Transcript Getting to Know your Student I

Autism Spectrum Disorder
Presented by:
Kylie Waters, Dave Lantaigne, Lorna Luxemburger
What do you know about
Autism?
Autistic Disorder
PDD-NOS
Rhett's Disorder
Childhood
Disintegrative
Disorder
Asperger’s
Syndrome
ASD = Variability!
Measured IQ
Severe
Gifted
Social
Interactions
Aloof
Active, but odd
Communication Non-verbal
Skills
Motor Skills
Sensory
Regulation
Verbal
Awkward
Agile
Uncoordinated
Coordinated
Hypo-sensitive
Hyper-sensitive
Characteristics of ASD
• Social Understanding and Expression
Impairments
• Communication and Language
Impairments
• Stereotypic Behaviors
(rocking, banging, spinning)
----------------------------------------------------------+ Executive Functioning Issues
+ Sensory Issues
+ Anxiety
Incidence
• 1/150 considering entire spectrum
• Affects 3-4 boys for every 1 girl
• Number of cases is increasing
• Across all social classes and
ethnicities
The Senses
Sight/Vision
Smell/Olfactory
Touch/Tactile
Taste/Gustatory
Hearing/Auditory
Proprioceptive (pressure)
Vestibular (movement)
Observable Signs of Sensory Dysfunction
• Unsure body position
• Poor motor planning, poor coordination,
difficulty learning new motor tasks
• Avoids or seeks sensory input
• Easily distracted, limited attending skills
• High activity level or passive, self-absorbed
Impairment in Social Interaction
Social understanding is the basis for appropriate
social expression and interaction:
• Difficulty establishing and maintaining friendships
• Limited, rigid social interactions
• Difficulties in using social language and pragmatics
• Difficulty connecting thoughts to actions
• Tend to respond to emotions inappropriately
• Odd play
• Do not naturally learn to play through observation
Lack of perspective-taking…
Can look like:
• Lack of perspective taking ability
• Lack of sympathy or empathy
• Talking as though the listener wants to hear more and/or
already knows about the topic
• Ignoring or not responding
• Interrupting, not responding to greetings, raising topics
that can be inappropriate or unusual
• Unexpected/disruptive behaviours
• Writing and reading difficulties/comprehension
Executive Functioning
Malfunction
• Focus on the “parts”, rather than the
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“whole”
Decision making and problem solving
Initiating action
Ineffective impulse control
Disorganization
Impulsivity, distractibility
Transitions
Inability to generalize
Stereotypic Behaviours
• Restricted repertoire of interests and
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activities (rigid, narrow, odd, preference for
sameness)
Problems with imagination (lacking or
excessive)
Repetitive motor mannerisms
Impoverished, odd play
Challenging behaviors
Abnormal responses to sensation
Social Impairments
Learning Challenges
Communication Impairments
Sensory Issues
ANXIETY!!
Anxiety and ASD
• Anxiety symptoms are very common in
people with ASD
• Anxiety co-occurs in 72% of children ages
5-17 with ASD (Leyfer et al., 2006)
• Anxiety interferes with the person’s
functioning in home, school, and
community activities (Russel et al, 2005)
• Without intervention, symptoms can persist
Behaviour = Communication
Understanding the ABC’s
Antecedent
Behavior
Stimulus Events
When?
• Triggers
Where?
• What happened
With whom?
immediately before the
behavior?
Consequences
Look through the eyes of the
student:
- What happens after I do
this behavior?
- What did I gain?
- What did I avoid?
Determine the Function
Obtain or Access
Escape or Avoid
Attention (from adults or Attention or social
peers)
interactions
Tangible object or
activity
Sensory stimulus
Aversive task or activity
Aversive sensory
stimulus
Respond to the FUNCTION of the behavior
(the purpose it serves)
Rather than …
Responding to the FORM of behavior
(how it looks, what we see)
Learning Strengths
• Tend to be visual learners
• Learn best with routine and repetition
• Strong desire for certainty and accuracy
• Gross and fine motor skills, once attained
• Can have average to above average intelligence
• Proficiency with factual knowledge
Class science project:
Build a volcano.
How would you incorporate the
must-do’s in this assignment?
Must Do’s
1. Make things visual.
2. Prepare the individual for changes or
transitions.
3. Break down large tasks into smaller
chunks.
4. Use clear, concrete language.
5. Give time to process information
Must Do’s
6. Offer choices
7. Have an end in sight
8. Reinforcement
9. Try to decrease long waits or long amounts
of unstructured time
POPARD Website
“If you know one child with
autism, then you only know
one child with autism.”
Slide show adapted from Kari Eaton – POPARD
www.autismoutreach.ca