AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD)

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AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS (ASD)

• Lorena, Jenny, Sarah, Lydia, Tara

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Living with Autism Video
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vBTDmdClWtkc (357)
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History

• First Studied by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger in
  1934 and 1944
• Both referred to the children they observed as
  Autistic
• Kanner said there were 3 main ways to distinguish
  Schizophrenics from Autistic children
• Aspergers Paper
• 1981 Lorna Wing quoted his paper and referred to
  the disorder as Aspergers Syndrome
• Since 1990 disorders with similar symptoms are
  categorized under a broader term called Autism
  Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

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Definition

• Autism is a disorder and not a disease.
• Autism, as defined by the Individuals with
  Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a
  developmental disability affecting verbal and
  nonverbal communication and social interaction,
  generally evident before age 3, that affects a
  childs performance. Other characteristics often
  associated with autism are engagement in
  repetitive activities and stereotyped movements,
  resistance to environmental change or change in
  daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory
  experiences. The term does not apply if a childs
  educational performance is adversely affected
  primarily because the child has serious emotional
  disturbance. (34 C.F.R., Part 300, 300.7bl)
  Individuals With Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act, 2004)(pg. 425 Learners with
  Autism Spectrum Disorders Exceptional Learners)

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(No Transcript)
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Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Types of Autism
• High Functioning to Low Functioning
• Asperger Syndrome
• P.D.D.-N.O.S.
• Austistic Disorder
• Retts Disorder
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

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Personal Experience

• Does anyone have an personal experiences they
  would like to share with the class?

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Prevalence

• 1 of 166 people have Autism Spectrum Disorder
• HOWEVER, only 1 of 370 people 6-17 yrs old are
  identified with Autism and receive special
  education.
• Many see this rate is increasing
• Why the increase? Potential answers harmful
  toxins in environment, widespread use of
  vaccinations for babies and toddlers.
• Some say there is no increase due to
• 1. Widening of criteria used to diagnose
• 2. Greater awareness of Autism
• 3. Diagnostic Substitution

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Prevalence (cont)

• Males outnumber females 31 or 41in Autism
  Spectrum Disorders
• Exception Rett Syndrome occurs primarily in
  females

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Causes

• No known single cause
• Could be a mixture between heredity, genetics and
  medical problems
• Genetic Vulnerability
• Autism tends to occur more frequently than
  expected among individuals who have certain
  medical conditions
• Fragile X syndrome
• Tuberous sclerosis
• Congenital Rubella syndrome
• Untreated Phenylketonuria (PKU)
• Some harmful substances ingested during pregnancy
  also have been associated with an increased risk
  of Autism

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Causes (cont)

• Environmental Factors
• Environmental Toxins
• Heavy Metals such as mercury
• Which are more prevalent in our current
  environment than in the past
• Those with ASD (or who are at risk) may be
  especially vulnerable, as their ability to
  metabolize and detoxify these exposures can be
  compromised
• Vaccine Misconceptions

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Debate Vaccinations
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vJ7h-DPr_x2w (437)
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Methods of Identification

• There is no universally used diagnostic test for
  ASD. For autism, the clinician uses criteria that
  focus on communication skills, social
  interactions, and repetitive and stereotyped
  patterns of behavior
• Behavior symptoms are so severe that it is easy
  to diagnose
• Autistic Regression Children appear to progress
  normally until about 16 to 24 months of age and
  then begin to show signs of being autistic and
  will later be diagnosed as autistic

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Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics

• 4 Core Characteristics Involve
• Social Development
• Communication
• Limited Interests
• Repetitive Behavior

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Stephen Wiltshire
http//www.youtube.com/user/AutTVp/u/2/mskqFK3mHw
U (528)
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Signs to Watch for

• Lacks interest in others
• Avoids prolonged eye contact
• Resists being touched
• Seems oversensitive to sounds and bright lights
• Has mastered few words by 16 months
• Does not point to share interests
• Repeats words or phrases
• Has frequent tantrums
• Shows little interest in pretend play
• Has difficulty taking turns
• Resists change

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Signs to Watch for (cont)

• Spins objects
• Has difficulty catching a ball, buttoning or
  tying shoes
• Shows little fear of dangers
• Flaps hands, flicks fingers, rocks body or hurts
  self
• Speaks with a flat voice
• Has one-sided conversations
• Stands too close to others
• Misunderstands jokes, slang or teasing
• Tunes others out
• Displays anxiety or rage
• Has intense interests

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Educational Considerations

• Direct Instruction Skills
• Behavior Management
• Instruction in Natural Settings
• Children with Aspergers
• Social Interpreting
• Coaching

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Diet

• Eliminate Gluten and Casein
• Children with Autism could be gluten addicts
• Solutions
• School lunches could be changed

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Assess the Progress of Students

• Progress in language Development
• MacArthur- Bates Communicative Development
  Inventory-Second Edition (CDI-II)
• Assesses both normal children AND those with
  disabilities

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Assess the Progress of Students (cont)

• Progress in Social/Adaptive behavior
• PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI)
• Monitors progress of students 2-12 years
• Detects changes in students
• Parent and Teacher versions of the test
• Assesses
• Sensory/Perceptual Behaviors
• Rituals, resistant to change
• Social problems
• Semantics (Meaning) Problems
• Arousal Regulation Problems
• Fears
• Aggressiveness
• Receptive Social Communication Abilities
• Expressive Social Communication Abilities

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Assess the Progress of Students (cont)

• Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS)
• Parent/Teacher scale monitoring progress of
  students 4-18
• Monitors
• Social Awareness
• Social Information Processing
• Reciprocal Social Communication
• Social Anxiety
• Avoidance
• Evaluates Severity of Social Impairment

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Assess the Progress of Students (cont)

• Outcome Measuring
• These tests can also be used to evaluate
  effectiveness of interventions
• Autism Social Skills Profile (ASSP)- standardized
  outcome measurer
• Examines social skills of children adolescents
  with ASD
• Completed by teachers/parents
• Includes 3 subscales/parts
• Social reciprocity
• Social participation/avoidance
• Detrimental Social behaviors

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Assess the Progress of Students (cont)

• Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
• Purposes Screen/test, diagnose, as well as
  measuring effectiveness
• Focuses on behaviors that deviate from normal
  development
• 2 years of age and older

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Assess the Progress of Students (cont)

• Testing Accommodations/Alternate Assessments
• Test Accommodations
• Vary based on severity of disability
• Include changes in setting, scheduling,
  presentation format, and response format
• Strategies
• Environmental and Curricular Modifications
• Attitudinal and Social Support
• Coordinated Team Commitment
• Recurrent Evaluation of Inclusion Practices
• Home-School Collaboration

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Assess the Progress of Students (cont)

• Students with ASD must receive a
  modified/alternative curriculum
• Alternative Assessment
• Portfolio Collection of items providing evidence
  of growth on specific goals

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Early Intervention

• The most effective early intervention programs
  are intensive, highly structured, and involve
  families
• Early intervention programs often use natural
  interactions to teach students in natural
  environments, including general education
  classrooms to the extent possible.
• Most early intervention programs focus on
  children with severe degrees of ASD rather than
  milder degrees
• If intervention is early and intensive it can
  produce remarkable gains in many children
• There is no intervention yet can claim universal
  success in enabling children to completely
  overcoming their disabilities

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Early Intervention (cont)

• Essential features of an effective program
  (according to the National Research Council)
• Entry into intervention programs as soon as an
  ASD is seriously considered
• Active engagement in intensive instructional
  programming for a minimum of the equivalent of a
  full school day, 5 days (at least 25 hours) a
  week, with full year programming varied according
  to the childs chronological age and development
  level
• Repeated, planned teaching opportunities
  generally organized around relatively brief
  periods of time for the youngest children (e.g.
  15-20 minute intervals), including sufficient
  amounts of adult attention in one-to-one and very
  small group instruction to meet individualized
  goals
• Inclusion of a family component, including parent
  training
• Low student/teacher ratios (no more than two
  young children with ASD per adult in the
  classroom)
• Mechanisms for ongoing program evaluation and
  assessments of individual childrens progress,
  with results translated into adjustments in
  programming

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Transition to Adulthood

• Self-Determination
• Community Adjustment
• Employment

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Simulation Video
http//simulations.magnify.net/video/Autism-Sensor
y-Overload-Simul (321)
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Simulation Stations
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Resources

• Autism Society of Minnesota. Supporting People
  Living with Autism in Your Community. St. Paul,
  MN n.d. Print.
• Hallahan, Daniel P., James M. Kauffman Paige C.
  Pullen. Learners with Autism Spectrum
  Disorders. Exceptional Learners. Boston
  Pearson, 2009. 420-455.
• Hirsch M.D., David. Autism Spectrum Disorders
  Web MD. 3 September 2009. Web. 1 April 2010.
  http//www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-spectrum-
  disorders.
•  "KNOW. . .The Autism - Vaccine Connection" 
  K.N.O.W. Web. Accessed 4 April 2010. 
  http//www.know-vaccines.org/autism.html.
• McGee, Susie. "Diet for Autistic Children." love
  to know. N.p., 2010. Web. 5 Apr 2010.
  http//autism.lovetoknow.com/Diet_for_Autistic_Chi
  ldren.
• "Misconceptions about Immunizations" Quackwatch.
  Revised 17 November 2002.  Accessed 4 April
  2010.  http//www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion
  /immu/autism.html.
• "What Causes Autism" Autism Society.  Revised 25
  January 2008.  Accessed 4 April 2010. 
  http//www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?page
  nameabout_whatcauses.

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Additional Web Sites

• Autism Speaks
• http//www.autismspeaks.org/
• Autism Society of America
• http//www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer
• Autism Society of Minnesota
• http//www.ausm.org/