START Building Your
Future Project
Eliminating Barriers and Creating
Opportunities for Adults with ASD
2012-13
Adults with ASD
Employment, Higher Education,
Community Involvement,
Independent Living, Leisure and
Quality of Life
Intent of this Presentation
This presentation is designed to
assist adult service providers who
are supporting people with Autism
Spectrum Disorder navigate the
complexities of this disability.
Agenda
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Numbers of Adults with ASD
What is ASD?
Interference of High Interest Areas
Literal Interpretation of Information
Misunderstanding of Social Situations
Lack of Social Reciprocity – Inflated Ego
Hypersensitivity to the Environment
Difficulty Staying Employed
Hygiene Issues
Responding to Others Needs
Truth at all Costs
WWW.AFAA-US.ORG
Advancing Futures for Adults with ASD
Autism Speaks
Michigan Students with an ASD Eligibility Label
16000
15,403
14000
Number of students
12000
10000
8000
5,682
6000
4000
1,208
2000
0
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
# of MI Students with ASD by Age
* Based on 2010 MDE, OSE-EIS Eligibility
1400
1225
1200
1136
1211
1145 1137
1030
1019
1027
978
1000
908
836
2010
821
800
610
600
518
394
400
255
215
224
166
200
3
133 144 120
90
36
21
0
Age
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Current and Projected Number of Students with ASD
aged 18-26 in Michigan
*Based on the 2010 MDE, OSE-EIS Eligibility Count
12000
9797
Number of Students
10000
8000
5927
6000
4000
2000
1671
0
Current 2010
Projected 2015
Year
Projected 2020
What Does This Crisis Feel Like
for Students with ASD and their
Parents and Families?
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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How About an Example
• Engineering Degree from Michigan
Institute of Technology
• Masters in Engineering from U of M
• Fired from GM and Ford
• Fired from Several of the Suppliers
(Consulting Firms to the Big 3)
• What Is He Doing Now?
What Does This Crisis Feel
Like for People with ASD
The Dignity of Risk – Robert Perske
The world in which we live is not always safe, secure
and predictable. Every day that we wake up and live
in the hours of that day, there is a possibility of being
thrown up against a situation where we may have to
risk everything, even our lives. This is the way the
real world is. We must work to develop every human
resource within us in order to prepare for these days.
To deny any person their fair share of risk experience
is to further cripple them for healthy living.
What Does This Mean To Us
• Public Transportation – Brian
• Overnight/Sports Teams – Dan
• Washington D.C. Trip - Ryan
This Means…
• Never again will a Student with ASD be in
such a protected environment. If mistakes
are made, those mistakes can generally
be fixed.
• With appropriate supports, Students with
ASD must be given the same opportunities
as their same aged peers.
• The Dignity of Risk needs to be a part of
every decision educational teams are
making for Students with ASD.
What Else Does This Mean?
• Where did the Students’ with ASD peers
learn all the independent skills they have?
• How did they learn to independently ride
the school bus?
• How did a typically developing student
learn to be away from their family?
• Where do typically developing peers
understand the social expectations?
So…How are the Service Agencies
Supporting Adults with ASD Going to
Manage this Explosion…
By Looking At Autism
Spectrum Disorder
Differently
Looking at ASD Differently
• Respect for what has happened
in the past…
• While implementing what must happen in
the future!
May Cause Concerns
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Interference of High Interest Areas
Literal Interpretation of Information
Misunderstanding of Social Situations
Lack of Social Reciprocity – Inflated Ego
Hypersensitivity to the Environment
Difficulty Staying Employed
Hygiene Issues
Responding to Others Needs
Truth at all Costs
Interference of High
Interest Areas
• Driven by high interest areas
• Provides person with ASD:
– Predictability
– Structure and organization
– Shows knowledge
Interference of High
Interest Areas
• Causes people without ASD to feel:
– Discounted
– What they are saying is not valued or heard
– Disrespected
• Feelings lead to actions such as:
– Stop doing that – Shut down High Interest
– Discounting who the person with ASD is
– Ignoring or moving away
Interference of High
Interest Areas Results
• Person with ASD is driven to do this
• Asked to stop doing this may lead to:
– Talking to self about high interest
– Acting out high interest
• Others without ASD may:
– Determine person with ASD unstable
– Determine person with ASD incompetent
Interference of High
Interest Areas - 3 Strategies
• No More No…Where and When
– Organize time during breaks to pursue interest
area – Marty – The Price is Right
– Use technology to record or capture interest
area to view at a later time
• Embed interest area into job expectation
– Explanation of expectation using high interest
• Find group/place where interest area has
value – Dan and WRIF
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Literal Interpretation of Information
• Face value of information
• What is written is what it means –
no more/no less
• Don’t understand – It’s only speeding if
you get caught
• No reading between the lines
– People with ASD can not interpret this
statement without teaching
– Inferences are used in language and
communication everyday
Literal Interpretation
of Information Strategies
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Recognize how information is presented
Write it down, Write it down, Write it down
Show rather than tell
Provide concrete information
Get rid of wiggle words
Use words that can be interpreted literally
Keep information to…Just the facts
Creating Visuals and Jigs
• Primary responsibility of the school
personnel or the job coach
• Individualized for the Student with ASD
• Independently complete task or job
• Modifications made to the General
Education Curriculum
What is a Jig?
Jigs or templates have been known long before
the industrial age. There are many types of jigs,
and each one is custom-tailored to do a specific
job. Many jigs are created because there is a
necessity to do so by the tradesmen. Some are
to increase productivity, to do repetitious
activities and to do a job more precisely.
Because jig design is fundamentally based on
logic, similar jigs used in different times and
places may have been created independently
Example of a Jig T-Shirt Folder
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Misunderstanding of Social
Situations
• Lack of Reciprocity – Hallmark feature of ASD
• Reciprocity - in-kind positively or negatively
conotated responses of individuals towards the
actions of others
• Theory of Mind - means the ability to
recognize and understand thoughts, beliefs,
desires and intentions of other people in
order to make sense of their behavior and
predict what they are going to do.
(Atwood, The Complete Guide to Aspergers Syndrome, 2007)
Misunderstanding of Social
Situations Strategies
• People with ASD will make Social Mistakes
• Intervention/strategy usually occur after behavior
has occurred
• Analyze the social situation
• Write down person with ASD interpretation of the
social situation requiring support
• Use their words to develop strategy
• Provide themes
• Expect minimal generalization
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Social Reciprocity –
Theory of Mind Issues
• Attribute the behavior of the person with
ASD:
– As Egocentric/Narcissistic
– Out of Touch
– Self-Important
• Person with ASD has no idea that others
are misattributing his/her behavior
• No need to change because person with
ASD doesn’t know
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Develop an On-Line LINK
Social Network
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Track Graduated LINKS
Allow Networking Between LINKS
Post Opportunities for Graduated LINKS by RCN
Provide Parents List of Graduated LINKS by RCN
Social Network will be Hosted by a Person with
ASD
Imagine the Possibilities
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Co-Workers Understanding of ASD
Community College Opportunities
University Opportunities
Semi-Independent and Independent Living
Arrangements
• Social Opportunities
• Community Opportunities
Hypersensitivity to
the Environment
• Person with ASD can:
– Process information around them differently
– Develop fears or aversions
– Associate unrelated environments
• Can Lead to Behaviors that:
– Have fight or flight response
– Evoke fear in others
– May seem dangerous to others
Hypersensitivity to the
Environment Strategies
• Desensitize the person with ASD to the
environments that cause hypersensitivity
• Get the person with ASD into the environments that
caused the issues with supports
• Allow person with ASD to observe same aged
persons in the environment without consequence
• Provide awareness training in environments
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Hygiene Issues
• Lack of social filter can lead to:
– Minimal concern about appearance
– Minimal attention to hygiene
– Disheveled appearance
• Sensory Issues can lead to:
– Comfort over appearance
– Limited clothing options
– Difficulty with self care skills
– Needing assistance from others
Hygiene Issues Strategies
• Daily schedule with a check off list
• Make hygiene issues part of the routine
• Include hygiene expectations during training
component
• Post hygiene expectations
– Hair must be washed & combed
– Teeth must be brushed
– Deodorant must be worn
• Be Specific
Jack - Morning Routines
Wake Up
Bathroom
Shower
Dry Yourself
Shave
Put on underwear
Put on socks
Put on shirt
Put on pants
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Difficulty Staying Employed
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Interest Areas get in the way
Responses to employer
Responses to customers
Overinflated view of role
Gravitate toward issues that appear
important – Appear meddlesome
• Working to slow – Details – Perfectionism
• Difficulty with downtime
Difficulty Staying Employed
• Job expectations are not specific
• Organization of the environment not clear
• Social nuances in the work place
• Social expectations in the work place
• Dress code
Difficulty Staying Employed
Strategies
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Match area of interest to job expectations
Be specific about job expectations
Post social rules in the work place
Organized workspace
Dress code posted
Daily schedule of job expectations
Break room rules
Teach breaks
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Responding to Others Needs
• People with ASD want:
– To be helpful
– To be useful
– To be perfect (Want life to be perfect)
– To be in control and to control environments
• People with ASD often:
– Misunderstand others needs
– Go over the top
– Want it to be perfect for others
– Literally interpret others’ needs
Responding to Others Needs
Strategies…
• People without ASD:
– Complain just to complain
– Gossip just to gossip
– Say things to make conversations
• People with ASD:
– Want to meet the expectations of others
– Want to fix things
– If the person with ASD gets the chance they will try to
make the wrong right for those around them
– What is said by those w/o ASD is taken literally
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Truth at all Cost
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Lack of social understanding
Need for predictability
Once something is learned – Hold to it
The truth is more important than anything
Driven to live by what they know
Confused by why others are not
Leads to frustration
Maturation
The ability to understand the value of
deception and recognize when it might be
expected occurs later in the development of
the student with Aspergers, sometimes as
late as early teens.
This can cause confusion to parents and
teachers, as the previously honest, (perhaps
to a fault) child recognizes that one can
deceive people and avoid anticipated
consequences. However the type of
deception can be immature and the deceit
easily identified by an adult. Atwood, 2007
Travis and Lying
Travis is 18 Years Old
Drives and attends a typical high school
Check engine light came on way to school
Communicated in the best way he knew how
Did not get any response
Change story to get support from Staff
Got a response…Is this Lying
Background Information
• Staff explained…they could not believe what
Travis said anymore…He was constantly lying.
• Used white board…invited Travis into the meeting
• Put the word liar on the white board
• Travis said – “Everyone thinks I am a Liar”
• What was discovered by the facilitator and staff?
Travis’s Explanation
Travis Makes Things Happen
• “Telling the truth is not good enough for the
people”
• Translation – I need help and the staff does not
help me. Check engine light was not good
enough to get support
• “The wrecker is better because my car blew up”
• Translation – Ms. Black responded to the wrecker
is coming because my car blew up but did not
respond when my check engine light came on
Strategy for Exaggeration
• Travis always wore a baseball cap
• Travis would take the baseball cap off if he was
exaggerating
• Travis would leave the baseball cap on is he was
telling the whole truth
• Practice with concepts unimportant to Travis
• Staff practiced the strategy with Travis
• Teacher reports Travis uses the strategy
successfully
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
SOLUTION
J.Janzen, Understanding the Nature of Autism
PROBLEM
SOLUTION
PROBLEM
PROBLEM
J.Janzen, Understanding the Nature of Autism
NPR-Neighborhood Watch
Concerns After Viewing This Clip Are:
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Misinterpretation By Others May Lead To:
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Strategies To Support The Person With ASD:
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Thank You For Your
Time!