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

2. 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

3. #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 percent every year.

4. #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.

5. #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

6. #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

7. #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.

8. 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.

9. 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

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

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

12. 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

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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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.

20. Checklist

21. Resources www.autismspeaks.org
Teaching Exceptional Children, Council for Exceptional Children, July/August 2011.