Katie Hoffman 1

Autism Spectrum Disorders

What you need to know….

“Children do well if they can…

if they can’t, we adults need to figure out what’s getting in the way, so we can help.”

-Dr. Ross Greene “The Explosive Child”

Special Education Criteria

Autism Spectrum Disorders

Social Understanding CommunicationRule Bound/Inflexible

Thinking

Statistics

• ISD 622 1:63 students identified as ASD

• Roseville 1:62 students identified as ASD

• Mahtomedi 1:86 students identified as ASD

• Bloomington 1:56 students identified as ASD

Social Understanding

• Showing interest in others

• Understanding others have a different perspective

• Peer relationships

• Interact well with adults because we accommodate for their difficulties.

• Struggle with hidden social curriculum

ASD: The Invisible Disability

• You can teach a child with ASD the theory of relativity once and he’d get it. But you’d have to tell him the rules for lining up for recess 500 times.

• The Big Bang Theory - CBS

Communication

• Pragmatic Language– Extraneous information– Not giving enough information– Remaining on-topic – Avoids eye contact– Voice - unusual voice or pedantic manner of speaking– Reading non-verbal cues/ understanding other’s childrens

expressions and feelings– Body basics/facial attending– Turn taking– OCD interests/issues (high interest areas)– One-sided conversations

Rule Bound Thinking/Flexibility

• Rule followers or expect others to follow rules. May be their own rules.

• Like structure and routines.• Resistance to change, over reaction to minor changes in routine

or environment• ANXIETY DRIVES BEHAVIOR!!!!• Good memory for certain things• Narrow interests/special interests• Sensory needs• May have problems with anger due to high cognition – enough

insight to realize something is wrong, but not enough to realize what it is.

Asperger’s Syndrome• Impairment of frontal lobe (executive) functioning• Awareness of differences between the A.S. person and others

can cause anxiety.• Depression more common in A.S. kids• A.S. students can be highly competitive.• Inability to get jokes or teasing• Inappropriate attachment to objects

• High verbal skills and strong interests in subjects unusual for the child’s age

• Restricted range of interests• Problems with Sensory Integration

Anxiety Drives Behavior

• Typical Behavior Strategies won’t work (charts, behavior modification, choices, etc…).

• Strategies that work with ASD kids can work with all children. Strategies that work with all children may not work with ASD kids.

• Need to find a balance between accommodating their anxiety and gently challenging them to move forward. It’s a very fine line.

Top Ten Situations that Trigger Insistence on Sameness

• 1. Annoying behavior

• 2. Activity interrupted• 3. Losing a game• 4. Object breaks• 5. Event cancelled• 6. Event delayed• 7. Materials run out• 8. Item misplaced• 9. Sequence changed• 10. Momentary separation

Strategies in the Classroom

• Verbal directions– During times of anxiety give short/concise

directions (1-3 words), – Pair them with a visual as much as possible. – Some of your lower functioning kids will need

shorten directions for all directions.– Students with ASD need spoken language to be

deliberate and delivered at a consistent pace. It is difficult for students to read-between-the-lines or to understand abstract concepts such as sarcasm.

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• Visual Strategies – Post-it’s– Schedules

• Should be out and visible at all times.• Some kids need only the next three events in front of them • Some kids need the daily list available to them but not reviewed

(usually these kids are high functioning enough to be mainstreamed or in grade 3-5)

• Some kids need to move an icon to the done column, cross off each section of the day, etc…

• Even if a child can read you should add visual cues, kids can process these quicker.

• Give advance notice of changes.

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• Cartooning• Example• Always consider:

– What the behavior/social error looks like?– What the ASD student is thinking when they do it?– What are others thinking when they do it? (It’s okay

to be a little blunt (but respectful) here – they need it!)

– What they can do instead or to fix the social error?

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• Social Stories– Repetitive situations– Big changes

• Good Manners/Bad Manners

• 3-part relaxation strategies

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• 5-point Scale– 5 is the biggest that it can be and 1 is the

smallest.– Have a voice volume chart posted: 5 (red)

= screaming, 4 (orange) = loud voice, 3 (yellow) = normal voice, 2 (blue) = whisper, 1 (green) = no talking

– Have a anxiety scale posted: 5 = meltdown, 4=upset, 3= worried, 2=uneasy, 1= calm

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• Sensory Tools/sensory breaks– Consult with the Occupational Therapist– Some kids need 5 minute breaks after every

academic task, some less frequent than that.– These help keep kids calm so they can

complete tasks. It is important to find the right balance for each child.

– Lots and lots of options…..

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• First/Then (verbally or visually)• Use high interest areas to practice various

skills (topic for writing, communication)• BE extremely careful with reward based

programs – I wouldn’t encourage these as the children don’t understand the connection to their behavior at lunch and not getting a pop at the end of the day.

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• Carrier Phrases “Do you have a ________”• Give two choices of what they could answer• Gain their attention and give plenty of wait time.• Write out your directions• Visual representation of expectations (picture of

organized desk)• Check list of things they need for a class

Strategies in the Classroom (con’t)

• Conversation starters• Operate on “ASD” Time (“twice as much time/half the work

done”). Students with ASD typically need more time to understand directions, gather materials, complete assignments, and orient themselves to transition.

You should be able to pack in a backpack the strategies a child needs to be successful.

MELTDOWNS

• Don’t ever paint yourself into a corner that you can’t get out of with the child.

• Attempt to identify what the cause of the meltdown is.

• Best to avoid meltdowns, what triggers them, how can you accommodate those triggers while your teaching the skill of calming down.