Autism Spectrum Disorder Part 1

Autism Spectrum Disorder (Part 1):
An Overview for Educators
Assessment
Watch the video of a mother interacting with her twins, Nathan and Benjamin (time: 1:20).
A. View the video below.
VIDEO DESCRIPTION
In this video, an adult plays with a pair of identical twins. In the first segment, Benjamin, who
is one year and seven months old, plays with a toy truck. The adult pushes the truck toward
him, and Benjamin pushes it back. making engine sounds as he does so. When he accidentally
pushes it off the small table, he acknowledges it and waits for the adult to reset the toy, at
which point their play resumes as before.
In the second segment, Benjamin’s brother Nathan plays with the truck. However, this time,
when the adult pushes the truck toward him, Nathan lifts it off the table and turns it upside
down. Several times, he turns away from the adult or tries to leave his chair. His gaze
wanders, and he seems uninterested in the play.
The third segment splits the screen and shows both twins playing at once, so that their styles
of play and interaction with the adult can be more easily observed and compared.
B. Identify the twin who demonstrates early warning signs of ASD and describe the warning
Nathan demonstrates early signs of ASD. The warning signs are
➔ Not displaying any facial expressions
➔ no babbling, or gestures to respond to his mother
➔ not sharing interests in wanting to push back the truck like Benjamin
C. Compare the behavior of the twin who demonstrates early warning signs of ASD to that of his
brother.
➔ Nathan did not interact with his mother as much as his brother Benjamin did. Benjamin was
showing interest and was pushing the truck back to his mother and repeating the sounds his mother
was making. Unlike Nathan, who showed no interest in playing with his mother. He was also trying to
leave the chair and turned and was holding on to the gate uninterested with the truck.
Pick one of the scenarios below (from the Challenge) and answer the questions.
Scenario: David
This is David, a 2½-year-old with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disabilities. He is
not interested in other children, and he does not play with toys as they were designed to be played
with. For example, instead of pushing toy cars around on the floor, he flips them over and spins their
wheels. On the other hand, David loves to play in the water and listen to music. At night, he remains
awake for extended periods, something that is exhausting for his parents. Mealtimes are a struggle as
well. David eats only a few specific foods and avoids others with textures or consistencies he doesn’t
like. He is non-verbal and lacks a systematic way to let his teachers and parents know what he wants.
Often, when he is not successful at communicating what he wants, David throws himself on the floor,
hits his parents, and throws objects. He has recently been introduced to the Picture Exchange
Communication System, often referred to as PECS, but has not yet learned enough to communicate his
needs.
A. Would this child or student have an IFSP team or an IEP team? Explain.
➔ David is a 2 1/2 year-old, this child would have a IFSP, because these are
developed for children from birth to three years of age.
B. Who are the required members for this team?

➔ IDEA 2004 requires that, at a minimum, multidisciplinary IFSP teams include a
parent and at least two professionals from different disciplines, one of whom must be
the service coordinator.
C. Identify at least two additional team members that might be on this team and explain why?
➔ A paraprofessional might be on the team because often the paraprofessional
spends more time with the student than either the special education or general
education teacher and can provide valuable insight into the student's strengths, areas
of needs, interests, and other issues that can help build a strong educational program.
➔ A School Psychologist might also be on the team because school psychologists
develop behavior plans, conduct social groups, and provide or recommend other
specialized interventions for students with ASD.
Recall Jaquese from the Challenge. Jaquese is a ten-year-old student in an inclusive fourth-grade
classroom. Jaquese loves mathematics and science and is above grade level in both subjects. Because of
this, his teachers have a hard time keeping him engaged during mathematics and science instruction. On
the other hand, Jaquese has difficulty with reading and writing. He also struggles with reading
comprehension, both when a story is read to him and when he reads it independently. He’s obsessed with
superheroes and will often quote and act out scenes from their comic books or films. This is often
frustrating for the teacher, because no matter how she tries to distract him from his imaginary
superheroics, he always comes back to them. In fact, he often cannot begin his work until he has finished
acting out an entire scene. Further, most students do not understand his obsession; they find Jaquese
annoying and do their best to avoid him.
Imagine you are Jaquese’s general education teacher. Using what you know about Jaquese,
select three strategies discussed in this module that you could implement to increase his success
in the classroom. Explain why you chose each and how it will benefit him.
First, by understanding a student's interests. This will help the teachers increase their
chances of making meaningful progress with that child or student. Teachers can use this
information to teach concepts, as well as to motivate, reinforce, and build rapport with a
student .In Jaquese’s case, as a teacher, having the time to get to him and understand his
interests and take focus on them will help me be able to build a rapport with him. Building a
rapport with the Jacquese is very crucial when teaching. It will help in building trust between
the teacher and the Jaquese. And giving importance to his interests will help the teacher to
capture his attention and become more engaged in the lessons. It will also help generate a more
positive behavior from him..
Second, creating a structured environment by maintaining a structured environment.

This strategy can help to make the students feel less anxious, increase their availability for
learning, and improve their cooperation throughout the school day. A structured environment
can include: a predictable schedule – activities occur at the same time across days or weeks.By
creating a structured environment for Jaquese he will have a schedule to follow and it can help
him to not get distracted in class.
Third, create social opportunities, teachers can create opportunities for children or
students with ASD to socialize with typically developing peers in a number of ways, such as:
● Creating group activities (and making sure each member, including the child or
student with ASD, has a role)
● Assigning a peer buddy or partner
● Creating social opportunities that relate to the child or student's interest
Creating social opportunities for Jaquese will help him to interact more with his
classmates. It will also help his classmates understand him much better and to not think that he
is annoying and have to avoid him.
Submitted by: Jenny Lou Novida

Autism Spectrum Disorder Part 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Autism Spectrum Disorder Part 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Autism Spectrum Disorder (Part 1):

An Overview for Educators

A. View the video below.

B. Who are the required members for this team?

Second, creating a structured environment by maintaining a structured environment.

Submitted by: Jenny Lou Novida

You might also like