Teaching Students
with Autism Spectrum
Disorders
Robin L. Dodds, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Special Education
California State University, Los Angeles
●What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
●What does ASD look like?
●Comorbidity
●How is ASD treated?
Overview
●How can teachers support students with ASD in
school?
●Should we include students with ASD?
●Promoting positive behavior
●The ABCs of behavior
●Reducing or replacing challenging behavior
To meet diagnostic criteria for ASD according to DSM-5, a child must have
persistent deficits in each of three areas of social communication and
interaction plus at least two of four types of restricted, repetitive behaviors
Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across
multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history
(examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):
Diagnostic
Criteria DSMV
● Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal
social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced
sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to
social interactions.
● Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction,
ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal
communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits
in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and
nonverbal communication.
● Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understand relationships, ranging, for
example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to
difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of
interest in peers.
Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as
manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history:
Diagnostic
Criteria DSMV (continued)
● Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g.,
simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia,
idiosyncratic phrases).
● Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized
patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small
changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals,
need to take same route or eat same food every day).
● Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
(e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects,
excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).
● Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory
aspects of the environment (e.g. apparent indifference to pain/temperature,
adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or
touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).
Autism is:
●4 times more likely in boys than girls
●Diagnosed in about 1 in 160 children worldwide (WHO) but is likely
much higher
●Black Caribbean people among the most likely to have ASD
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-301885.227
Autism Is…
●A spectrum- Different presentations of gifts and needs
●Not caused by vaccines or poor parenting
●Likely genetic (It runs in families)
●A lifelong condition (But it can get better!)
●Not bratty behavior
●A natural expression of the human genome!
The use of language in social contexts. It encompasses social
interaction, social cognition, pragmatics, and language
processing.
Social
Communication
Can include autism spectrum and social communication
disorders. Children can have ASD or SCD with other
conditions like ADHD, SLD or IDD
Social
Communication
Challenges
Social Interaction
Social
Interaction
Communication
Communication
Social Communication Disorder
Restrictive/
Repetitive
Autism Spectrum Disorder
MCHAT-R/F https://m-chat.org/en-us/page/take-m-chat-test/online 2stage parent-report screening tool to assess ASD risk 16 to 30 months who
may need receive more thorough assessment
Know the Signs
Act Early
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Second Edition (ADOS-2) is a
standardized assessment tool that helps providers diagnose autism
spectrum disorders (ASD) in children and adults. The ADOS involves a
semi-structured play or interview session determined by the age and
communication level of the individual.
CDC “Know the Signs” https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html
CDC Autism Case Training Videos
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/autism/video/module1.html
Examples of “Red Flags” for Social Communication Challenges
▪ Not responding to name
▪ Lack of social engagement
▪ Reduced eye-contact
Older children with ASD: https://youtu.be/vkCLnEqactM
https://youtu.be/6ko5gyFwtf8
●Epilepsy/seizures
●Sleep disorders/disturbance
●ADHD
Comorbidity/
Co-occurring
Conditions
●Gastrointestinal disorders
●Feeding/eating challenges
●Obesity
●Anxiety
●Depression
●Bipolar disorder
●and more…
Behavioral
Interventions
and Therapies
●Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)
Encourages positive behaviors and discourages
negative behaviors to improve a variety of skills. The
child’s progress is tracked and measured. ABA Example
●Discrete Trial Training (DTT)
●Early Start Denver Model (ESDM)
●Pivotal Response Training (PRT)
●Augmentative and Alternative Communication
●PECS Example
●Occupational Therapy
●Social Skills Training
●Speech Therapy
●Teachers can be the Best Support:
https://youtu.be/3jUTGSVTRJQ
●About ASD Diagnosis: https://youtu.be/PGwBWMN4-Po
●Difficulty with Transitions: https://youtu.be/K-6i0tkMS4M
ASD as
children enter
School
●Anxiety: https://youtu.be/riS53sCbLfo
●You may notice rigidity, fixation on specific topics, and
difficulty in conversations (no back-and forth)
●Checklists are helpful (self-management)
●Limit verbal directions
●Chunking activities, reduce number of problems required
●Peer support, group work with clearly assigned roles
●High rates of unemployment or under-employment
●Low participation in higher education
●Majority continue to live with family members
ASD in Teens
and Adults
●Limited opportunity for community or social
activities—nearly 40% spend little or no time with
friends
●Changes in ASD symptoms, behaviors, and cooccurring health conditions can affect ability to
function/participate in the community
Can Inclusion
Work?
Positive Outcomes for Students w/ ASD/SCD
• Significant gains in IQ
• Improved language skills
• Increased adaptive skills
• Increased social interaction
• Improved play skills
Negative Outcomes for Students w/ ASD/SCD
• NONE!
Teacher Attitudes Make a Difference
• Optimism
• Focus on “inappropriate” behavior
• Training and support
• Parent opinions and satisfaction
▪ Feeling comfortable with students with disabilities
Benefits for
Typically
Developing
Peers
▪ Positive attitudes toward students with disabilities
▪ Viewed as capable and belonging
▪ Positive social-emotional growth
▪ Positive classroom-wide interactions
▪ No impact on academic gains
▪ Parent support helps facilitate inclusion
Supporting All
Students
▪ Reduce Clutter-Visually and Physically
▪ Clear Labels and Homes for Everything
Environments
that Support
Learning
▪ Put Away what is not Being Used
▪ Keep Noise Levels Consistent
Tell Me What
You See…
Consistent Daily Schedule
●Active/ passive, teacher-led/child-led,
quiet/loud, small-group/whole group
Routines
Make Children
Feel Safe
Consistent Routines, Cues and Procedures
●Do you ring a bell? Sing a song? Flash the
lights?
Concrete Directions
●“Get ready for outside time!” VS. “Put the
toys away and line up at the door.”
A Few Clear Rules, Frequently Referenced
●Whose rules? How many? Are they positive?
Visuals can
Support Social
Communication
Development
and Regulation
https://youtu.be/-9UtEaEoAiU
Soft Spaces
Quiet/Dark Spaces
Bouncing
Sensory
Supports for
Regulation
Crashing
Squeezing
Touching/Textures
Borders and barriers
Chewing
Something to hold
Get at their level
Be a mirror
Small portions
Encouraging
and Expanding
Early
Communication
Out of reach/ Need help
Offer choices
Model and wait!
Take turns equally
Add a word to what they’ve said
Give Specific Praise
● “I like the way you are painting on the paper.” VS. “Good job!”
Supporting
Positive
Behavior (and
Preventing
Negative
Behavior)
Redirect Before Challenging Behavior
● What usually triggers the behavior? Avoid, prepare or redirect!
First-Then Board and Break Cards
● First-then boards-let the child know that when they finish a nonpreferred task, then they will do something fun. Let them choose
what they’d like to do from 2 or 3 choices that you know they like.
● Break cards- can be handed to an adult when the child needs to
take a brief break. Timers can be used to extend the time at an
activity.
Set Your Priorities
● What behavior is a big deal, and what are some that really aren’t
hurting anyone? Safety first!
Behavior can be considered a problem if:
Challenging
Behavior
• It limits the person’s access to things the person
enjoys
• It interferes with learning new things
• It limits the person’s interaction with peers
Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA): evaluation technique to determine
function of a behavior and factors that maintain it. It helps teachers understand
the reason(s) for student behavior and design intervention to help student
learn new/more acceptable method of getting what he/she wants.
7 Steps for Conducting an FBA:
Determine the Behavior’s Function
Functional
Behavioral
Assessment
● Step 1: Identify and define problem and replacement behaviors
● Step 2: Collect data
● Step 3: Identify the function of the behavior
Develop and Implement a Function-Based Intervention
● Step 4: Design a function-based intervention
● Step 5: Maximize intervention success
● Step 6: Implement the intervention
Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Intervention
● Step 7: Evaluate the intervention
All Behavior is Communication!
Sensory/Environment hot, bright, loud, busy, cluttered
Communication
and Behavior
Escape/Avoid challenging/unmotivating work, sitting too long
Attention positive or negative will do!
Tangible wanting something; i.e. food, toy, object
Antecedent- What happens before (where,
when, with whom)
The ABC’s of
Behavior
Behavior- What does it look like objectively?
Consequence- What happens after?
This Video is helpful and concise: https://youtu.be/GxcIM8klHuY
Why is this
Happening?
Example 1:
• There are a large number of students in one
classroom with one teacher. The teacher is not
able to give students a lot of 1:1 attention. Vincent
notices that when he throws something across
the room, the teacher walks over to his desk and
reprimands him. Vincent likes this attention. Next
time when the teacher is occupied, he may
throw something across the room again because
he knows in the past the teacher will come to his
desk and speak with him.
Example 2:
• Paul may hit a teacher when work
is placed in front of him. This results in the
teacher removing that work and giving the
Why is this
Happening?
student a break. Now, when Paul is
presented with a task he does not
want to complete, he will be more
likely to hit the teacher because in the
past, the teacher removed the work.
Example 3:
Why is this
Happening?
• Upon arriving at school, Mary asks her teacher if
she can have snack. The teacher replies, “not until
you finish putting your things away.” Mary then
begins to hit and kick her teacher. The teacher gives
Mary a snack before she finishes putting her things
away. Next time Mary comes comes into school and
her teacher tells her she cannot have snack until her
things are put away, she is more likely to hit and kick
the teacher because in the past the teacher then let
her have snack.
Example 4:
●During play time, a group of students are playing
musical instruments and marching in a parade.
Why is this
Happening?
Joseph covers his ears, closes his eyes, and bangs
his head on the floor. The teacher takes all the
instruments and puts them away, and Joseph stops
banging his head. Now, the next time instruments
are played in the classroom, Joseph is more likely
to bang his head.
Questions?
IRIS Modules
● https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/asd1/
● https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/asd2/
● https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/fba/#content
Additional
Resources
Autism-Focused Organizations
https://www.autism-society.org
https://researchautism.org
https://www.autismspeaks.org
https://autisticadvocacy.org
Video Examples
https://autismnavigator.com/asd-video-glossary/
Thank You!
Robin L. Dodds, Ph.D.
rdodds@calstatela.edu