the abc’s of autism vickie mclendon, bcaba elainejohnson, bcaba bay district schools autism team 1
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The ABC’s of Autism
Vickie McLendon, BCABAElaineJohnson, BCABABay District Schools
Autism Team
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What is autism?
• Lifelong neurological disability• Affects a person’s ability to:
communicate understand language play and socially interact with others• Usually appears before age three
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Spectrum Disorder
• Affects individuals differently• To varying degrees• And is often found in combination
with other disorders
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Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD)
• Group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication
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Autism Umbrella (ASD)
• Autistic Disorder• Asperger Syndrome• PDD Not Otherwise Specified (PDD/NOS)• Rett’s Syndrome• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
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Prevalency
• 2007 Center for Disease Control: 1 in 150 children in America have an autism
spectrum disorder (ASD)• Autism Society of America: 1.5 million
Americans and their families are affected.• Today at least 50 families in America will find out
that their child has autism. (ASA)
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Red Flags for ASD (under 24 months)
• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by 6 months;
• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by 9 months;
• No babbling by 12 months;
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• No responding to name by 12 months;• No gesturing (pointing, waving bye-bye)
by 12 months;• No single words by 16 months;• No pretend use of objects by 18 months;• No 2-word spontaneous (not just echolalic)
phrases by 24 months; and• ANY loss of ANY language or social skills
at ANY age(FIRST WORDS Project, the Early Social Interaction Project, and FSU CARD)
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Causes?
• Remains unknown• Researchers believe there is a strong
genetic component with a range of possible external or environmental triggers
• Not caused by bad parenting
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How is autism diagnosed?
• Based on observation of: communication, behavior, and developmental levels
• No medical tests• Diagnostic criteria for autistic disorders
are defined by the DSM IV criteria
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Characteristics
• Autism is a spectrum disorder which incorporates a number of shared characteristics:
• 1. Atypical social behaviors (lack of social understanding, lack of interest in others)
• 2. Impairments in communication and language
• 3. Restricted repertoire of interests and activities and problems developing imagination/play.
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Human Interest/Social Development
• Lack of social reciprocity, empathy, awareness of the perspective of others
• Lack of development of peer relationships
• Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest, or achievement
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Communication:
• Lack of understanding of conversation reciprocity
• Difficulty understanding and using non-verbal cues
• Language sometimes may sound like gibberish• Inability to understand concepts/abstract
language• Very concrete or literal in interpretation
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Communication continued
• May not understand what language is used for
• Difficulty in volume control, cadence, intonation
• May use echolalia or repetitive use of memorized phrases
• May have a large vocabulary but not used functionally
• Difficulty answering questions
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Sensory: Taste/Smell
• May be very sensitive• May eat restricted diet • Unusually resistant to change, so may eat
same foods at same time and same meals
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Touch
• May not like light touch, certain clothing• May seek deep pressure touch• May have difficulty changing clothing with
the weather• May be fascinated with touching certain
textures
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Vision
• May do odd things with their vision• May line things up• Light (fluorescent) may bother them• May be visually distracted
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Hearing
• We can filter noises, sometimes people with autism can’t filter
• May focus on wrong piece of information• Listening may be like all radio stations on
at once• May hear selectively• Sound may be distracting
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Need for sameness
• Unusually resistant to changes• Develop routines quickly• May need to repeat before moving on• May have very limited and/or one
area of special interest that is highly developed
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Other characteristics
• Work is play and play is work• Problems with generalization• Compulsive behaviors• Uneven patterns of development• Difficulty with transitions• Difficulty with unstructured times(TEACCH)
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Secondary Characteristics of ASD
May display one or more of these behaviors:• Short attention/Hyperactive/Impulsive behaviors• Aggressiveness• Self-injurious behavior• Temper tantrums• Lack of fear of danger
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Learning barriers:
• Comprehension difficulties (masked by advanced vocabulary).
• Organizing, planning, breaking down tasks.• Knowing what to do, and how, when
and where to start and finish.• Generalizing and applying skills to new
situations.
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Successful teaching:
• Organize/structure the classroom to increase understanding of what is expected.
• Provide direct instruction to specifically teach communication and social skills.
• Use visual supports such as daily schedules, activity schedules, cue cards, social stories.
• Planned generalization of skills.
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Successful Teaching:
Classroom Design:• TEACCH principles incorporating visual
structure and schedules• Students’ needs determine classroom
organization• Provide opportunities for 1:1 and small
group instruction
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Physical structure:
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Physical boundaries:
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Successful Teaching:Tips for Teaching• Explain and narrate activities and rules.• Be simple, clear, and positive when presenting
instructions.• High levels of specific praise/tangible
reinforcers for appropriate responding.• Capture momentary motivations—follow
child’s lead.• Reinforce spontaneity! Solutions for Language Training by Dr. Partington
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Strategies to Support Behavior
• Take a proactive approach (don’t take it personally)
• Make certain appropriate visual, environmental, social and communication supports are in place.
• Use an interaction style that is calm, predictable, yet flexible, compassionate and patient.
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Key educational components National Research Council (2001) :
• Intervention programs as soon as ASD is diagnosed
• Active engagement in intensive instructional programming (full school day, full year)
• Repeated teaching organized around short intervals with 1:1 and very small group instructions
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Key components cont.
• Inclusion of a family component• Mechanisms for ongoing evaluation
of program and children’s progress, with adjustments made accordingly
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More information?
• CARD (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) • Catherine Maurice’s book: Behavioral Intervention
For Young Children With Autism• Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills
by Drs. Mark Sunberg and Jim Partington• ABA program at FSU• Autism Society of America
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Resources• Autism Society of America• Teaching Tools for Young Children www.challengingbehavior.org • TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related
Communication handicapped Children)• How to Be a Para Pro- A Comprehensive Training Manual
for Paraprofessionals by Diane Twachtman-Cullen• The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition
(DSM IV) by American Psychiatric Association • Center for Autism and Related Disabilities• Solutions for Language Training by Dr. James Partington• First Words Project, the Early Social Interaction Project, and FSU CARD
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Kids are kids!
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