Warm-ups

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EdcG 630 April 7th

• Warm-ups
• Lesson Plan Samples
• Autism PowerPoint
• Boardmaker Activity or ATM

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EdcG 630 April 7th

• Warm up 1
• Warm up 2

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Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Chapter 6
• April 7th, 2009

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Focus QuestionsPart One

• What are the general areas of delays and concerns
  that characterize individuals with autistic
  spectrum disorders?
• How do the characteristics of autism spectrum
  disorders impact teaching and learning?

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Autism Spectrum Disorders

• are complex, neurological disorders that affect
  the functioning of the brain
• can be present in a variety of combinations and
  may accompany other disabilities

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Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autistic Disorder
Aspergers Disorder
Retts Disorder
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise
Specified

• Impairments in social behaviour
• Communication difficulties
• Stereotypic or unusual behaviours

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Social Impairments

• Multiple nonverbal behaviours
• eye-to-eye gazes
• facial expressions
• body postures
• gestures
• Peer relationships
• Spontaneous seeking of others
• Social or emotional reciprocity

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Communication Impairments

• Delay in language development
• Difficulty initiating or sustaining a
  conversation
• Repetitive or idiosyncratic language
• Lack of varied spontaneous imaginative play

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Repetitive Patterns of Behaviour

• Preoccupation with patterns of interest
• Inflexible adherence to routines
• Repetitive motor mannerisms
• Preoccupation with parts of objects

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Other Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Aspergers Disorder
• social impairments and unusual behaviours
• average or above cognitive abilities
• communication and anxiety are issues
• language development not significantly delayed
• Retts Disorder
• occurs only in females, very rare
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• regression in multiple areas after normal
  development
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise
  Specified
• does not meet diagnostic criteria for autism

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General Characteristics of ASD

• Communication difficulties
• Social interaction difficulties
• Unusual behaviours
• Unusual patterns of attention
• Unusual sensory responses
• Anxiety
• Learning difficulties

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Communication

• Nonverbal communication difficulties
• Expressive language delays
• Oral language differences
• Language use not for social purposes
• Echolalia speech
• Perseveration on a topic
• Restricted vocabulary
• Difficulty with conversations
• Comprehension difficulties

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Social Interaction

• Establishing and maintaining relationships
• playing with others
• taking turns and sharing
• Theory of mind
• understanding other perspectives
• making sense of social behaviour
• making sense of feelings and emotions
• making sense of communication

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Communication
• Social interaction

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Communication
• Instruction based on assessment results
• Instruction should emphasize
• paying attention
• imitating
• comprehending words and instruction
• using language for social reasons
• developing functional communication

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Social Interaction
• Social Skill Development
• Tolerating others in own space
• Imitating the actions/vocalizations of others
• Engaging in parallel activities
• Taking turns
• Using eye contact
• Explicitly teach theory of mind concepts

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Unusual Behaviours

• Diagnostic criteria
• preoccupation with patterns of interest
• inflexible adherence to routines
• repetitive motor mannerisms
• preoccupation with parts of objects
• Unusual response to sensory stimuli
• Challenging aggressive destructive behaviours
• Behaviours are the tip of the iceberg. It is
  essential to delve
• below the surface to identify the message of the
  behaviour.

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Unusual Patterns of Attention

• Stimulus overselectivity
• Difficulty disengaging and shifting attention
• Short attention span

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Sensory Characteristics

• Often hypersensitive or hyposensitive to
• tactile
• auditory
• visual and olfactory
• olfactory
• gustatory
• vestibular and proprioceptive

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Anxiety Characteristics

• Difficulty regulating emotions
• Inability to express oneself clearly
• Sensory processing needs
• High need for predictability
• Difficulty understanding social situations

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Unusual behaviours
• Attention
• Sensory responses
• Anxiety

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Unusual or Challenging Behaviours
• Teaching students new skills and interests
• Understanding responses to sensory stimuli
• Preparing the student for planned changes
• Developing calming strategies
• Assisting the student to monitor level of arousal
  or anxiety
• Adapting the learning environment

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Patterns of Attention
• Information and instructional activities should
  be provided in a format that

• is clear and concise
• is consistent with comprehension level
• focuses their attention
• emphasizes the most relevant information

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Sensory Responses
• Assess sensory responses.
• Be aware of different experiences of sensory
  stimulation.
• Use alerting strategies to help enhance students
  when hyposensitive.
• Implement strategies to calm students when
  hypersensitive.

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Anxiety
• Provide warnings about transitions and changes.
• Provide daily and weekly schedules.
• Use social scripts to encourage calming and teach
  coping skills.
• Provide facts about anxiety-arousing situations.
• Establish a calming area.

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Learning Characteristics

• Uneven cognitive profile
• Deficits in attending to relevant cues
• Language impairments
• Difficulties with abstract reasoning
• Planning, organizing and problem solving
• Strong rote memory and visual spatial skills

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Implications for InstructionIdeas and Examples

• Learning
• Instruction should be based on assessment results
  and emphasize

• organization skills
• problem-solving skills
• visual cues and reminders
• concrete language

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A is for Autism F is for Friend
Video Sample
Boardmaker