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Challenges for Teachers
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Having a student who has autism in the classroom undoubtedly poses numerous unique obstacles for the teacher. The following provides implications for classroom instruction based on specific characteristics associated with autism, as provided by the Alberta Education:
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Instructional Implications for Communication:
Programs for students with autism spectrum disorders include comprehensive communication assessment and intervention. This involves assessment by a speech-language pathologist as well as informal observation and classroom based evaluation. Assessment serves as the basis for identifying goals and strategies for facilitating development of receptive and expressive language skills, particularly pragmatic skills. Keep in mind that communication goals should emphasize the functional use of language and communication in various settings.
Instruction should emphasize:
- Paying attention
- Imitating
- Comprehension of common words and instructions
- Using language for social reasons (not just to have basic needs met)
- Functional communication
Instruction should emphasize:
- Paying attention
- Imitating
- Comprehension of common words and instructions
- Using language for social reasons (not just to have basic needs met)
- Functional communication
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Instructional Implications for Social Interaction:
Social skill development is essential for students with autism spectrum disorders and it is a critical component in developing plans for managing challenging behaviours. Many children with autism spectrum disorders develop social interest but do not possess the social skills necessary to successfully initiate or maintain interactions. Students with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty learning social skills incidentally or by simple observation and participation. It is generally necessary to target specific skills for explicit instruction and provide support to encourage students to consistently use them.
The following social skills are generally considered to be critical to social success and should be explicitly taught:
- Tolerating others in one’s work and play space
- Imitating the actions and vocalizations of others
- Engaging in parallel activities with others
- Sharing materials
- Taking turns within the context of a familiar activity
- Using eye contact to initiate and maintain interactions
The following social skills are generally considered to be critical to social success and should be explicitly taught:
- Tolerating others in one’s work and play space
- Imitating the actions and vocalizations of others
- Engaging in parallel activities with others
- Sharing materials
- Taking turns within the context of a familiar activity
- Using eye contact to initiate and maintain interactions
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Instructional Implications for Unusual/Challenging Behaviours:
Many of the odd, stereotypical behaviours associated with autism spectrum disorders may be caused by other factors, such as hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to sensory stimulation, difficulties understanding social situations, difficulties with changes in routine and anxiety. In planning instruction, teachers need to consider the problematic behaviour and its function for that particular student. Rather than attempting to control or eliminate all changing behaviours, successful teaching strategies often focus on making environmental adaptations to decrease inappropriate behaviours, and/or helping students learn more appropriate behaviours that will serve the same function.
The instructional plan needs to incorporate strategies for:
- Expanding students’ interests
- Developing skills across a variety of functional areas
- Helping students monitor their level of arousal or anxiety
- Preparing students for planned changes
- Facilitating ways to calm down and reduce anxiety
The instructional plan needs to incorporate strategies for:
- Expanding students’ interests
- Developing skills across a variety of functional areas
- Helping students monitor their level of arousal or anxiety
- Preparing students for planned changes
- Facilitating ways to calm down and reduce anxiety
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Instructional Implications for Learning:
Cognitive variations result in patterns of strengths and weaknesses in a student’s academic performance, social interaction and behaviour. Development of cognitive skills is usually uneven. Education programs should be based on the unique combination of strengths and needs of individual students. Programs may need to be modified on an ongoing basis to ensure they are appropriate.
Many students with autism spectrum disorders have deficits in attention and language development, problems with concept formation and difficulties with memory for complex information. These characteristics, considered in combination with personal accounts of how individuals with autism spectrum disorders are visually oriented, suggest that visual material should be incorporated in teaching.
Many students with autism spectrum disorders have deficits in attention and language development, problems with concept formation and difficulties with memory for complex information. These characteristics, considered in combination with personal accounts of how individuals with autism spectrum disorders are visually oriented, suggest that visual material should be incorporated in teaching.
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Instructional Implications for Unusual Patterns of Attention:
Difficulties with attention may significantly interfere with students’ abilities to develop effective social behaviour and language. For example, students with autism spectrum disorders may respond to irrelevant social cues that have caught their attention, or attend to limited portions of a conversation and not understand the intent of what is being communicated. They may not attend to multiple cues in speech and language, and miss important subtleties of the message. Individualized strategies for focusing students’ attention can be developed as part of instructional plans. Parents can provide valuable information about their methods of helping their children focus on things they need to learn. Ideally, instructional plans will include helping students eventually manage these strategies themselves.
Information and instructional activities presented to students should be provided in a format that:
- Is clear and concise
- Is consistent with students’ comprehension levels
- Focuses their attention
- Emphasizes the most relevant information.
Information and instructional activities presented to students should be provided in a format that:
- Is clear and concise
- Is consistent with students’ comprehension levels
- Focuses their attention
- Emphasizes the most relevant information.
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Instructional Implications for Unusual Patterns of Attention:
Unpleasant or aversive sensory experiences contribute to some of the inappropriate behaviours students with autism spectrum disorders display. For example, students with severe sensory processing problems may shut down entirely to avoid aversive stimuli or over-stimulation. Tantrums may be related to the desire to escape situations that are over-stimulating. Self-stimulating behaviours may help individuals calm down when stimuli become overwhelming, by generating a self-controlled, repetitive stimulus.
Being aware of the different experiences of sensory stimulation and integration is an important part of understanding the behaviours of students with autism spectrum disorders and planning programs for them.
Being aware of the different experiences of sensory stimulation and integration is an important part of understanding the behaviours of students with autism spectrum disorders and planning programs for them.
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Instructional Implications for Anxiety:
Programming for students with autism spectrum disorders often need to address anxiety and the factors that appear to contribute to it. Changes and adaptations can be made within the environment to reduce anxiety-arousing situations, and a variety of strategies can be used to help students manage anxiety and cope with difficult situations. These include:
- Providing warnings about upcoming transitions and changes
- Providing daily and weekly schedules to increase predictability
- Utilizing social scripts to encourage appropriate calming strategies or coping skills
- Providing factual information regarding fear or anxiety arousing situations, e.g., what to do when lost
- Establishing a calming area within the classroom.
- Providing warnings about upcoming transitions and changes
- Providing daily and weekly schedules to increase predictability
- Utilizing social scripts to encourage appropriate calming strategies or coping skills
- Providing factual information regarding fear or anxiety arousing situations, e.g., what to do when lost
- Establishing a calming area within the classroom.