to remedy • Return to class as quickly as possible, support, and provide with positive reinforcement • Preventing melt-downs is always best!

28. Top 5 Things That DO NOT HELP • Yelling/talking loudly at the student • Embarrassing the student in front of peers • Only negatively reinforcing inappropriate social behaviors (need + reinforcement) • Hovering over the student • Over prompting the student

29. Top 5 Things That HELP • An obvious non-verbal cue • A whispered re-direct • Modeling for the student exactly how you want them to interact • Positive reinforcement for correct social behaviors • Ignoring inappropriate social behaviors

30. COMMUNICATION is KEY! • Talk to the EA’s & PCA’s • Talk to the special education teacher/case manager • Talk to other general education teachers who are working with the student. • Talk to the student’s parents • Read the student’s IEP