What is it? Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) is a neurological, developmental disorder which effects how people with ASD communicate, socialise and interact with others. It is also characterised by restrictive, repetitive behaviours, interests and activities. DSM-5 (2013), the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, changed previous diagnostic criteria with ASD now encompassing the four separate disorders of DSM-IV: Autistic Disorder (autism), Asperger’s syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified. In DSM-5, these four areas meet the criteria for ASD. Autism Spectrum Disorder encompasses two main areas of impairments: Levels of severity are based on social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour. Level 3 "Requiring very substantial support” Level 2 "Requiring substantial support” Level 1 "Requiring support” If there are no Restrictive, Repetitive Behaviours (RRB), then the diagnosis is a Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder. Hyper or Hypo reactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment is included as part of the RRB criteria. NCSE Policy Advice Paper No 5 (2016) recommends that Department of Education and skills (DES) adopt a prevalence rate for autism as 1.55% for planning purposes. (The rate according to Dublin City University (DCU) research, in 2013, was 1% ) Characteristics
Implications for Teaching Pupils with ASD have difficulty with participating in the activities or enjoyment of others is a particular challenge to teachers as it affects the student’s ability to share and have varied interests, adapt behaviour according to the situation, accept changes in rules and routines, accept others’ points of view, and generalise learning. Pupils with ASD may also experience erratic sleep patterns, display unusual eating habits, engage in self-injurious or aggressive or hyperactive behaviour, exhibit an unusual posture or gait, and have irrational fears or phobias. Teachers need to understand the strengths and difficulties experienced by each individual with ASD, in order to provide for effective teaching and learning for each pupil. The Student Autistic students’ language difficulties, lack of social interaction skills, unusual/challenging behavior, learning difficulties, unusual patterns of attention, unusual responses to sensory stimuli, and anxiety, make it very difficult for autistic students to be happy in a social environment, such as a classroom. The numerous social interactions can cause autistic students stress because of their inability to interact with students appropriately. They have difficulty making and maintaining relationships because their ways of interacting with others are limited. It is not that they are unwilling to interact with others, but that they are unable to process social information from the social interactions and use necessary communication skills to reply. Since autistic students have difficulty keeping relationships, they may feel isolated or rejected. Learning disabilities negatively affect autistic children. The learning disabilities may include trouble paying attention to relevant cues and information, inability to plan, organize and solve problems, deficits in concept formation and abstract reasoning, and impairment in social cognition, which includes deficits in the capacity to share attention and emotion with others, and to understand the feelings of others. These learning disabilities may cause the autistic students to fall behind others students in the class, which may make the autistic students feel inadequate to their classmates, and frustrated with their inability to perform basic school tasks. Autistic individuals respond differently to sensory stimulation than others. Autistic students’ responses to sensory stimulation such as touch, the texture of objects, sounds, odors, and visual stimulation can range from hyposensitivity to hypersensitivity. Therefore, various everyday-school stimuli may be disturbing or painful to autistic students. Autistic individuals need to be aware of the sensory stimuli that negatively influence their behavior, and whenever possible avoid these stimuli. Since avoiding these types of stimuli may be difficult, if not impossible, for an autistic student in the classroom, autistic students need to be aware of what to do if the negative stimuli arise. The Teacher A teacher encounters many challenges when teaching autistic students. These challenges arise from autistic students’ characteristics of having difficulties with language, social interaction, presenting normal behavior, learning, attention, sensory stimuli, and anxiety. To help autistic students to be more successful in the classroom, teachers need to modify instruction, provide students with strategies that help them to function in the classroom, and develop an IPP with the assistance of the parents, administration, and sometimes the child. Below is a list of ways to help autistic students learn.
Language Difficulties: Students have many language difficulties that make communication with others difficult. In order to help autistic students with their language difficulties, teachers must focus instruction on: · Paying attention · Imitating · Comprehension of common words and instructions · Using language for social reasons (rather than using language to have basic needs met) · Functional communication Social Interaction Difficulties: Autistic students’ social interaction difficulties make it very difficult for them to engage with others. Since social interaction is such a key factor in every classroom, teachers need to focus on helping students with their social interaction skills. To help autistic students with their social interaction skills, teachers need to make sure that they provide opportunities for meaningful contact with peers, and teach them to: · Tolerate others in the same physical space · Imitate the actions and vocalizations of others · Engage in parallel activities with others · Share materials · Take turns when participating in a familiar activity · Use eye contact to initiate and maintain interactions Unusual/Challenging Behavior: In addition to the language and social interaction difficulties, autistic students also exhibit unusual/challenging behavior. In order to help autistic students with their unusual/challenging behavior, teachers need to teach them strategies to: · Expand students’ interests · Develop skills across a variety of useful areas · Monitor their level of arousal or anxiety · Prepare for planned changes · Calm down and reduce anxiety Although teaching autistic students strategies to reduce their unusual /challenging behavior does reduce this behavior from arising, teachers need to be aware of how to deal with the challenging behavior if a situation is to arise. Learning Problems: Autistic students also have learning problems. In order to help autistic students with their learning problems, teachers need to: · Incorporate visual material into their teaching (autistic individuals are visually oriented) - Use visual supports for communicating choice · Teach key social rules- Waiting, taking turns, making transitions, changing the topic, finishing, initiating, being flexible, being quiet Unusual Patterns of Attention: To help autistic students with their unusual patterns of attention, teachers need to: · Be clear and concise · Be consistent with students’ comprehension levels · Focus their attention · Emphasize the most relevant information Unusual Responses to Sensory Stimuli: Autistic students respond differently to sensory stimulation than other students. To help autistic students with their unusual responses to sensory stimuli, teachers need to: · Try to create a classroom that will not provide students with situations that are over-stimulating · Be aware of the different experiences of sensory stimulation and know how to respond Anxiety: To help autistic students with their anxiety, teachers need to provide: · Warnings about upcoming transitions and changes · Daily and weekly schedules to increase predictability · Calming strategies or coping skills · Factual information regarding fear or anxiety arousing situations (Ex. What to do when I’m lost) · A calming area within the classroom
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