1. Classroom Strategies for Educating Students with Autism
Susan Hepburn, Ph.D.
University of Colorado/JFK Partners
SESA, Alaska
March 2008

2. Overview of Today’s Presentation
Basic facts about autism (very brief)
Tips for engaging a student with autism
Educational strategies

3. Basic Facts About Autism

4. The Autism Spectrum Similarities = Difficulties in 3 areas:
Social functioning
Communication/language
Restricted activities and interests

5. Definition of Autism Significant impairment in 3 areas of functioning:
Social
Communication
Restricted activities and interests
Evident within first 3 years of life
Not a degenerative neurological condition

6. Qualitative Social Impairment
Failure to use or understand nonverbal behaviors (e.g., eye contact, gestures)
Lack of peer relationships appropriate for developmental level
Lack of sharing enjoyment/interest
Lack of reciprocity

7. Qualitative Communication Impairment
Delay in spoken language accompanied by a lack of compensation in nonverbal communication
For talkers: problems initiating and/or sustaining conversations
Unusual linguistic features (e.g., echolalia, neologisms, odd prosody)
Lack of imaginative or symbolic play

8. Restricted Activities and Interests
Preoccupation that is unusual in either intensity or focus
Strict adherence to routines
Repetitive motor movements
Preoccupation with parts of objects

9. Strengths Associated with Autism
Nonverbal problem-solving (e.g., puzzles)
Persistence and focus within preferred activities
Ability to learn within routines
Rule-governed

10. Strengths Associated with PDDNOS
Same as autism
In some studies, found to show more communicative intention and to share interest with others more frequently
More likely to be verbal than children with autism

11. Strengths Associated with Asperger Syndrome
Usually good verbal skills
Rule-governed and routine-oriented
Can excel at special interest
Can use cognitive strengths to learn emotional and social skills

12. Tips for Engaging a Student with Autism

13. “Engagement” is… Active participation in activities
Appropriate focus of attention
Positive affect and enjoyment
Sense of social connection

14. ….you may just have to be willing to interact in a new way
It is possible to engage in rewarding social interaction with any child with autism.
….you may just have to be willing to interact in a new way

15. Specific Strategies for Encouraging Engagement
Find out about the child’s favorite activities and interests and indulge him – talk to the child’s parents about how he likes to spend his time
Be silly and absurd and have fun
Follow her lead and imitate what she does, at least sometimes
Appreciate his uniqueness – let your affect be heightened and easy to read

16. Be ready to be physical and engage in nonverbal play – even with verbal kids
Allow for some repetition, be patient, and let the child do some things over and over…
Watch the child’s nonverbal responses to your behavior and modify yours accordingly

17. Look for behaviors that are communicative and try to respect those communications
Narrate your actions
Minimize surprises, give advanced warnings of what you will do next
Emphasize predictability and build routines (especially for transitions)

18. Find out about a child’s sensory preferences and issues and try to incorporate them into your interaction style
Whenever possible, add visual cues to your communications
Remember that many children with autism have splintered skills – i.e., their abilities may not be evenly developed – keep your expectations realistic

19. Do not overuse language – particularly if a child is upset
Avoid sarcasm, idioms, metaphors – most people with autism tend to think very concretely
Remember that children with autism can be very socially sensitive – dignity, respect, and appreciation are powerful for building solid relationships

20. Prioritize 1:1 time with each child – group activities are okay some of the time, but look for chances for 1:1 activities too
Keep on the lookout for hints that the child is getting overwhelmed and provide a quiet break before he becomes upset
Keep in good communication with families – ask them questions, share specifics about the positive and challenging parts of your day

21. Educational Strategies
Structured teaching
Direct instruction
Incidental teaching

22. Each methodological approach has strengths and limitations

23. Structured Teaching
Is an instructional approach developed specifically for students with autism.

24. Structured teaching employs methods designed to:
Clarify expectations
Establish predictability
Promoting skill acquisition
Fostering independent functioning

25. Features of Structured Teaching
Involves individualized assessment of skills and interests
Emphasizes physical organization, visual clarity, and positive routines
Focuses on prevention of problem behaviors

26. Structured Teaching Sequence
Teacher assesses child’s interests and skills
Teacher modifies physical environment
Teacher provides visual cues
Child participates in independent and group learning activities
Child is reinforced for effort, participation, and achievement

27. Strengths of Structured Teaching
Instructional strategies are specialized for autism
Visual structure provides predictability, reduces frustration, and promotes independence
Individualized programming emphasizes developmentally-appropriate and functional goals

28. Direct Instruction or Discrete Trial Training
Is a technique that involves breaking down behavioral sequences into separate components and teaching one component at a time in a highly structured manner

29. Features of Direct Instruction
Activities are adult-directed
Involves one-to-one teaching
Is based upon operant teaching principles
Emphasizes repetition

30. Direct Instruction Sequence
Adult presents stimulus
Adult provides prompts
Child responds
Adults provides consequence

31. Strengths of Direct Instruction
Repetition and practice facilitate skill acquisition
One-on-one teaching helps child to attend to instruction
Controlled environment allows for easy data collection

32. Incidental Teaching
Is a method of instruction that is employed in naturalistic settings with the goal of strengthening functional social and communication skills

33. Features of Incidental Teaching
Activities are child-directed
Occurs in the natural social environment
Employs natural reinforcers
Emphasizes generalization

34. Incidental Teaching Sequence
Teacher provides stimulating play activities
Child initiates teaching interaction
Teacher prompts child to expand the
interaction
Child expands interaction
Teacher provides natural reinforcement for appropriate responses

35. Provide Positive Experiences with Peers
Encourage other children to join child with autism in his/her favorite activities
Give preferred objects to other children so child with autism has to communicate with them
Hang back, shadow, and prompt peers (not child with autism) to facilitate social interactions
Encourage nonverbal, physical, stimmy and repetitive games as icebreakers
Practice sharing (e.g., on computer)

36. Social Facilitation
Strategies to encourage and expand social engagement within the natural setting
Cultivating “teachable moments”
Prompting naturally
Shadowing the child
Preparing and training the peers
Teachable moments are naturally occuring events, activities or situations where you can expand or prompt to practice a skill.
Use a variety of prompts including visual, gestural, physical, avoid too many verbal prompts as the child can become easily prompt dependent and when we think about the type of skill we are facilitating it is eventually an independent skill

37. Peer-Mediated Interventions: Steps (Odom & Strain, 1984)
Adult chooses peers with good social skills and “social intuition”
Peers are taught to deliver prompts, praise, and reinforcement for social initiations
Peers are trained to be persistent in initiations
Adult monitors and prompts peers, but does not intervene with target child

38. Characteristics of Effective Peers
High social status
Able to follow adult directions
Willingness to participate
-- Sasso & Rude, 1987

39. Peer-Mediated Intervention: A Few Caveats
Effectiveness may be related to severity of social impairment (Odom et al., 1985)
Helpful to train multiple peers (Fox, et al., 1984)
Sometimes requires a lot of teacher time
May be most helpful when added to teacher-mediated interventions (Odom & Strain, 1986)
Peer-mediated intervention increased social responding
Teacher-mediated intervention increased social initiation, length of interactions

40. Strengths of Incidental Teaching
Teaching in a natural setting promotes generalization
Activities are child-directed
Peers are involved as intervention agents

41. An integrative approach toward educating students with autism may be the most effective strategy

42. Components of an Integrative Approach
Individualized assessment
Visual structure
Combination of
child- and adult-directed activities

43. Components, (cont.)
Use of one-on-one instruction for teaching new skills
Use of incidental teaching to promote generalization
On-going assessment

44. Concluding Comments