Communication and Teaching Young Children with Autism

1
Communication and Teaching Young Children with
Autism

• Fletcher Scott, M.A. CCC/SLP
• Project SET (Specialized Early Teaching for Young
  Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders)
• Background

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Factors to look at BEFORE teaching occurs

• Motivation
• Reinforcement
• Attention
• Teaching Environment

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Factors to look at BEFORE teaching occurs

• Motivation of child with autism
• Usually looks different than for typical or
  delayed children
• Difficulty with new tasks/activities/settings
• Often avoids social or communicative demands
  placed by others
• Strive for sameness

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Reinforcement

• Assess what kinds of toys/activities/settings are
  reinforcing for the child
• Two kinds of reinforcement primary (food) and
  secondary (objects, activities, etc)
• Generally, water play, bubbles, visually
  stimulating toys, toys with different kinds of
  sensory input (tactile, auditory, visual, etc)
• Specifically, what is the child drawn to without
  prompting by others

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Attention

• How do you know if you have it?
• Eye gaze towards object/person/activity
• Body position relative to object/person/activity
• Other communicative attempts towards
  object/person/activity (reach, grab,
  vocalization)

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Teaching Environment

• What does the child need in order to attend and
  learn?
• Limiting visual/auditory distractions (ltpeople,
  ltnoise generally more effective)
• Structured space (table, chair, floor with
  defined visual limits)
• Sight of reinforcements (food, toys, activity)

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Communication Strategies

• Expressive Communication
• PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System)
• Pivotal Response Teaching
• Receptive Communication
• Visual Supports/Schedules
• Social Stories
• Transitions

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Picture Exchange Communication System

• What is it?
• Why is it effective for children with autism?
• How is it used and why?
• Video examples

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Pivotal Response Teaching

• What is it?
• Why is it effective for children with autism?
• How is it used and why?
• Video examples

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Visual Supports/Schedules

• Rationale for using them with children with
  autism
• Why is it effective?
• What does it teach?

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Social Stories

• Used to try and explain a social situation in
  visual terms
• Why is it effective?
• How is it used?
• Examples

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Transitions

• Why are they so difficult for children with
  autism?
• How can we make them more manageable?
• Video example

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• Questions and Answers