Behavior Management of Students with Autism Presented By: Daniella Gutierrez Susan Lawson Renee Leiter

Objectives At the end of this session you will be able to: Set up your classroom to encourage successful inclusion of students with Autism Manipulate the environment to meet students’ needs Have a greater understanding of Autism and the interventions that benefit students on the Autism spectrum

#1 Prevalence It is estimated that one in every 110 children is diagnosed with Autism in the United States. It is more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. It is estimated 1.5 million individuals in the US and tens of millions worldwide are affected by Autism. Statistics show that the prevalence of Autism is increasing by 10-17 percent every year.

#2 Causes of Autism Autism is not a disorder with one cause. It is a group of related disorders with many different causes. It is most likely caused by specific genes interacting with certain environmental factors.

#3 Diagnostic Criteria for Autistic Disorder The Medical/Psychiatric Diagnosis of Autism: The DSM-IV Criteria qualitative impairment in social interaction qualitative impairments in communication restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities

#4 Asperger’s Syndrome vs. High Functioning Autism Students with Asperger’s Syndrome do not have delays in the early development of language. Score in the average to above-average range on intelligence tests Social concerns Limited or repetitive interests Students with High Functioning Autism have delays in the early development of language Normal cognitive functioning Social concerns Limited or repetitive interests

#5 Autistic Behaviors in the Classroom For students with Autism, all behaviors are communicative. If the environment is not regulated-students with Autism will display needs in the form of outward behaviors.

Sensory Processing Difficulties Students with Autism often have sensory processing difficulties. Noise, crowded places, close proximity, smells and visual stimuli are overwhelming and can lead to extreme anxiety.

Strategies Gross Motor-Provide opportunities for movement during your lessons and/or transitions during lessons : yoga ball or chair bean bag chair 2 minute stretch break to walk down the hall writing on a white board/chalk board using the paper puncher

Strategies Fine Motor- use of small manipulatives such as: squish balls Play-Doh, Moon Doh pipe cleaners rubber bands small pencil sharpeners

Strategies Visual Input incandescent lighting lava lamps bubble towers rope lights pastel color paper

Strategies Olfactory (smell) Avoid any type of smell in the room as much as possible Students will notice hygiene, chemical, and food smells which will heighten their anxiety and ability to focus

Strategies Auditory Nature sounds White noise Classical music Noise reduction/cancellation headphones

Intervention Activity You will have 5 minutes to complete the following: Read all 31 strips of paper Discuss each strategy Sort the 31 strips of paper into two categories Successful Interventions Might Want to Rethink

Organization Successful Interventions  You Might Want to Rethink  Time should be given for writing in assignment notebooks and organizing papers Student should have access to a completed set of notes Have a checklist for tasks to be completed to get to the finished product Set time limits for tasks using a visual and auditory timer Change the schedule frequently so there is no routine Make sure your room has posters and clutter, as it gives the students something to look at Have the students work on homework in class, when time Give the students free time or unstructured time frequently

Class Assignments Successful Interventions  You Might Want to Rethink  Roles should be assigned for group work with modeling of how to work together Offer alternate assignments Break assignments into smaller pieces with deadlines Provide an outline of information needed or questions to be answered Let groups figure out how to work together and what to do Give the student long packets of seat work so that they don’t get bored and won’t have to work with others Give “loose” interpretive assignments that encourage creative thinking and various different correct answers

Communicating Both Verbally & Visually Successful Interventions  You Might Want to Rethink  Directions should be given verbally and visually Review schedule for each day/week/month verbally and visually Use graphic organizers Use multi-media methods Access to a computer Use of a scribe Lecture as much as possible Use no visuals Don’t prepare the students for transitions or changes to the schedule/school day Use sarcasm to get point across Ask rhetorical questions

Behavior Management Successful Interventions  You Might Want to Rethink  Use the behavior as an opportunity to teach and reinforce social skills Process the behavior immediately with the student Send student out of class by himself/herself for a long period of time Only write a behavior referral for misconduct Call the student out for their behavior in front of the entire class Ignore the behavior

Scenarios How do you encourage students to be verbal who choose not to be? Many repetition of directions.  I cannot tell if he doesn’t understand the directions, I am speaking too quickly, or if the repetition is a way of him coding the info into his own brain, or a bit of Obsessive/compulsive. Poor personal hygiene.  Specifically, snorting nose snot, and picking nose.

Checklist

Resources www.autismspeaks.org Teaching Exceptional Children, Council for Exceptional Children, July/August 2011. www.online-stopwatch.com/countdown-timer/ www.tonyattwood.com.au