Effective Strategies for Teaching Students with Autism Thursday, August 23, pm / Eastern Time Summer Live Chat: Summer Live Chat: Communication Characteristics of Autism Presented by Diane VanDriesen, Director of Wawa House Services for the Eden Family of Services Sponsored by Join a Teaching Students with Autism community Effective Strategies for Grades PreK-5 Effective Strategies for Grades Tweeting today?

Join us in celebrating Check out all the activities! for info on all of our August Follow the hashtag #CE12

Webinar Tips Use the text chat! Post comments, ask questions, get support. For better audio/video, close any other applications (like Skype) that use bandwidth. To maximize your screen for a larger view, use the link in the upper right corner. Tweeting today? A link to the recording of this webinar and your CE certificate will be sent to you the day after the webinar.

Thank you to our co-hosts and to our sponsor

Communication Characteristics of Students with Autism

Learning Characteristics of Students with Autism Lack of imitation skills Difficulty with generalization Splinter skills Little or no response to social reinforcement Inconsistent response pattern High distractibility Lack of incidental learning Lack of initiation

Language Characteristics of Students with Autism History of having language then losing it Oral motor dysfunction Apraxia Echolalia Acting as if deaf Preservative Speech Comprehension deficits Jargon

Social Characteristics of Autism Limited or no interest in interacting with people Limited use of nonverbal behaviors such as eye contact, point, or facial expression No sharing of interests No imaginative or social imitative play Limited or no signs of attachment to people

Comprehension of Language Cognitive Issues Comprehension Deficits Auditory Behavior Difficulty with Abstract Concepts (literal language)

Comprehension of Language What is the individual responding to?  Paralinguistic Cues e.g. intonation  Nonverbal Behavior e.g. gestures, facial expressions  Situational Cues e.g. child hangs up coat upon entering the classroom

What is the individual responding to?  Word Emphasis/ Positional Cues E.g., child responds to the last word from a whole utterance  Linguistic Cues E.g., child responds correctly to the utterance without any context or reference

Use of Language Lack of gestures Lack of social imitative play Impaired use of nonverbal behavior Difficulty initiating or sustaining a conversation Difficulty self-generating language

Augmentative Communication Systems: Considerations Manual Sign Language/Baby Signs Picture Exchange Communication (PECS) Voice Output systems Object Boards

Functional Communication Strategies

Functional Communication Strategies DeficitStrategies and treatment Lack of gestures Teach a functional point Provide communicative temptations Comprehension Assess comprehension level Use sign language/visuals Teach to level

DeficitStrategies and treatment Cognitive Issues Teach curriculum systematically Use Discrete Trial Teaching Oral Motor Issues/ Apraxia Focus on all issues Teach imitation skills Use shaping procedures

DeficitStrategies and treatment Mutism Augmentative or alternative communication Echolalia Determine function Teach appropriate response Difficulty with social language Scripting Role play Token systems

Communicative Temptations (Prizant and Wetherby 1985) Initiate a familiar and an unfamiliar social game with the child until the child expresses pleasure in the game, then stop and wait. Open a jar of bubbles, blow the bubbles, then close the jar tightly. Hand the closed jar to the child. Blow up a balloon and slowly deflate it. Hand the deflated balloon to the child or hold the deflated balloon up to your mouth and wait. Hold a food item/toy that the child dislikes out near the child to offer it.

Your Partner for Student Success Curriculum Solutions Specifically for: Autism ● Learning Differences ● Intellectual Disabilities Curriculum Solutions Specifically for: Autism ● Learning Differences ● Intellectual Disabilities

QUESTIONS?

Continue the conversation and view the webinar recordings… Join an edWeb.net community on Effective Strategies for Teaching Students with Autism: Grades PreK Grades All attendees will be ed a link to the recording and a CEU certificate for participating in today’s webinar. The webinar recording, the PowerPoint slides, and a CE quiz (for those who watch the recorded version) are available in the communities.

Join us for the next webinar Wednesday, September 19, pm / Eastern Time Setting up your Classroom to Maximize Efficiency Presented by Nina Finkler, M.Ed., LDT/C, B.C.B.A., BACB ACE Coordinator, Eden Autism Services. Sponsored by Bookmark this link for all future webinars:

Thank you to our co-hosts and to our sponsor