Presented by
Vicki Sandoval
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What is Autism?
Typical Development vs Autism
 Sensorimotor Stage
 Pre Operational Stage
 Concrete Operational Stage
 Formal Operational Stage
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Difficult Behaviors
 Examples
 Understanding Behaviors
 Changing Behaviors
 Behavioral Interventions
Typical Services
 Helping Students in Class
 Create a Setting…
 Instructional Approaches
 Developing Skills
 Resources
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Autism is a life-long developmental disability
that prevents people from understanding what
they see, hear, and otherwise sense
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This results in severe problems with:
 Social interactions
 Communication
 Repetitive Behaviors
 Sensory integration
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There are five disorders that fall
under the umbrella of
Pervasive Developmental
Disorder (PDD)
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• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
2
•Asperger’s Syndrome
3
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified
(PDD-NOS)
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5
•Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD)
•Rett Syndrome
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According to Jean Piaget’s Theory there are 4
main stages of Cognitive Development
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AUTISM
TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT
Smiles / coos / babbles
Responds to voice and
sound
 Reaches out for objects
 Sits up, rolls over, crawls
 Follows objects with eyes
 Stands / walks
 Feeds self finger foods
 Gives hugs and kisses
 Shows interest in peers
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No babbling / cooing
May have feeding problems
Dislikes being changed or bathed
Changes in routine causes distress
Does not like being cuddled
Doesn’t respond to voices / sounds
Fails to grasp objects
Doesn’t sit, pull up or stand
No eye contact
Doesn’t respond to name
Avoids physical contact such as
hugs and kisses
Doesn’t listen or understand
simple instruction
AUTISM
TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT
Uses sentences to expresses
wants and ideas
 Climbs / runs / jumps
 Fine motor skills develop –
holds a pencil, uses scissors
 Engages in dramatic play
 Interacts with peers
 Tells a simple story, asks
questions
 Shows empathy for others
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Unable to manipulate small
objects
 Has a language delay
 No interest in peers or toys
 Little balance when running
 Limited communication skills
– points to address needs
 Expresses insistence on
sameness and resistance to
change
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AUTISM
TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT
Rides a bicycle, plays
sports/games
 Writes short paragraphs
 Understands and follows
three or more instructions
 Complex language skills –
narrates /describes
experiences
 Understands how to play
games with rules
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Clumsy/awkward movements
when running
Poor sense of balance
Difficulty printing or writing
Needs coaching to follow
simple instructions
Unable to sequence events
when narrating
Oral language skills are
limited
Prefers to play alone
Trouble making friends
AUTISM
TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT
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Imagines different realities
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Solves hypothetical
propositions
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Has difficulty thinking “outside
the box”
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Displays rigidity and gets stuck
on certain activities
Understands consequences
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Seems to be in his “own world”
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May struggle to understanding
new concept s
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Children with autism display many challenging
behaviors.
 Sometimes they seem unreachable and impossible to
deal with.
 It’s important to look at the underlying deficits that
contribute to the problems.
 It will give us a better understanding of how to help.
The behavior has a function for the child.
Discover it, then Change it
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The child won't
follow rules, doesn't
respond to
discipline, and is
difficult to control
The child screams
without cause,
destroys things,
bites, is selfinjurious
• Possible underlying cause:
• Receptive language is impaired
• Needs absolute consistency in discipline or
becomes confused
• Needs discipline simplified for it to make sense
• Possible underlying cause:
• Can't communicate his needs
• Is overwhelmed by sensory experiences
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The child hits, pushes, spits,
throws things, bites, and is mean
to other children or adults
• Possible underlying causes:
• Frustration at not being able to
communicate
• A change in routine
• Over-sensitivity to noise,
crowds, smells, touch, sight
• Feeling unwell, tired, hungry,
thirsty, uncomfortable
• Doesn’t want to do something
Suggested strategy:
• Stay calm, use a monotone
voice, don’t show any emotion.
Tell the student to keep their
hands down and feet down.
Say, “No pinching, slapping or
kicking” then redirect them.
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The child fiddles with strange
objects, stares into space, rocks,
flaps hands or twists wrists, jumps,
spins or slams things, bangs head
• These are motor processing
problems where the child has only
limited control of what his body is
doing
Possible underlying cause:
• Is overwhelmed by sensory input
• Needs repetitive behaviors to
comfort himself
• Redirect the motions from
unintentional to intentional
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Remember:
 All behaviors have a purpose for the child
 The behavior may be the only way the child knows
how to communicate his/her needs
 It may also be a way to get your attention
 It could be a way to escape or avoid a situation
 Tantrums develop as a result of a child’s inability to
express their wants and needs.
▪ Anger, anxiety, fear or frustrations can all lead to tantrums.
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There are many triggers for negative behaviors
 Finding the trigger is the beginning of the
solution
 A functional analysis helps analyze and understand
the child’s behavior
 Gives a clear idea about what is
the behavior
 Shows if there are any patterns to
behavior
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triggering
the
Antecedent
 What happened? (Trigger)
A-B-C Chart
Student’s name: ______________________________________
Behavior of concern: (be specific and clear) ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Date/Start
& end time
A=Antecedent: Location,
B=Behavior What did the
C=Consequence What
activity, people, etc.
child do?
happened after the behavior
Behavior
 What did the child do? (What
function does the behavior have?)
Consequence
 What happened after? (Did
the child get what he wanted?)
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School/site: ________________
Observed from ___/___/___ to ___/___/___ Completed by: ______________________________
This chart will pinpoint patterns
Occupational
Therapy
Speech-Language
Therapy
Physical Therapy
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• Services relate to self-help skills, adaptive
behavior and play, and sensory, motor, and
postural development.
• Services for children with delay in
communication skills or with motor skills
such as weakness of muscles around the
mouth or swallowing.
• Services to prevent or lessen movement’s
difficulties and related functional problems.
There are many ways to assist children with
autism that improve their quality of life.
Children with autism are often confused,
anxious and disconnected by everyday events
and situations because they do not understand.
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• Paying attention is
often a problem area
for children with an
autistic spectrum
disorder
• They may prefer to
pay attention to other
things that interest
them
• Their focus might
switch from one thing
to another very
quickly, especially in
the case of sounds, so
keeping their
environment quiet
can be helpful.
Organization
Attention
Environment
• The environment
around the child
should be calm
• Low amounts of
stimulation to avoid
anxiety.
• Things that might set
off a sensory reaction
can include intense
sounds, touch, taste,
vision, smell and pain
so these should be
reduced as far as
possible.
• Visual cues can be very
helpful
• Reinforces spoken
instructions or plans,
• Can include pictures,
objects and even written
instructions
• A visual timetable of what
is happening each week,
combining routine and
visual cues
• Helps student to
understand the sequence
in which things will
happen and when they
will happen.
• It has the added bonus of
allowing the child to be
more independent.
Children with autism are concrete,
literal thinkers
• Have difficulty communicating
both verbally and non-verbally.
No single method for teaching
students with autism is successful for
all students
• Students’ needs change over time,
making it necessary to use different
approaches.
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Visual Approaches
• Pictographic and written cues can often help
the student to learn, communicate, and
develop self-control
• Using visual supports enables the individual to
focus on the lesson being taught
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Other Approaches
• Provide praise while student is learning
• Use meaningful reinforcements
• Plan tasks at an appropriate level of difficulty
• Use age-appropriate materials
• Provide opportunities for choice
• Break down oral instructions into small steps
• Pay attention to processing and pacing issues
• Use concrete examples and hand-on activities
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Discrete Trial Methods
• Using prompts to help students learn is an
important element of instruction for some
students with autism
• Prompts may be physical, gestural, or verbal
• Introduce unfamiliar tasks in a familiar
environment
• Prepare the individual for the new task prepare
the individual for the new task using aids such
as pictures, videotapes, and/or social stories
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Conversation skills
 Most people with autism have difficulty with the
pragmatics of communication (the interpretation and
use of language in social situations).
 Encourage informal and formal communicative social
exchanges during the day.
Social skills
 Most students with autism do not know how to interact
socially or be involved with others.
▪ They have not automatically learned the rules of interaction with
others, hence are unable to follow these unwritten rules of social
behavior
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▪ Students need opportunities to practice social interactions
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Functional skills
 These are skills needed to function as independently
as possible in the world.
▪ May need direct instruction in personal hygiene, grooming,
and dressing.
▪ Basic academic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics in
real life situations is another important area to teach
▪ Students need to learn how to communicate personal
information such as their name, birth date, address, and
telephone number
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EDUU 675z - Developmental Treatment Modality Planning PowerPoint
slideshow (week 3)
EDUU 675z - Developmental Milestones in Autistic Children –PowerPoint
slideshow (week 6)
http://psychology.about.com/od/piagetstheory/p/formaloperation.htm
1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism or
Asperger's, 2nd Edition by Ellen Nothohm/Veronica Zysk
Reaching and Teaching children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Best
Practices Guide
http://special-needs.families.com/blog/flapping-spinning-wavingwhirling-the-child-with-irregular-motor-behavior
http://www.brighttots.com/early_intervention.html
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/docs/autism.pdf
http://www.do2learn.com/sitemap/index.htm
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