Autism Spectrum Disorder
Other Names of this disorder: Within the autism spectrum disorder includes: Autism, Asperger
Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (Roth, 2010).
The Frequency of Occurrence in the population and/or in gender: Autism Spectrum Disorder is much
more common in males that females (Roth, 2010).
Characteristics of ASD: Children with an autism spectrum disorder find it difficult to make sense of
the world that they live in due to 3 main impairments which are: social interactions, communication
and have repetitive behaviours task (Bruce & Pasquale, 2008).
 Difficulty to make eye contact with others
Social behaviours that are
 Interpreting and expressing facial expressions is very
present amongst children
challenging
with autism are: (Roth,
 Unable to form friendships and engage with others
2010)
 Is happy to play alone without others being involved
Difficulty in communication
includes: (Roth, 2010)
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Repetitive behaviours
include: (Roth, 2010)
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A significant delay in language development
50% of children with autism will develop speech
Their tone and pitch is different to others
Tend to repeat phrases from television shows, commercials for
no obvious reason
Unable to initiate and maintain a conversation with another
person
Limited imagination
Only understand language as being literal and cannot
understand jokes or inferred language
Obsession of a specific object
Only speaking about their main interest
Specific body movements eg hand flapping, clapping hands
Following the same routines
Learning strengths for students with ASD:
 Students have one particular interest, they excel and stay focused on this.
 Since students tend to keep to themselves, they will be less distracted by their peers during
class work
Learning weaknesses for students with ASD:
 Students have difficulty in their communication skills and would find it difficult
understanding instruction
 Difficulties in being motivated to complete set tasks
There are three different types of autism spectrum disorder:
Autistic disorder:
Aspergers disorder:
These children display all of the
These children show most of the
symptoms of ASD which are:
symptoms although they do not
communication impairments, social
have delays in their development
and repetitive behaviours (Autism
of speech (Autism Spectrum
Spectrum Australia, 2012, what are
Australia, 2012, what are the
the different types of ASD? Section
different types of ASD? Section
para. 2)
para. 3).
Pervasive developmental disorder:
This is where the child does not meet
the full criteria of autism or aspergers
but there are symptoms that are
evident (Autism Spectrum Australia,
2012, what are the different types of
ASD? Section para. 4).
The classroom environment strategies
Including autistic children in the classroom does
not necessarily indicate to force them to be
involved in social behaviours. Inclusion for
children with ASD involves making changes in
the classroom to enable equal educational
opportunities as the rest of the students in the
class (Roth, 2010).
The features of a classroom can be extremely
overwhelming for a child with autism:
Classrooms are often decorated with bright
colours to engage the students, although this is a
visual sensory overload for a child with autism,
making it difficult to focus while learning (Roth,
2010). By creating a section of the room that is
neutral in colours and there are no decorations
displayed on the walls will assist in their
concentration levels.
Having wringing on the board from previous
lessons will confuse a child with ASD, since they
find it difficult to distinguish between relevant
and irrelevant information (Roth, 2010). By
having a clear writing board will eliminates
feelings of confusion for the child throughout the
lesson.
Noisiness is very disturbing as it is a sensory
overload for a child with ASD, the child would
find it difficult to hone in on one sound to listen
to another person speak(Roth, 2010). While the
children are on the floor and there is a
discussion, have a “magic” object that when the
person is holding this object only they are able to
speak.
Individualised Strategies
Use the child’s interests and embed it into the
curriculum to engage the child and make the
learning enjoyable, otherwise it could be difficult
for the child to participate since they don’t find it
purposeful to themselves (Roth, 2010).
While giving verbal instructions to a student with
ASD, provide them with a visual and written
representation, to allow the student easily to
comprehend the work that is required (Bruce &
Pasquale, 2008).
Students are unable to cope well with change
and unpredictable events. Giving students
structure throughout the day allows students to
feel independent. It helps students to stay on
task. By creating a daily plan for the child to see
with writing and images, will put them at ease
and feel comfortable going about their school
day (Roth, 2010).
The use of motivators assists children to stay on
task and complete the tasks. The motivators are
toys or objects that interest the student, they
given to the students once they have completed
their set task (Bruce & Pasquale, 2008).
By allowing children with ASD to have choices
during teacher instruction, that is to provide the
student wth activities, topics and materials that
the child has interests in. This in turn can
improve the motivation for the child (Bruce &
Pasquale, 2008).
Tests could be overwhelming for students since
the results are unknown, by preparing the
student for an exam and going through what will
be on it to make the student familiar with it can
reduce their anxiety levels (Roth, 2010).
Further Information:
Additional Assistance Providers
There is currently a package that aims to assist children and families with Autism by Speech
Pathology Australia called “The Helping Children with Autism Package”. The package includes:
Medicare rebates, referrals to paediatricians, psychologists and speech pathologists, early
intervention programs and much more (Speech Pathology Australia, 2012. Helping Children with
Autism Package, section para. 1).
For more information on this initiative please visit this website:
http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/information-for-the-public/helping-children-withautism-package-public-info
Autism Society is an autism organisation that aims to improve the wellbeing of people with autism
through creating public awareness and promoting suitable services to these individuals (The Autism
Society, 2012. About the Autism Society section para. 1).
http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/
Useful Resource for the classroom
Autism Spectrum is a website that clearly outlines what ASD and provides information on services
and how people in the community can assist such as donating or attending an event.
http://www.autismspectrum.org.au
Must go to text
For more information on the Autism spectrum disorder, the “must go to text” is: “The Autism
Spectrum in the 21st century” written by Ilona Roth 2010 London & Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
This text contains detailed information on the impairment such as: the psychological characteristics
of ASD, intervention perspectives, family perspectives, education for ASD children and challenging
issues that arise in ASD.
Reference List
Autism Spectrum Australia (2012) Autism Spectrum Disorder. Retrieved March 01, 2012, from
http://www.autismspectrum.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=237
Roth, I.(2010) The autism spectrum in the 21st century. London & Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
Bruce, K. Pasquale, J. (2008) Autism Frontiers- Clinical Issues and Innovations. USA: Paul H Brooks
Publishing Co.
Speech Pathology Australia (2012) Helping Children with Autism Package. Retrieved March 03, 2012,
from:
http://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/information-for-the-public/helping-children-with-autismpackage-public-info
The Autism Society (2012) About the Autism Society. Retrieved March 03, 2012, from:
http://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/
By Stephanie Dimovski