Getting Educational Services Right for Children

1
Getting Educational Services Right for Children
Young People with ASD

• Prof Rita Jordan PhD
• Emeritus professor in Autism Studies
• University of Birmingham, UK
• NAS Surrey Conference 01/10/2011

2
Diagnostic Changes

• AS (Asperger syndrome) currently part of ASD,
  which is part of PDD
• in DSM-V (2012)
• PDD ASD
• no subcategories (AS PDD-NOS gone)
• triad for a category replaced with 2 dimensions
  social/communication flexibility
• sensory dimension recognised
• social/ service consequences for AS

3
What will diagnosis mean?

• broad category (ASD) then individual profile
• needs-led services?
• distinction between ASC ASD?
• recognition of wide vulnerability (1/38?)
• individualisation of education services
• ASD of Asperger type?

4
SEN arise from

• difficulties related to the condition,
• strengths and compensations
• interests and motivation
• characteristics of the situation
• issues of entitlement and access but also a
  therapeutic environment

5
Learning Style

• visual rather than verbal
• memory
• cued
• rote
• social a dimension of difficulty
• emotions and cognition
• use interests for engagement
• repetition consolidation
• explicit strategies for problem solving

6
Individual factors Sociability

• Wings classification
• withdrawn/ solitary -gt passive/ responds -gt
  active but odd -gt eccentric sensitive
• varies with conditions with teaching
• level suggests optimum form of approach
• withdrawn - 11 directive desensitisation
• passive - interest structured play experience
• active but odd - social rules experience
  (context)
• eccentric - social skills in context e.g. buddy

7
Teaching Play Making Friends

• essence of play is
• spontaneity
• emotional engagement
• need informed choice about friends
• fear of loss of control
• no experience
• 2 strands to play teaching
• cognitive
• sensori-motor -gt relational -gt functional -gt
  symbolic
• social
• alongside -gt imitative-gt join in -gt co-operate
  - collaborate
• Legotherapy SHEDS
• structures interaction
• enables social role learning cooperation

8
Teaching Social Understanding

• cognitive aspects of early interaction
• Social Stories
• Comic Book Conversations
• SULP
• Legotherapy
• SEAL?
• PfC
• explicit labels What did she say? What did she
  mean?

9
Strengths

• sustained attention to interests
• no social distractions
• usually visual information
• careful attention to detail
• no social heirarchy - no deceit - get job done
• accurate detailed memories
• fresh idiosyncratic art - visual/ poetry/ music
• ICT
• vulnerability brings out the best in others
  (often!)

10
Reasons for challenging behaviour in ASD

• biology
• epilepsy
• perception/ sensory disturbance
• sensory deprivation
• reactions to pain
• lack of communication skills
• lack of self-awareness
• adaptation to the environment

11
Background Factors

• Diet
• peptide theory
• effects of diets
• Sleep
• chronic deprivation
• melatonin
• Exercise
• daily aerobic

12
Teaching to cope with stress

• teaching relaxation and escape
• careful not to reward
• observation of build up
• teach alternative
• general strategies - relaxation, aerobic
  exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy
• coping with panic
• automatic response

13
Functional Analysis

• Settings
• last straw not always trigger
• whole child (inc. skills) whole school approach
  
• parent collaboration
• Behaviour
• accurate
• frequency
• duration
• intensity
• Results

14
Teaching Consequences

• less able - single track
• more able -
• railway - no turns
• 2 clear termini with no connections
• choice point emphasised

Moment of choice
Problem
Taught alternative
15
Basic Guide to Anxiety Reduction

• relaxation
• general - sensory/ meditation/ yoga/ deep
  pressure
• specific - fold arms, close eyes, chant or hum
• exercise
• aerobic/ contingent non-contingent
• diet
• GI index low / low stimulants/ sugar additives
• talking with others
• drawing? music

16
Atypical Reactions in ASD

• misinterpret bumps as intentional
• may accept as inevitable (Gerland, 1997)
• may react inappropriately to pain/ insults
• may not be able to report or use inappropriate
  language or not give context or time
• cannot think when anxious react emotionally -
  forgetting trained response

17
Teaching to Cope

• pre-empt
• stress - prosthetics exercise
• anger - alternative
• frustration - communication
• panic - posture / drill
• train for escape
• teach relaxation
• teach social understanding
• Social Stories/ video life/ soaps

18
Train for sensory panic

• need for trained response for panic situations
  
• buddy or visual cue
• to remind.
• note use of prime numbers!

19
Buddy schemes

• useful for
• transitions
• as model

20
Use of LSA

• care from a distance
• checking not creating learned helplessness
• available to others

21
Teaching adaptations

• visual instructions
• lists for meaning
• allow time for interests
• work then play

22
Managing Democracy

• no tact or
• sensitivity
• no intentional rudeness
• give alternative
• mark for future teaching

23
Curriculum Issues

• individual - no subject exclusions
• foreign language teaching a good model for social
  linguistic understanding
• use interests where feasible or work then play
• aspects of some subjects a problem - teach
  specifically or by-pass

24
Conclusion

• no autism curriculum or single approach
• needs to fit
• individual
• family
• practitioner
• context
• current goals
• prognosis