Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders

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AutismandAutism Spectrum Disorders

• Dickey LaMoure Special Education

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Autism Definition

• Autism is a developmental disability that
  significantly affects verbal and nonverbal
  communication and social interaction, generally
  before age three, that adversely affects a
  childs performance. It is one of the pervasive
  developmental disorders.

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Autism

• Autism is a complex developmental disability.
  It appears during the first three years of
  childhood and continues throughout life.

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Prevalence

• Autism and associated behaviors are estimated to
  occur in as many as 21,000 to 61,000 people.
• (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  2001)
• It is 4 times more prevalent in boys than girls.
• It knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries.
• Family income, lifestyle, and educational levels
  do not affect the chance it will occur.

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Autism - Symptoms

• People with autism show 3 types of symptoms
• impaired social interaction
• problems with verbal and nonverbal communication
• unusual or severely limited activities and
  interests
• Symptoms vary in severity.

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Impaired Social Interaction

• Ignores others or does not engage in cooperative
  play
• Doesnt follow directions
• Poor eye contact
• Tunes others out seems to be in his/her own
  world
• May throw tantrums or display hyperactivity, or
  uncooperative or oppositional behavior.

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Problems with Communication

• Doesnt converse with others
• Stereotyped receptive or idiosyncratic language
• Rarely points to an object to direct another
  person to look at the object
• May not respond to his/her name
• Cannot explain what he/she wants
• Delayed language skills or speech
• Seems to tune people out.

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Unusual or Limited Activities and Interests

• Preoccupied with objects, songs, commercials,
  etc. shows unusual attachments to toys, or
  schedules (always holding a string or having to
  put socks on before pants)
• Engages in nonfunctional routines gets stuck
  on things and cant move on to other things
• Odd movement patterns
• Lack of pretend play
• Prefers to play alone not interested in other
  children
• Doesnt know how to play with toys.

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Other Characteristics

• Doesnt smile when smiled at
• Resistance to environmental change
• Abnormal responses to sounds, touch, and/or other
  sensory stimulation.

The term does not apply if a childs educational
performance is adversely affected primarily
because a child has a serious emotional
disturbance.
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Early Intervention

• It has been discovered that some children with
  autism have a dramatic response to early
  intensive behavioral interventions, and most are
  helped substantially. For example, early
  intervention can result in a significant increase
  in IQ and language ability and a decrease in
  support services needed later in childhood. These
  results stand in stark contrast to the very poor
  outcomes of children who do not receive early
  intervention. (Autism Center, Univ. of
  Washington)

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Educational Planning

• Educational planning for students with autism
  must address a wide range of skill development,
  including
• academics
• communication and language skills
• social skills
• self-help skills
• behavioral issues
• leisure skills

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Educational Planning

• Programs may include several treatment components
  coordinated to assist a person with autism.
• One program may consist of speech therapy, social
  skill development and medication within a
  structured behavior program.
• Another may include social skill development,
  sensory integration and dietary changes.

No one program or diet is perfect for every
person with autism. It's important to try several
approaches and find the ones that work best on an
individual basis.
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Educational Planning

• Academic goals need to be tailored to the
  individual's intellectual ability and functioning
  level.
• Some children may need help understanding social
  situations and developing appropriate responses.
• Others may exhibit aggressive or self-injurious
  behavior and need assistance managing behavior.

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Educational Planning - Curriculum Adaptations

• Can the student participate in the unmodified
  activity?
• Can the student participate in the activity with
  adapted materials, support, or modified
  expectations?
• Can the student participate in this activity by
  working on embedded communication , motor, or
  social skills?

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Educational Planning Inclusion in the Regular
Class

• Children whose needs are not at the severe end
  of the spectrum can be successfully included in
  the regular classroom.

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Educational Planning Considerations in the
Regular Class

• Lack of generalization of learning (every
  situation appears different to the child)
• Lack of incidental learning (everything needs to
  be directly taught)
• Literalness of understanding
• Difficulties becoming involved in group
  activities including play and games
• Possible reactions to over-stimulation.

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Educational Planning Considerations in the
Regular Class

• Realize that non-compliant behaviors may have
  other meanings for the child--they may be the
  child's only way of asking for help or attention
• Provide clear structure and a set daily routine
• Provide warning of any change of routine or
  activity
• Using clear, unambiguous language avoid humor,
  irony, or phrases like my feet are killing me
  or it's raining cats and dogs.

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Educational Planning Considerations in the
Regular Class

• Repeat instructions and check understanding
• Using short sentences to ensure clarity of
  instructions
• Using various means of presentation (visual,
  physical guidance, peer modeling, etc.)
• Teaching social rules/skills directly (such as
  turn-taking and social distance)
• Minimize or remove distractions.

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Educational Planning Considerations in the
Regular Class

• Protect the pupil from teasing during free time,
  and provide peers with some awareness of the
  students particular needs
• Allow the pupil to avoid certain activities (such
  as sports and games) which s/he may not
  understand or like
• Explore word-processing and computer-based
  learning for literacy.

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Educational Planning

• Parents and professionals need to work together.
  
• Teachers should have some understanding of the
  child's behavior and communication skills at
  home
• Parents should let teachers know about their
  expectations as well as what techniques work at
  home.

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Educational Planning

• Open communication between school and home leads
  to better evaluation of progress
• Community goals (purchasing meals, grocery
  shopping) and leisure activity goals should be
  reinforced through work at school
• Cooperation between parents, teachers and other
  professionals leads to increased success for the
  individual with autism.

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Other Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Aspergers Syndrome
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise
  Specified
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Rhetts Disorder

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Aspergers Syndrome

• Characteristics similar to Autism
• Deficits in social interaction
• Unusual responses to the environment.
• Characteristics different from Autism
• Cognitive communicative development are normal
  or near-normal in the first years of life
• Verbal skills are an area of relative strength.
• Idiosyncratic interests are common may take the
  form of unusual or highly defined interest (e.g.,
  whales, the weather schedules, number of signs).

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Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD-NOS)

• With PDD-NOS, some, but not all features of
  autism (or another identified Pervasive
  Developmental Disorder) are identified.
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise
  Specified is included in DSM-IV to include cases
  with marked impairment of social interaction,
  communication, and/or stereotyped behavior
  patterns or interest but full features for autism
  or another PDD are not met.

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Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

• A rare condition, only recently officially
  recognized frequently incorrectly diagnosed
• Children develop a condition that resembles
  autism but only after a relatively prolonged
  period of normal development (usually 2 to 4
  years)
• Characterized by a loss of skills over time
• Differs from autism in the pattern of onset and
  course.

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Retts Disorder (or Retts Syndrome)

• A Pervasive Developmental Disorder often confused
  with autism in preschool years.
• The course and onset of Retts is very
  distinctive. 
• Normal development until 6-18 months of age,
• Loss of acquired speech and hand skills, motor
  problems are quite striking
• Slowing of head growth,
• Development of stereotyped repetitive hand
  movements 
• profound mental retardation is typical.
• Occurs primarily in girls. 

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The End

• For more information on mild forms of autism, see
  the presentation on Aspergers Syndrome.