+ Autism Spectrum Disorders Shawna Hopkins, Cheryl Carroll & Erica Sollows

+ Table Discussion: When you hear the word Autism what do you think?

+ Misconceptions What happens why you type this into Google….

+ Definition Autism is a range of complex neurodevelopmental disorders. The disorder is characterized by impairment in two main areas: 1) Social impairments/Communication Difficulties 2) Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior

+ Prevalence *It is now reported to be 1 in 55 (this includes the entire spectrum of ASD) by the Centre for Disease Control

+ DSM-V (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders includes changes to the terms used to represent Autism. The general term is now autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This eliminates the categories which were separate subcategories in the DSM-IV (Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS, Childhood Disintegrative disorder, and autistic disorder)

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+ Best Practices Assessment Battery should include the following types of assessments: Cognitive/Intellectual Assessment Speech and Language Assessment Assessment of Adaptive Behaviors Assessment is the foundation for programming – to examine data that can be used to develop an appropriate intervention plan. Important areas for annual goals include social functioning, nonverbal communication skills, receptive, expressive & pragmatic language, fine and gross motor skills, academic skills, and behavioral, organizational, and/or self-help skills

+ Characteristics

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+ Other common characteristics: Motor Deficits Cognition – Memory/Metacognition/Executive Functioning/Central Coherence/Abstract Thought

+ What we know (and don’t know yet) now_and_what_we_don_t_know_yet?language=en

+ Timeline 1910: “autism”- Eugene Bleuler 1943: Leo Kanner labels autism 1944: Hans Asperger “little professor syndrome” 1964: Bernard Rimand, a biological disorder 1965: Dr. Lovaas, grandfather of ABA 1967: Bruno Bettelheim “refrigerator mothers” 1977: Twin Studies= genetic disorder 1980: infantile autism DSM-III

+ Timeline continued 1986: Temple Grandin “The Squeeze Machine” 1987: Autistic disorder replaces “infantile autism” 1988: Rain Man Dustin Hoffman 1991: U.S. makes autism a special education category 1994: Asperger’s added to DSM-IV 2008: World Autism Day April 2 nd 2009: National Standards Project 2013: DSM-V, Asperger’s separated from ASD 2014: CDC: 1:68 prevalence

+ Resources Geneva Centre for Autism Michelle Garcia Winner Cindy’s Autistic Support website National Autism Center Moncton Autism Resource Centre The Out of Sync Child Autism Speaks Books

+ Autism in the news Cineplex & Autism Speaks Canada Autism Awareness Day Largest genome sequencing study MSSNG DSM-V Auti-Sim Ted Talks (Wendy Chung, Rosie King, Ami Klin) Netflix (Sounding the Alarm, A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back to Autism, Fly Away, Dad’s in Heaven with Nixon, The Story of Luke)

+ Teaching Strategies Communication 1. Prompts: Physical, gestures, verbal or position 2. Visual approaches: written cues, pictographs 3. Positive Praise 4. Reinforcers that are meaningful 5. Choice 6. Oral instruction in small steps 7. Extra time 8. Concrete examples and hands-on activities 9. Customized visual schedules

+ Teaching Strategies:

+ Teaching Strategies Social 1. Need to be part of their world 2. Need to interact socially with peers 3. Social Stories 4. Teach Key social rules 5. Peer support 6. Play groups with peers

+ Teaching Strategies Fixations and Repetitive Patterns 1. Draw on the positive of their fixation 2. Expand on the skill and encourage the child to use the skill to do a variety of work 3. Shape the fixation into something construction 4. Use the fixation as a gift

+ Discussion: Teaching Strategies What resources have you used to teach a child with ASD in your classroom?

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