Putting All the Pieces Together: Understanding this Puzzle Called Autism
What Does Autism Look Like?
• Challenges With Social Interaction– Problems interpreting nonverbal language– Difficulty with pretend play– Rigid adherence to rules– Poor eye gaze or avoidance of eye contact– Few facial expressions and trouble understanding the facial
expressions of others– Poor judge of personal space – may stand too close to other
students– Trouble controlling emotions and anxieties– Difficulty understanding another person’s perspective or how
their behavior affects others
What Does Autism Look Like?
• Communication Challenges– Often delayed in expressive and receptive
language; may not speak at all– Very literal understanding of speech; difficulty in
picking up nuances– Echolalia – may repeat last words heard without
regard for meaning– Lack of pretend play
What Does Autism Look Like?
• Behavior Differences– Unusually intense or restricted interests in things (maps,
dates, coins, numbers/statistics, train schedules)– Unusual repetitive behavior, verbal as well as nonverbal
(hand flapping, rocking)– Unusual sensitivity to sensations – may be more or less
than typical students– Difficulty with transitions, need for sameness– Possible aggressive, disruptive, or self-injurious
behavior; unaware of possible dangers
Six-Step Plan
• Step One: Educate Yourself
Six-Step Plan
• Step Two: Reach Out to the Parents
Six-Step Plan
• Step Three: Prepare the Classroom
Need for Sameness
• Define classroom area. Create individual work areas, free time areas, open areas for discussion, etc.
• Keep classroom consistently organized• Choose designated seat for student• Keep daily schedule in one place in the
classroom• Develop a visual agenda to help the student
understand the agenda in advance
Problematic or Acting-Out Behavior
• Identify a home base to escape classroom stimulation for a while
Home Base or Cool Zone• A home base is a place in the school where
student can go to escape the over-stimulation of the classroom (Not a time-out or a punishment)
• Work goes with the student to Home Base• May be scheduled or occur on an as-needed basis• May be used for taking tests
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Home Base, Cool Zone or Hot Pass Card
• A visual cue that helps prompt student to go to home base
• Everyone in the school knows the student has one
• Used in conjunction with other visual supports, as needed
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Home Base at the Start of the Day
• Preview the schedule• Overview any changes in the routine• Priming for activities• Allow time for transition from bus to school• Ensure that materials are organized• Support social skills instruction
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Home Base at the End of the Day
• Review homework assignments• Make sure student has materials needed for
homework• Review any social concerns of the day• Overview any changes in the routine for the next day• Priming for activities• Allow time for transition from school to bus
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Easily Distracted By Sights and Sounds
• Seat student in low traffic area of classroom• Use carpeting• Face desks away from windows/doors• Teach student when he or she can and cannot
use computer (cover when not in use)• Seat students away from toys and books• Help child to learn how to handle distractions
over time
Sensitivity to Touch
• Avoid touching student initially• Teach tolerance to touch
Sensitivity to Smells
• Avoid using perfumes or heavy lotions• Seat student near open door or open window
in rooms with strong smells (art room)• Ask custodian to order and use unscented
cleaning supplies
Sensitivity to Sounds
• Move student away from sounds• Use soft voice when possible• Have student use earplugs or headphones (when
appropriate)• Install carpeting or carpet remnants• Put material under desk legs• Prepare student for sound (before bell rings, fire
drills)• Gradually teach tolerance to sounds
Sensitivity to Light
• Lower levels of light• Turn off overhead lights• Try different colors of light• Have student use sunglasses or baseball cap• Move student’s seat from reflections on wall• Use bulbs that do not flicker
Six-Step Plan
• Step Four: Educate Peers and Promote Social Goals
Teaching Points• Children with autism are first and foremost children, they are like your typical
students in many ways• They experience the world very differently. Sights, sounds, tastes and feelings that
seem normal to us might be scary and overwhelming for a child with autism. Conversely, they may not recognize danger or experience fear like your typically developing students do
• Children with autism need and want friends• Understanding autism is the key to creating connections• Children with autism have their own way of communicating – it’s almost like a
different language• Autism is NOT contagious; no one catches it. Nor does anyone die from having autism• Children with autism do have feelings and often understand more than they can
express. No one should ever tease or make fun of someone with autism• When a child with autism feels included, everyone in the classroom can learn and
grow!
Six-Step Plan
• Step Five: Collaborate on the Implementation of an Educational Program
Six-Step Plan
• Step Six: Manage Behavioral Challenges
The most important thing you can to help reduce the frequency and intensity of challenging behaviors is to decipher the cause and learn to distinguish the child’s behavior stemming from autism from the deliberate misbehavior requiring disciplinary action
Effective Teacher Characteristics• Knowledge of characteristics• Develops a sense of trust with student• Accepts student as he or she is• Enjoys working with student and expresses it• Models enthusiasm• Provides non-threatening feedback• Listens to student, analyzes needs and adapts
curriculum• Reacts calmly to all students
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Effective Teacher Characteristics
• Avoids asking student “why” he did something• States expected behaviors and provides examples• Uses short sentences and limits the number of
instructions• Provides instruction in more than one modality• Provides extra time for student to process and
respond• Provides predictable classroom structure
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Meeting the Common Core State Standards for Students With Autism
• Three psychological theories explain some of the characteristics of autism:– Lack of Theory of Mind– Weak Central Coherence– Impaired Executive Function
Lack of Theory of Mind
Deficits• Inability to recognize and
understand the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and intentions of others
• “Mind blindness” difficulty putting oneself in another person’s shoes
• Find it challenging to understand nonverbal cues or misinterpret nonverbal cues
• Don’t understand how their actions or behaviors affect others
Challenges• Charlie’s story
• Interpreting within text the thoughts, feelings, intentions of characters which is critical for accurate comprehension
• Social interactions
Weak Central Coherence
Deficits• Can’t see big picture.
Attend to detail, but have difficulty perceiving and understanding the “gist” of something.
Challenges• Sarah’s story
• Jose’s story
• Difficulty with higher level thinking and comprehension
• May have large vocabulary, but fail to understand simple comments or directions
• May demonstrate strength in word decoding, but experience great challenges in comprehension
Impaired Executive Function
Deficits• Struggle with organization
and planning, working memory, inhibition control, time management, prioritizing and using new strategies
Challenges• Initiating work, staying on task,
and being able to organize themselves
• Difficulty with long term assignments/projects
• Difficulty integrating new information, situations or rules with existing concepts and knowledge especially in times of stress
• Need structure and stress reduction
CCSS Reading• Charlotte– Can read and decode on grade level– Can’t relate how characters respond to events in
story– Struggled to meet CCSS: Reading and Literature
Why didn’t Maria just say what she thought?
What will the character say instead?
CCSS Reading
• Stephen
CCSS Listening and Speaking
• Many children with ASD do not ask questions or seek help from others and may not understand that others have information that can be useful to them unless someone explicitly teaches them
• One of the characteristic of ASD is “marked impairment in the ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
CCSS Listening and Speaking
• John’s story
CCSS Listening and Speaking
Naturalistic Intervention• Focus on teaching skills
within the context of daily routines (with modeling and guided practice) and use a child’s interests to motivate him or her to produce the target behavior (raise hand, wait for teacher to call on him, ask for help)
CCSS Listening and SpeakingPeer-mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII)
• Using role play teach peers how to identify behaviors that indicate John needs help
• Peers prompt John to use his help card to ask for assistance
• Continuous feedback and reinforcement
CCSS Writing
• Many students with ASD have difficulty:– Initiating writing task or generating ideas– Retaining information while applying information
(remembering parts of a story while writing)– Being mindful of the part, the goal, or the
completed projectThey often appear noncompliant with writing tasks but they really just don’t know how to get started, what to write or how to ask for help
CCSS Writing
• Jack’s Story– Very bright and advanced vocabulary– Highly developed knowledge in geography and
meteorology– Becomes anxious if peers complete assignments
faster than he
Specific Solutions: Handwriting• Teach using structured curriculum (e.g., Handwriting without
Tears)• Modify, adapt and reduce writing assignments– Computers– Oral answers– Dry erase/chalkboard– Markers, pens– Weighted pencils and pencil grips– Slanted surface
• Occupational Therapy
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