Research Topics: Autism Free Examples

Educational Practices on Acquisition of Living Skills for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Educational Practices on Acquisition of Living Skills for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders    Generally, in providing a predictable environment and routine is an important component of classroom programming for students on the autism spectrum (Iovannone, Dunlap, Huber, & Kincaid, 2003). Majority of the students on the spectrum can demonstrate severity or stubborn behavior in the classroom setting. Nevertheless, changes in daily activities due to school schedules, staff absences, weather changes, or human error are inevitable.  Along with these unpredictable changes, staff members can find   the importance of introducing autism students to novel settings, materials, peers, and activities throughout the school year to increase exposure to a broad range of learning experiences in school.  The students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may find the changes in school environment stressful or confusing.  According to (Schreibman & Whalen, 2000; Flannery & Horner, 1994); that during times of school transition or change, students are more likely to engage in tantrums, aggressive behavior, and refusal this resistance to change may lead to difficulty in acquiring new skills.  Therefore, in order to prepare students for the various changes in the school setting; there must be a standard procedures that can be followed easily by them in times of changes    take place.  The standard procedures are vital and effective tools for the students to be able to cope up successfully with the transitions and the effects associated with them.  (http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=409) Additionally, the visual support systems teaching them with positive routines are very crucial all throughout the preparation for new events and changes in the school. In this connection, there are several visual strategies that will help the students with autism spectrum disorder to cope up and prepare them effectively and easily with new unpredictable school activities.  Priming is a method of discussing information about the activities that a student has difficulties with. It is important to deal the student with this type of strategy before letting him or she engaged in the challenging situation.  By doing this strategy, a student may anticipate the future events such as a fire drill, substitute teacher, field trip, or rainy-day schedule, so they become more predictable to the students (Schreibman & Whalen, 2000).  In fact, Priming strategy has been used effectively in different academic instructions and social interactions (Harrower & Dunlap, 2001), and has been used successfully in preparing students for   routine novel settings or changes. In this regards, two priming strategies are used in preparing the students for unpredictable changes. One is the social stories modification.  This explains the social concepts and situations through a visual format that helps increase the understanding of students with ASD (Gray, 2000).  These are effective methods in explaining to them what is happening as well as what should be expected in the environmental settings in every new activity. Normally, social stories are based on first person perspective; and it includes illustrations that give a great comprehension element to the ASC person. More often, social stories provide answers to those questions of the students. According to Carol Gray, the originator of Social Stories, by precise story formation, the   staff members can easily assess the comprehension skills of the students.  This is recommended before letting the ASD student’s experienced new activities such as field trip, attending a birthday party, going to a local pond or visiting a gift shop. By reading them the social stories for 3 to 5 days before the final introduction of the new setting as formerly mentioned;    social stories may increase the students’ anticipation and participation of the possible happenings in the new events or locations.  And, it helps a lot in reducing the challenging behaviors of them. (http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=409) Secondly, the video priming or video taped instruction has been also proven efficient and effective in teaching new skills to ASD students in preparing themselves for upcoming events (Schreibman & Whalen, 2000).  As a matter of fact, this is the most preferred activity by ASD students.  This strategy permits the ASD students to identify the series of tasks that may cause them anxiety of confusion.  That is the major reason that the staff members go to the location with a video camera to be able to tape a narration about the new location or place together with the proper steps and requirements that must be done by the students in the new activity.  Researchers highly recommended a 1-4 minute length of tape for the ASD students to watch before the event comes Schreibman & Whalen, 2000).  On the other hand, the Change Card is very important for the systematic scheduling of the activities of the autism spectrum students. The change card provides a well arranged schedules of upcoming events that help the students to become cooperative during the transitions of new activities, so as it increases their sense of independence. Visual scheduling must be changed everyday in an effort to teach the ASD individual how to tolerate changes in his or her environment. (http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=409) References: (http://www.iidc.indiana.edu/?pageId=409) http://www.aap.org/pressroom/AutismID.pdf Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Educational Practices on Acquisition of Living Skills for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Educational Practices on Acquisition of Living Skills for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorders Generally, in providing a predic...

The Clinical Assessment Outline

The Clinical Assessment Outline   <li class="MsoNormal"> Identifying Data </li> Name:                               Sex:                                   Male Date if Birth:                     May 19, 1988 Legal Status: Grade: Ethnic Background:          Chinese Citizenship:                       Canadian                                                Name                                             D.O.B. Parents:                       (Father)                                 October / 1958                                      (Mother)                             August / 1965 Siblings:                        (Brother)                                December / 1990   <li class="MsoNormal"> Referral Source </li> Agency Name:                          Special Program Leader                           Toronto Board of Education   Date of Referral:  June 25, 2007   <li class="MsoNormal"> Presenting Problems </li> Adam has been diagnosed with Autism/PDD and has shown behavioural problems most of his life.  and the teachers at Secondary School felt that Adam had shown no real academic progress over the past two years. Also, Adam seems doesn’t get his own way to show anger as form of retaliation, resulting in an outburst or tantrum. He had involved in several fighting incidents with his classmates and two incidents of attacking the staff and teachers in the past 2 months. Every time he tried to deny he was wrong instead he complained he had been picked on.   <li class="MsoNormal"> Informants </li>     <li class="MsoNormal"> History of Current Difficulties </li> Adam is a 19 years old young man of Asian decent. Adam is development delayed with Autistic tendencies. His verbal skills are equivalent to those of 4-5 years old child. He is tall and slender at 5’10” and weighing 130 lbs. He has black hair and brown eyes. Adam is talkative, friendly and likeable. He has a good sense of humor and a generally easygoing demeanor. He presents a positive self-esteem and relatively good self-help skills. He is immature in his social skills and his relationship building efforts require assistance. Adam is the older of 2 boys in his family, who live in Toronto. Father, and , were born in Hong Kong; with both boys being born in Canada.  is a Family Doctor and  is a Registered Nurse. Adam’s difficulties were identified at a relatively early age. He was diagnosed as mildly retarded at age 2 through an assessment at  General Hospital. His behaviour difficulties challenged his parents beyond their capabilities and despite supports and resources available, the family requested he be placed out their home at age 7. Finally, the marriages of his parents failed when he was at age 9. Adam was cared for within the Metro Toronto Children’s Aid Society foster care program until June 1997, at which time he was placed with the Home Program in the home of Monique and Martin Smith in Barrie, Ontario. During this placement, Adam’s diagnosis was defined to include Autistic Tendencies, Obsessive Tendencies and Pervasive Development Disorder. Adam, at his age of 12, was identified as functioning between 3 & 5, depending on the area of the assessment. Throughout his life, Adam has demonstrated an ongoing obsession with balls and round objects. He has exhibited aggressive behaviours requiring close supervision and monitoring as well as the need of frequent reminders to stay on task. Adam’s behaviours, specifically aggressive outbursts, began to escalate in his mid-teen years. His frequent aggression both verbally and physically towards peers and members of Smith’s family having the negative impact on their relationship. These aggressions includes biting, scratching, hitting, kicking, and spitting. He can be defiant and non-compliant, impulsive. Also, his violent obsession in watches to the point he had involved in numbers of stealing watches incidents in the department store while he was bringing out for shopping by the Smith’s family. The incidents made his foster parents was so frustrated he had stolen all the watches from his foster parents’ house and buried one by one in different area of the back yard. Subsequently, Adam’s school and home placements began to deteriorate. In 2006, with the approach of this 18th birthday, a long term planning was established to Arthur. A review was undertaken to assess his current situation; including his placement with Smith’s, the increase of negative behaviours, his needs and challenges. Through this progress, it was determined that a placement in a structured semi-independent living program would best suit Adam’s needs.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Clinical Assessment Outline

The Clinical Assessment Outline Identifying Data Name: Sex: Male Date...

The Clinical Assessment Outline

The Clinical Assessment Outline

The Clinical Assessment Outline Identifying Data Name: Sex: Male Date...

Assessment of a Teenage with Autism Disorder

Assessment of a Teenage with Autism Disorder   6. History of Previous Difficulties             Based on the accounts, prior to Adam’s school age, it seemed that his behavioral functioning continues to get worse. Prior to noticing watch stealing and aggressive behaviors, he has become progressively more inflexible and rigid, and his insistence on elaborate routines causes much difficulty. He was able to develop motor skills at expected times, but the development of his language was significantly delayed. However, he repeats certain phrases from television shows over and over and displays a fascination and later on, obsession with balls and other round objects. He has collected considerable quantities of these items, which he insists on carrying with him. Any attempt to divert him from this unusual interest leads to agitation with periods of body rocking, head banging, or hurting other individuals near him.             In addition, members of the Smith family experience great trouble sustaining a conversation with Adam, who seems interested in discussing only certain television programs and his ball collection. Some members of the Smith family also report that Adam exhibits some stereotyped behaviors when excited and tends to adhere to various non-functional routines, such as always walking around a chair three times before sitting in it. His insight and judgment are poor, but remains to be talkative and friendly. During his teenage years, he was unable to follow simple requests and rules, and had marked difficulties with tasks that involved imitation, especially in school activities. Adam was particularly intolerant to change. He was also very sensitive to the inanimate environment so that, although he often seemed almost completely oblivious to his mother’s voice, he would panic when he heard the vacuum cleaner. Although he remained extremely sensitive and resistant to change in his environment, uneven but steady progress was observed. By the time Adam was 17, his unusual interests and his difficulty dealing with change had diminished somewhat, and he was mainstreamed for a few class periods a day in public school.   7. Family Development             As indicated, both the parents of Adam were of Chinese descent. His father is a Family Doctor and his mother is a Registered Nurse, who are now both Canadian citizens. Both of his parents were born and raised in Hong Kong, and decided to move to Canada to obtain work and career as doctor and nurse. They met at a hospital from which both of them worked and decided to get married. They had two sons, with Adam elder than the other. Because both are Chinese in descent, both families’ household are paternalistic and rely on the major decisions made by the father. In addition, being Chinese, the values and attitudes of the family remain to be traditional and conservative. The family, above anything else, values their profession as their source of income, their tradition, and the education of their children. This is the reason why both the parents of Adam are successful in their own fields.             Peter Lee and Lily Chung met in the same hospital from which they work, and got attracted to one another through the teasing of their parents and family. Being both Chinese, they are more open to the concept of arranged marriage, which is still being practiced in Chinese countries. Due to the fact that both are successful in their professions, with the consent and blessings of their parents, they decided to get married and have their own family.             Lily Chung had no problems with planning pregnancy. In fact, Lily and Peter were excited to have their own family, most especially having children. However, they only plan to limit their children into two, as they do not desire to have a big family. Being a typical Chinese family, both of them are into imparting Chinese traditional values into their children despite the fact that they live in a Western country. They are not willing to adopt or foster children, as they want their own. However, the onset of the aggressive and pervasive behavior of Adam also started the change in the relationship of his parents and the whole family, even forcing them to arrive at the decision of placing Adam in an institution. Because the onset of the autism manifestations of Adam were observed early, they have not seen him develop into an adolescent. In addition, they have also decided to split apart due to individual differences.   8. Personal Development             It has been indicated that Adam was a product of a full-term pregnancy, which was unremarkable, except for his mother’s cigarette smoking. Adam was delivered by forceps, but luckily, there were no other birth-related complications found. He was breast-fed for 3 months, was weaned and tried on different milk formulas. Adam obtained his motor milestones at a normal pace, but his language abilities were delayed. His mother described him as always being very active and difficult to handle. In his toddler years, Adam shows severe lack of language development, as he uses only a few single words that were used for requests for food. He was particularly intolerant to change, as he insisted that his parents, most especially his mother follow the same complicated routine at bedtime each night and would become extremely agitated and irritated if any change in the usual pattern occurred. During his development, his parents also noticed that he is overly active and tended to only focus doing his own thing. He usually plays with the balls he collected and brought them with him anywhere he goes or talks and makes noise endlessly.             During his school age, Adam’s teachers in his nursery and kindergarten schools noted that he had some difficulties in being aware with the personal space and belongings of other children. He also showed difficulties in manipulating objects, such as pencils and crayons, which led to the advice of teachers for Adam to undergo occupational therapy for his motor deficits. In addition, his teachers also noticed Adam’s aggression over his classmates and teachers during tantrums.             The adolescence stage of Adam was not anymore observed by his parents, but by the Smith family. Sexual relationships are lacking and changes in the biological function of Adam remained to be normal. As observed by the members of the Smith family, he seems to be immature in his social skills and his relationships with the rest of the members require assistance.   9. Observations of the Child             It has been observed that there was no outstanding biological issue on the part of Adam. His biological and physical functioning seemed to be all fine, including his physical and physiological appearance. Adam seemed to be conscious with his appearance and with his personal hygiene. However, head banging and rocking can sometimes be observed, most especially if he does not get what he wants.             In terms of his behavior toward other children and adults, he seemed to have control over them and what he wants. He is dominant, as other children become intimated by his actions and behavior, especially if his rage is already developing. He becomes unmanageable when he others seem not to understand what he is trying to express, thus, becoming aggressive and violent.   10. Observations of the Family             From the origin of Adam, it has been emphasized that he came from a traditional Chinese family, with traditional Chinese values and practices. However, when his true family decided to let him undergo placement, he now lives with a Canadian family. In this regard, it can be perceived that the significant differences in both cultures may contribute to the confusion of values being presented to Adam. The differences in values, culture and language may present problems in terms of expressing their sentiments, their comments, commands, and requests to Adam. However, because Adam may already have a Canadian background, somehow he seems to cope with the culture and practice of his new family.             In addition, it can be perceived that the Smith family recognized Adam’s problem and took actions in relation to his condition. This is because they sought professional help in order to assist them in controlling Adam’s behavior. They have also expressed that they are willing to help Adam and provide him with the love and care that he deserves, which his real family failed to give him. In relation to this, it can also be observed that communication serves a good purpose on the part of what the family wants and the welfare of Adam. The Smith family expressed their sentiments and willingness to help Adam, thus, showing affection, love and concern toward him. As a matter of fact, Monique Smith seemed to show too much attention and affection toward Adam in relation to his condition.             From this, it can be assumed that the Smith family is very supportive of Adam, most especially with regards to his welfare and condition. In fact, the family tries its best to provide Adam his needs and wants, regardless of his psychological or mental state. The family was just alarmed to observe that Adam had been stealing their watches, with which he may also be doing with neighbors in the community. This just means that the family is not concerned with the welfare and psychological state of Adam, but with his actions that may affect his relationship with the community.                        Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Assessment of a Teenage with Autism Disorder

Assessment of a Teenage with Autism Disorder 6. History of Previous Difficulties Based on the accounts, prior to Adam’s...

Top