Dana, Jason, Jenny, Jill

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Dana, Jason, Jenny, Jill
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Early Warning SignsAre these the descriptions of
infants with Autism or infants without Autism

• Avoids eye contact
• Studies mothers face
• Seems deaf
• Is easily stimulated by sounds
• Adds to vocabulary and grammatical use
• Starts developing language, then abruptly stops
  talking altogether.

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Definition of Autism

• A developmental brain disorder that begins in
  early childhood and persists throughout adulthood
  affects three crucial areas of development
  communication, social interaction, and creative
  or imaginative play.

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Autism Spectrum
PDD-NOS Asperger CDD Retts-only
girls Savants-Small percentage
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Presumed Causes of Autism

• There are no proven causes of this disorder
• Vaccinations for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
• Genetic and hereditary factors
• Abnormalities in brain structure or function
• Biological causes
• Problems during and after pregnancy or delivery
• Environmental factors
• Viral infections
• Metabolic imbalances
• Exposure to chemicals

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Incidence Rates of Autism

• 1 in every 500 babies born have Autism.
• 5 boys to every 1 girl has Autism.
• Autism is the third most common developmental
  disability.
• Autism is more common than multiple sclerosis,
  cystic fibrosis, or childhood cancer.

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Diagnosis
No medical tests are needed, but are used to rule
out other possibilities. May appear that the
child has mental retardation, hearing
impairments, or a behavior disorder. Observation
of communication, behavior, and development is
the best way to diagnosis Autism.
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Those that help diagnose
Parents/Caregivers Neurologists Psychologists Deve
lopmental pediatricians Speech/language
therapists Learning consultants Early
identification is the key to helping the child
the most.
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Characteristics of Autism

• Difficulty mixing and relating with other people
• Inappropriate laughing and giggling
• No fear of real dangers
• Apparent insensitivity to pain
• Inappropriate attachment to objects
• Repetitive or ritualistic behavior
• Rocking, spinning, head banging, hand twisting
• Words or phrases in place of normal, responsive
  language.
• Selective hearing, not responsive to verbal cues
  and may act as deaf
• Hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to the senses

• Extreme emotional distress for no discernable
  reason
• Laughing, crying, showing distress
• Resists change in routine and environment
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Marked physical over activity or extreme
  passivity
• Severely impaired verbal/nonverbal communication
• Little imaginative play
• Intellectual ability is limited
• Difficulty in expressing needs uses gestures or
  pointing instead of words
• Prefers to be alone

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Characteristics, contd.

• Tantrums
• May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
• No eye contact, appears to look through people
• Sustained odd play
• Spins objects

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Treatment
No Cure Therapies and interventions Parents
Occupational therapist Speech therapist Behaviora
l therapist
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Educational/Behavioral Interventions
Used the most often Should begin as early as
possible for best results Highly structured and
intensive skill-oriented training tailored to
each individual Therapists help with development
of social and language skills
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Instructional Considerations

• Structured days
• Visuals
• Encourage talents
• Use their fixations for motivation
• Concrete visual methods
• Padded weighted vest
• Make eye contact with the child
• Sing or whisper information to the child
• Do not require that the child sees and hears at
  the same time
• Teach generalizations
• Sequencing can be difficult for Autistic children

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Instructional Considerations

• Avoid long verbal instruction
• Do not focus on handwriting, if possible let
  child type
• Protect child from loud sounds
• If possible, avoid using fluorescent lights
• Social skills must be taught, they are not
  learned through observation
• Present lessons in a controlled manner
• Find alternative ways in which the child can
  demonstrate what they learned

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Instructional Considerations

• Prepare the child
• Set up a cueing system for keeping the child on
  task
• Arrange for transitions
• Focus on comprehension and content retention
• Graphic and Visual organizers
• Mnemonic Devices

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Technology

• Boardmaker
• Picture It
• CompuThera
• Microsoft PowerPoint

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Other Interesting Information

• Draws in detail
• Graphic memory
• Refrigerator Mothers
• Difficulty filtering noise
• May have echolalia
• May have a large vocabulary, but not know what
  they said
• May not like light touch or certain clothing
• May have above average ability to balance
• May walk on toes

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Resources

• Let Me Hear Your Voice A Family's Triumph over
  Autismby Catherine Maurice
• Thinking In Pictures and Other Reports from My
  Life with Autismby Temple Grandin
• Educating Children With Autismby National
  Research Council
• National Dissemination Center for Children with
  Disabilities www.NICHCY.org

• Activity Schedules for Children With Autism
  Teaching Independent Behavior (Topics in
  Autism)by Lynn E., Ph.D McClannahan, Patricia
  J., Ph.D Krantz
• Behavioral Intervention for Young Children With
  Autism A Manual for Parents and Professionalsby
  Catherine Maurice (Editor), Gina Green (Editor),
  Stephen C. Luce (Editor)
• When My Autism Gets Too Big! A Relaxation Book
  for Children with Autism Spectrum Disordersby
  Kari Dunn Buron, Brenda Smith Myles

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Resources

• National Institute of Child Health
• Autism Society of America
• Autism Research Institute
• The New Jersey Center for Outreach and Services
  for the Autism Community, Inc.
• National Autism Hotline
• Natioanl Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.

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References

• http//www.autism-society.org/site/
• http//www.nhautism.org/http//t3.preservice.org/T
  0401753/aut2.htm
• http//ww.google.com/search?hlenieUTF-8qchara
  cteristicsofautism
• http//www.childbrain.com/pddq8.shtml
• http//originsofautism.com/
• http//www.computhera.com/about.html
• http//www.polyxo.com/visualsupport/letsgetvisual.
  html
• No Author. Lights, Camera, Action! Using Engaging
  Computer-Cued Activity Schedules. Teaching
  Exceptional Children. 36 no1 40-5 S/O 2003.

• http//www.healthieryou.com/autism.html
• http//health.discovery.com/centers/mental/autism/
  autism2.html
• http//www.designbycher.com/autism_art.htm
• http//www.polyxo.com/discretetrial/
• http//www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/k/pecs/se/docs/autism/
  Teaching20Students20with20Autism20Document.pdf
  
• http//www.autism.org/temple/tips.html
• Kluth, Paula Darmody-Latham, Julie. (2003).
  Beyond sight words Literacy opportunities for
  students with autism. Reading Teacher, 56, 6.

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