Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders

Annette Wragge Author

10/05/2018 Added

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This webinar will provide an overview of characteristics and support for individuals with average to above average cognition and verbal skills.

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[00:00:01.160]This webinar is sponsored
[00:00:02.980]by the Tri-State Autism Collaborative,
[00:00:06.200]which includes the Colorado Department of Education,
[00:00:10.500]TASN Autism and Tertiary Behavior Supports,
[00:00:14.510]and the Nebraska ASD Network.
[00:00:19.860]Our webinar today
[00:00:21.040]is Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder.
[00:00:24.520]This webinar will focus on supports and characteristics
[00:00:28.210]for individuals with ASD who have average
[00:00:31.010]to above average cognition and verbal skills.
[00:00:35.840]My name is Annette Wragge,
[00:00:37.300]I'm the State Coordinator for the Nebraska ASD Network,
[00:00:40.820]and I've learned from the best students,
[00:00:43.720]families, and colleagues in the field of autism.
[00:00:49.610]The objectives for the webinar today
[00:00:51.410]are for participants to gain information
[00:00:53.660]about the characteristics and differences
[00:00:56.050]specific to individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
[00:00:59.600]Additionally, the participants will gain information
[00:01:02.010]on supports for individuals with ASD
[00:01:04.628]to increase meaningful participation
[00:01:07.230]and success in a variety of settings.
[00:01:09.540]And finally, for participants to gain information
[00:01:12.340]about evidence-based practices.
[00:01:17.070]So let's talk about what autism spectrum disorder is.
[00:01:21.460]I included a definition
[00:01:23.090]from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention,
[00:01:27.010]and it states that,
[00:01:27.843]"Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability
[00:01:31.587]"that can cause significant social,
[00:01:33.877]"communication, and behavioral challenges."
[00:01:37.000]And you might see a little bit of a different variation
[00:01:39.420]on that definition depending on the source,
[00:01:42.320]but that really embodies that triad of areas
[00:01:46.910]that we're gonna look at a little bit further
[00:01:48.740]that make up autism spectrum disorder.
[00:01:53.290]So this slide gives us a nice visual reminder
[00:01:56.470]of why autism is called a spectrum disorder.
[00:01:59.207]And so it shows us that in these areas,
[00:02:01.510]individuals can be anywhere along this continuum.
[00:02:05.180]So if we look at that first area of social interaction,
[00:02:08.490]we might have met individuals
[00:02:10.640]or have worked with individuals
[00:02:12.100]who could be described as being in their own world,
[00:02:15.240]and what that might look like is an individual
[00:02:17.470]who's just not very interested in social interaction,
[00:02:20.730]prefers to be alone,
[00:02:22.890]is quite happy entertaining themselves
[00:02:25.130]with their own thoughts, and ideas, and preferences.
[00:02:28.350]And on the other side of the spectrum,
[00:02:30.500]we have people who are very interested
[00:02:33.060]in social interaction,
[00:02:34.810]in joining games, having friends, engaging in conversations,
[00:02:41.520]but then you lack the skills
[00:02:42.750]to be successful doing those things,
[00:02:44.800]so we wanna put supports in place
[00:02:46.500]to teach those critical skills.
[00:02:48.480]If we look at the area of communication,
[00:02:50.450]we can have individuals, again, on that left-hand side,
[00:02:53.770]who might be nonverbal,
[00:02:56.100]all the way over to the other side of the continuum
[00:02:59.950]to individuals who are highly verbal,
[00:03:02.260]who have an amazing verbal repertoire,
[00:03:05.280]but again, may lack the social communication skills
[00:03:08.580]to be an effective communicator,
[00:03:10.880]so may not understand the back-and-forth exchanges
[00:03:14.870]in a conversation,
[00:03:17.510]they might not understand social reciprocity
[00:03:20.690]when having interactions with others,
[00:03:23.320]and may struggle to read nonverbal cues
[00:03:25.860]and those kinds of things,
[00:03:27.770]but again, are highly verbal,
[00:03:29.850]so that's very different profile
[00:03:31.680]than someone who does not have verbal skills.
[00:03:35.490]And if we look down the list
[00:03:37.340]at restricted behaviors and patterns of interest,
[00:03:40.170]on one side of this continuum,
[00:03:42.150]you might have an individual who has lots of stereotypy,
[00:03:45.960]so repeated hand movements,
[00:03:48.620]toe walking, those kinds of things,
[00:03:51.000]and on the other end of the spectrum,
[00:03:52.830]that might look like restricted interests,
[00:03:56.970]rigidity in routine and inflexibility.
[00:04:00.390]And then in the area of sensory,
[00:04:02.370]it's just important to note that individuals
[00:04:05.510]can be hypersensitive to sensory input or hypo,
[00:04:10.000]which would be undersensitive to sensory input,
[00:04:15.162]and may also experience some anxiety in those areas
[00:04:18.780]in terms of how their body and how their brain
[00:04:21.660]is perceiving sensory input.
[00:04:25.020]Now we're going to move into a discussion
[00:04:27.970]on the three main areas
[00:04:30.130]where individuals with autism are impacted.
[00:04:36.420]The first area is communication,
[00:04:38.720]and you can read through the slide
[00:04:41.260]and see some of the different examples,
[00:04:43.770]but what we know about individuals that are verbal
[00:04:47.610]and have autism is that they still struggle with language.
[00:04:52.350]So it might be using language effectively,
[00:04:55.530]it might be understanding
[00:04:57.150]the nuances of having a conversation
[00:05:00.440]and engaging in a back-and-forth routine
[00:05:04.980]with another individual.
[00:05:07.140]We often see individuals struggle
[00:05:09.070]with reading nonverbal cues,
[00:05:11.050]and it's amazing how often we use nonverbal cues,
[00:05:14.830]especially in, like, the classroom setting,
[00:05:17.370]you know, the teacher look, (chuckles)
[00:05:18.680]or the teacher cues that,
[00:05:20.317]"Hey, we want you to stop doing what you're doing
[00:05:22.667]"and follow along with the lesson."
[00:05:25.587]We do need to be aware that individuals with autism
[00:05:29.600]may not be picking up on those clues,
[00:05:31.730]and so we need to think about
[00:05:33.830]how to communicate a different way
[00:05:36.200]while we teach them to read nonverbal cues.
[00:05:41.000]Now we're gonna talk about social characteristics
[00:05:43.240]of individuals on the more verbal end
[00:05:46.090]of the autism spectrum.
[00:05:50.070]Again, I won't read every item on the screen,
[00:05:52.870]you can certainly do that,
[00:05:54.470]but we know that individuals with autism
[00:05:57.330]struggle with understanding the hidden curriculum,
[00:06:01.400]the social rules of how to interact with others.
[00:06:05.720]We definitely see a lack of spontaneous sharing
[00:06:08.880]or social reciprocity.
[00:06:11.430]Again, kind of related to that back and forth
[00:06:13.860]that we talked about in communication,
[00:06:17.360]but more about wanting to share
[00:06:19.230]and then hear from others what's important to them.
[00:06:23.690]They might have different ways of interacting
[00:06:27.180]that are non-traditional and maybe somewhat off-putting.
[00:06:31.190]So social skills are definitely an area,
[00:06:33.960]first, that we need to understand
[00:06:35.960]that there are likely deficits for the individual,
[00:06:40.207]and then be thinking about how do we address those
[00:06:43.730]and give them some functional social skills
[00:06:47.990]to interact successfully.
[00:06:52.260]This third area, restricted patterns of behavior,
[00:06:55.170]interests, and activities,
[00:06:56.940]I think is absolutely crucial to understanding
[00:07:00.960]if you work with individuals with autism
[00:07:04.020]or have a family member impacted by autism,
[00:07:08.580]because this can really cause some things
[00:07:10.530]that may look odd or unusual,
[00:07:12.550]and if we understand that a need for sameness
[00:07:16.720]or a need for a routine to go a certain way
[00:07:20.090]is kind of part of the makeup of the individual,
[00:07:23.130]then we can be more understanding
[00:07:26.300]and certainly teach skills
[00:07:28.100]to be more flexible at some point,
[00:07:30.100]but I think it's really important that we understand
[00:07:32.440]that that is a core characteristic of autism,
[00:07:36.460]and so that allows us to kind of not be
[00:07:39.710]frustrated with the individual for exhibiting
[00:07:42.770]some of those restricted interests.
[00:07:44.860]It also gives us some insight into a mind
[00:07:48.650]that really does have special interests or preferred topics,
[00:07:54.320]and I think, as teachers, I will say,
[00:07:57.820]allows us to consider using those areas for instruction,
[00:08:02.630]and I will follow up with that topic
[00:08:04.640]a little bit more later.
[00:08:07.630]Another important area to consider
[00:08:09.980]is that of sensory differences.
[00:08:12.600]So, sensory differences in the area of sight,
[00:08:16.880]hearing, smelling, taste can have a huge impact
[00:08:20.430]on individuals with autism,
[00:08:22.840]and that actually could probably be
[00:08:24.920]a separate training in and of itself,
[00:08:28.810]however, just thinking about the fact
[00:08:30.880]that individuals we work with
[00:08:32.670]might be over or under-responsive to lights,
[00:08:37.720]colors, smells, movement,
[00:08:40.920]and having an appreciation of the fact
[00:08:43.900]that those things might really impact
[00:08:45.700]how they're able to function is important.
[00:08:49.770]And there's a really great resource that I found on YouTube,
[00:08:55.120]and it's Temple Grandin talking about this topic of sensory,
[00:08:59.350]and I will include that in the handout for this webinar.
[00:09:04.240]We also have a really good video webinar with Judy Endow
[00:09:10.560]talking about sensory and how she's learned to advocate
[00:09:15.210]for her sensory needs as an adult with autism.
[00:09:18.490]I'll include that link as well.
[00:09:22.160]Now let's look at cognitive differences.
[00:09:26.200]And so, for example,
[00:09:28.340]this first item on our list, rote memory,
[00:09:31.150]may be considered a strength
[00:09:32.700]for many individuals with autism.
[00:09:34.960]It can also be something
[00:09:36.090]that's confusing to parents and teachers,
[00:09:38.750]because they know that the child has a good memory
[00:09:41.250]and can pull up facts,
[00:09:43.070]but then that same child might struggle
[00:09:45.640]with comprehension of information,
[00:09:49.190]and so, for adults, sometimes it can feel like the student
[00:09:53.130]is intentionally not demonstrating a skill that they have,
[00:09:57.720]while actually it might be a skill deficit.
[00:10:00.310]So, another example is a student may do very well
[00:10:02.920]in subjects where information is not open to interpretation,
[00:10:07.930]but they might have great difficulty
[00:10:10.110]with understanding literature or interpreting books
[00:10:14.610]that require a great deal of reading comprehension.
[00:10:18.370]And they may not be able to generalize information
[00:10:21.030]from one setting to another
[00:10:22.970]or with one person to another person.
[00:10:26.820]Another area that we absolutely have to consider
[00:10:29.780]is that of executive functioning skills.
[00:10:32.420]So, weak executive functioning skills
[00:10:35.230]is a predominant characteristic of individuals with autism,
[00:10:40.120]and this area really affects how the brain plans,
[00:10:43.690]organizes, prioritizes what to do next,
[00:10:47.620]and really follows through on completing those plans.
[00:10:52.010]So we have to consider executive functioning skills
[00:10:55.990]as an area of weakness,
[00:10:57.750]and then put supports in place
[00:11:01.320]to teach executive functioning skills.
[00:11:04.220]And then back to that area of special interests,
[00:11:06.918]special interests can really be used to boost performance
[00:11:11.000]in academic or other skill areas,
[00:11:14.140]and really help the child be motivated to progress
[00:11:19.440]in areas that might be difficult for them to work on.
[00:11:23.760]The use of special interests as a motivator
[00:11:25.970]is detailed, I think, very nicely in the book
[00:11:28.770]Just Give Him the Whale, by Paula Kluth,
[00:11:31.300]so definitely check that out
[00:11:33.000]if you're considering ways to use special interests.
[00:11:37.470]Motor difficulties can often be overlooked
[00:11:40.140]in individuals with autism spectrum disorder,
[00:11:43.410]however, there are problems often
[00:11:45.260]with the actual physical process, say, of writing
[00:11:48.470]combined with executive functioning skills,
[00:11:51.330]and really can have a profound effect
[00:11:53.130]on an individual's ability and willingness to write.
[00:11:57.080]Also, motor difficulties can be observed in gait,
[00:12:01.060]and may have a direct impact on participation
[00:12:04.500]in physical education class or sports.
[00:12:07.800]And often, motor differences can result
[00:12:11.160]in a student looking different from peers,
[00:12:13.830]or potentially being targeted for bullying.
[00:12:17.250]So interventions for motor deficits
[00:12:20.310]definitely need to be considered,
[00:12:22.490]and may include teaching skills individually,
[00:12:25.420]adapting the expectations,
[00:12:27.430]or providing visual cues to support participation.
[00:12:32.814]And this discussion reminds me of observing a student
[00:12:36.640]one time in a physical education class.
[00:12:39.400]It was a high school PE class,
[00:12:41.170]and the students were working on serving volleyballs.
[00:12:44.497]And the student I was observing had a very difficult time
[00:12:47.699]trying to serve the volleyball,
[00:12:50.300]and during the 45-minute observation,
[00:12:53.010]he tried over and over and over
[00:12:55.510]to connect his hand to the ball while serving the ball
[00:13:00.720]and never had success.
[00:13:02.840]So, I just think in that example,
[00:13:05.830]had we broken the skill down
[00:13:07.990]and had him practice one thing at a time,
[00:13:11.710]and provided him some additional individualized support,
[00:13:15.770]he might've had some success in serving the volleyball,
[00:13:19.360]where just on his own,
[00:13:21.900]trying to do the same thing over and over,
[00:13:24.100]that clearly wasn't working,
[00:13:25.830]was not a successful activity for him.
[00:13:28.910]Individuals with autism
[00:13:30.820]can also be very emotionally vulnerable.
[00:13:34.470]With all of the difficulties
[00:13:36.050]that an individual with autism faces,
[00:13:38.480]it's certainly understandable that emotions
[00:13:42.110]and a high level of anxiety can build up
[00:13:45.470]and cause some meltdowns.
[00:13:48.070]Often, for individuals on the higher-functioning end
[00:13:50.780]of the autism spectrum,
[00:13:52.390]that really have an understanding that they are different
[00:13:56.460]or that they're not very successful socially,
[00:14:00.160]that they're having difficulty making friends,
[00:14:03.460]it can take a toll,
[00:14:04.610]so we definitely need to support students
[00:14:07.740]through social thinking and social skills training,
[00:14:12.680]Circle of Friends group,
[00:14:13.940]which I'm gonna mention a little bit later,
[00:14:16.160]also is a way to provide a social network of support
[00:14:20.360]to individuals with autism,
[00:14:22.150]because we really wanna address
[00:14:23.934]this area of emotional vulnerability
[00:14:27.550]and understand that kids with autism
[00:14:30.670]can really struggle with some of these things.
[00:14:36.630]This list reminds us
[00:14:38.140]that there are characteristics of autism
[00:14:40.880]that can directly impact learning,
[00:14:44.309]and often in a negative way.
[00:14:47.500]So individuals with autism might have a comorbid condition
[00:14:51.030]of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder,
[00:14:54.010]and so there are just real attention difficulties
[00:14:58.520]that may arise in the classroom.
[00:15:01.170]Additionally, they might have attention difficulties
[00:15:03.770]because of perseveration about a special interest area
[00:15:10.170]or maybe a sensory issue that's going on,
[00:15:12.193]there's a lot of noise buzzing or something like that.
[00:15:15.860]We know that individuals have communication difficulties,
[00:15:19.160]so maybe the classroom teacher uses sarcasm
[00:15:23.050]or nonverbal communication to let the class know
[00:15:27.270]some of the things that they need to
[00:15:28.870]to follow along appropriately,
[00:15:32.010]and our student may miss out on those cues.
[00:15:35.920]Also, that lack of social skills understanding,
[00:15:40.420]can impact learning in the classroom environment.
[00:15:44.110]It might impact their ability
[00:15:46.640]to be successful in group work,
[00:15:49.690]doing joint assignments with a classmate,
[00:15:52.920]and again, just understanding socially
[00:15:55.470]what the teacher wants them to do or not do.
[00:15:59.340]Auditory processing impairments
[00:16:01.260]can be really problematic in the classroom
[00:16:05.540]if there is a lot of auditory information
[00:16:09.810]going on that's distracting,
[00:16:12.660]and if there's not a lot of visuals to support
[00:16:15.230]whatever is being shared in that content area.
[00:16:21.986]And imitation and generalization are two critical areas
[00:16:25.140]that we often see individuals with autism struggle in.
[00:16:29.430]So areas that we definitely would wanna address,
[00:16:33.030]but knowing how to do a skill
[00:16:36.080]outside of maybe being directly taught that skill,
[00:16:38.770]so in the classroom setting,
[00:16:40.610]or knowing how to do a skill when the materials change
[00:16:43.420]or the teacher change can be very difficult
[00:16:46.100]for an individual with autism.
[00:16:48.720]And then certainly, imitating others,
[00:16:51.670]and looking around and saying,
[00:16:52.967]"Okay, what's everybody else doing, and what should I do?"
[00:16:55.940]is definitely an area
[00:16:57.990]that individuals with autism can struggle with
[00:17:01.012]and needs to be taught.
[00:17:03.070]It really, our ability to imitate,
[00:17:07.800]is definitely a critical social skill.
[00:17:11.050]It allows us to fully participate in activities
[00:17:15.160]the way others are doing them around us,
[00:17:17.290]and so we absolutely have to work on that area of weakness
[00:17:21.180]for individuals with autism.
[00:17:24.300]Students with autism might also struggle with
[00:17:28.010]how to break down a task and come up with a timeline
[00:17:31.230]of things that they're supposed to do,
[00:17:33.010]and then certainly can struggle with transitions
[00:17:36.240]and even time concepts, as far as, you know,
[00:17:39.487]"This needs to be done by the end of the day,"
[00:17:41.940]or talking about what they did last night,
[00:17:44.830]those kinds of things might be just too big of a gap.
[00:17:47.840]Even for a student who presents
[00:17:49.490]as very verbal and very capable,
[00:17:52.990]talking about things relative to time can be difficult,
[00:17:57.820]so it's important to understand that.
[00:18:02.002]And then we absolutely wanna talk about the strengths
[00:18:04.750]of individuals with autism.
[00:18:08.050]I have always just really enjoyed
[00:18:10.820]looking (chuckles) at this list,
[00:18:12.470]and it reminds me of students that I've worked with
[00:18:14.960]who had exceptionally-strong visual performance skills,
[00:18:18.590]certainly the ability to learn and follow routines,
[00:18:21.972]sometime a routine that they've come up with,
[00:18:24.310]and maybe it's not as functional,
[00:18:26.090]but we can teach individuals with autism
[00:18:29.070]to be very independent and follow routines of the classroom,
[00:18:33.010]but we have to actually set that time aside
[00:18:37.040]to teach that skill so that they're able to do that.
[00:18:41.330]Love the focused attention related to special interests.
[00:18:45.170]Again, if you haven't listened to Temple Grandin
[00:18:48.050]talk about this topic,
[00:18:49.540]it can be really instructional information,
[00:18:54.150]but understanding that a mind that can focus
[00:18:57.600]and really dive down into a specific topic,
[00:19:01.320]we have a lot to learn from that,
[00:19:03.300]and I think embracing, as much as we can,
[00:19:07.530]some of those areas that individuals are interested in
[00:19:10.600]and use them instructionally,
[00:19:12.300]I think can be really beneficial.
[00:19:14.850]Also, we know that individuals with autism
[00:19:17.138]often have a really good rote memory
[00:19:19.940]and are incredibly honest.
[00:19:22.060]And so I'm sure there's many strengths
[00:19:25.190]that are not on this list,
[00:19:26.770]but I think it's really important to just kind of celebrate
[00:19:31.000]the unique strengths of many individuals with autism
[00:19:34.890]as we're talking about how to support them.
[00:19:46.160]Now we're gonna talk about ways
[00:19:47.700]to specifically support individuals with ASD
[00:19:51.480]in home, school, and community settings.
[00:19:55.180]We did spend quite a bit of time on characteristics
[00:19:58.500]and, really,
[00:20:00.420]that underlying deficits of individuals with autism,
[00:20:04.480]and I think that information really helps us have,
[00:20:08.390]in our own minds,
[00:20:09.223]a solid foundation of what
[00:20:11.690]the individuals we work with might struggle with,
[00:20:14.320]and that will help us as we move into this content
[00:20:17.230]about ways to support individuals with autism.
[00:20:21.950]The first area we're gonna talk about
[00:20:24.030]in terms of supporting individuals with autism
[00:20:27.690]is the area of social supports.
[00:20:30.370]And this is an area that, I think, for education purposes,
[00:20:34.440]we want to make sure that we are addressing.
[00:20:37.470]So I know that sometimes we can get really caught up
[00:20:39.940]in making sure we have supports in place
[00:20:41.870]for the academic areas,
[00:20:44.930]and maybe in the area of communication,
[00:20:48.100]but we do not wanna forget about having supports in place
[00:20:51.770]to teach students really critical
[00:20:54.620]social thinking and social skills
[00:20:58.390]because it's so important for their success in school,
[00:21:01.680]but also for success in life.
[00:21:04.400]So let's talk about social supports.
[00:21:08.550]Research tells us that individuals with soft skills,
[00:21:12.050]and those are referring to good social skills,
[00:21:15.780]sociability or good abilities in the area of social skill,
[00:21:19.680]good work habits, being conscientious,
[00:21:22.200]as well as those who participate
[00:21:24.100]in extracurricular activities,
[00:21:26.380]they're more likely to make more money,
[00:21:29.130]to hold a job, and attain high levels of education
[00:21:34.100]than people that just have good grades and high test scores.
[00:21:38.440]So I think we just need to pause and think about that,
[00:21:41.760]and, again,
[00:21:42.730]not only have supports in place for academic success,
[00:21:46.170]but have supports in place for social skills.
[00:21:50.540]The first thing we're gonna talk about in this area
[00:21:52.920]is direct social skills instruction.
[00:21:55.950]So, individuals with autism, for the most part,
[00:22:00.190]need direct teaching of social skills,
[00:22:03.989]and we are lucky to live in a time
[00:22:06.410]where there've been many books and resources
[00:22:08.350]developed specifically for this area.
[00:22:12.350]So I will include a list of resources in the handout
[00:22:15.940]that goes along with this webinar,
[00:22:17.920]but definitely look up social skills instruction resources
[00:22:22.850]for students with autism,
[00:22:24.670]and then there's a lot out of the Social Thinking group,
[00:22:28.440]Michelle Garcia Winner's group, on teaching social thinking.
[00:22:32.030]Social thinking really goes beyond teaching a student
[00:22:35.370]just to do a grading or have a basic skillset socially,
[00:22:40.660]it teaches them to be a social thinker,
[00:22:44.470]and to have a little more insight
[00:22:46.440]into what other people are thinking,
[00:22:48.920]and being able to think about their thoughts,
[00:22:52.060]but also the fact that other people have thoughts,
[00:22:54.440]and ideas, and emotions,
[00:22:57.260]and so definitely check out social thinking as well.
[00:23:01.430]The key point I want you to take away in this area
[00:23:04.220]is that if we have students identified with autism,
[00:23:08.800]especially in educational settings,
[00:23:11.200]we should be teaching social skills.
[00:23:13.670]So instead of being frustrated with a student
[00:23:17.710]when they display a lack of a social skill or social skills,
[00:23:22.246]making a list and identifying as an IEP team
[00:23:26.450]key skills that we want to address,
[00:23:28.890]and systematically teaching those skills throughout the year
[00:23:32.640]to help our kids be successful.
[00:23:38.870]Social narratives and/or the trademark Social Stories,
[00:23:44.340]out of The Gray Institute,
[00:23:47.670]can be a really nice way to give a student information
[00:23:51.100]about an event or an activity
[00:23:54.320]that they just simply may not understand.
[00:23:56.770]And so it can be words alone,
[00:23:59.350]depending on the student's level of understanding of words,
[00:24:05.040]so we might add pictures to it if needed,
[00:24:07.510]and it can be used to prepare for something
[00:24:10.170]that's out of the ordinary
[00:24:12.380]or to just help an individual cope in a situation
[00:24:15.570]which they're not coping very well in.
[00:24:18.440]And then it's very individualized
[00:24:21.060]for that particular student.
[00:24:25.730]Here's an example from The Gray Center,
[00:24:28.930]and Carol Gray developed Social Stories many years ago,
[00:24:32.710]and this one is just on standing in a line,
[00:24:36.400]and it was written for a student who struggled
[00:24:38.630]with this (chuckles) particular skill.
[00:24:40.530]And so they wrote a Social Story
[00:24:42.500]to give him more information
[00:24:44.400]about why the class lines up,
[00:24:46.830]how they should line up,
[00:24:49.860]and then if it's not his turn to be the line leader
[00:24:52.370]on one particular day,
[00:24:54.110]he might have his opportunity
[00:24:55.660]to be the line leader the next time.
[00:24:58.170]And so it just provides some context
[00:25:01.230]to a student who really may not understand
[00:25:03.610]that particular activity.
[00:25:05.660]You can write Social Stories
[00:25:07.480]for things a student's doing really well
[00:25:10.090]or for things that are problematic,
[00:25:12.420]and it's a nice, really inexpensive support,
[00:25:17.060]but we have had kids have tremendous success
[00:25:21.450]using Social Stories.
[00:25:23.190]I used a Social Story with a little guy
[00:25:25.420]who was really afraid to get his hair cut,
[00:25:27.660]and so we developed a Social Story
[00:25:30.140]about kinda why you need to get your hair cut
[00:25:32.840]and how it can get long and shaggy if you don't get it cut,
[00:25:36.430]and we put information in there
[00:25:38.810]about how the scissors sometimes make a sound,
[00:25:41.660]and that sound's scary,
[00:25:43.290]but that the hairdresser is going to be very careful
[00:25:45.730]with those scissors just to cut the hair,
[00:25:48.280]and we used this Social Story ahead of time
[00:25:52.660]with the student prior to the haircut,
[00:25:54.500]and it really made (chuckles) the difference
[00:25:56.370]in a meltdown at the hairdresser's to the kiddo,
[00:26:00.920]after reading the Social Story,
[00:26:03.000]and us providing a strong reinforcer at the end, (chuckles)
[00:26:07.220]to him really getting up in the chair
[00:26:09.130]and getting his hair cut with very little drama.
[00:26:13.210]And so I definitely encourage you
[00:26:14.530]to look into social narratives,
[00:26:16.630]which are less structured,
[00:26:19.000]or Social Stories to provide
[00:26:21.250]really good information to students
[00:26:23.100]about different activities and events
[00:26:25.900]that they might be struggling with.
[00:26:29.360]It's also important to remember
[00:26:31.140]that in addition to teaching social skills
[00:26:34.760]and using social narratives or Social Stories
[00:26:38.140]to give individuals information
[00:26:40.420]about how to respond in a certain situation,
[00:26:44.290]we need to teach individuals with autism
[00:26:47.160]critical friendship skills,
[00:26:49.130]things that they may not pick up on
[00:26:52.100]by just being around peers.
[00:26:54.150]So, teaching them to imitate what others are doing
[00:26:58.850]and do the same thing or something very similar
[00:27:02.490]can help them be more socially appropriate.
[00:27:05.300]Other things, like give and take,
[00:27:07.530]whether it's with play materials,
[00:27:10.510]or, for other students, give and take in conversation,
[00:27:15.090]that there is this back and forth that's expected.
[00:27:19.186]So looking at critical friendship skills
[00:27:22.880]and really watching other students and how they interact,
[00:27:26.380]or other young adults, whatever the age may be,
[00:27:30.960]and making note of what they do naturally,
[00:27:33.760]and making a plan to work on those things
[00:27:36.320]with the individual with autism.
[00:27:41.020]We also have to be diligent
[00:27:43.130]about addressing and preventing bullying.
[00:27:46.570]So bullying attempts or ongoing bullying may be happening
[00:27:51.260]with our students or our child,
[00:27:53.790]and this simply lists the variety of ways
[00:27:56.400]that an individual can be bullied,
[00:27:58.700]and with the increased use of technology,
[00:28:00.920]of course there is a lot of cyberbullying
[00:28:03.980]and those kinds of things,
[00:28:05.560]but important for us to know that there are studies
[00:28:09.530]that suggest that individuals with autism
[00:28:12.570]are bullied at a very high rate.
[00:28:15.570]They're also, unfortunately, really good targets
[00:28:18.940]by other students who don't have good intentions,
[00:28:23.050]who want to trigger them into a meltdown,
[00:28:24.980]or to make them angry,
[00:28:26.440]or even make them be the butt of a joke.
[00:28:31.080]There's some statistics from a study
[00:28:34.200]that found that 63% of the group studied
[00:28:37.837]of individuals with autism
[00:28:39.750]had been bullied at some point in their lives,
[00:28:44.460]and I think there is multiple studies that suggest that,
[00:28:47.350]as well as, unfortunately,
[00:28:49.240]some cases where people have reported being bullied
[00:28:52.170]by the adults in the school district,
[00:28:53.940]and I really think that is tied
[00:28:55.870]to a lack of understanding about autism.
[00:28:59.530]And so not understanding that this individual
[00:29:02.160]might be highly verbal, but not understand sarcasm,
[00:29:06.010]or not understand the rules or the routine of the classroom,
[00:29:09.430]and so we need to make sure that we are looking at bullying
[00:29:14.230]and ways to prevent bullying.
[00:29:17.900]There are some really clear bullying supports
[00:29:21.260]that we can use to address the situation,
[00:29:23.800]and so there's a few ideas listed on the slide.
[00:29:27.500]We definitely need to talk to our students,
[00:29:30.270]or, again, our child,
[00:29:31.970]about people in their life that they need to avoid,
[00:29:35.330]there are just some people
[00:29:36.163]that won't be safe for them to be around,
[00:29:38.370]and then, additionally,
[00:29:40.010]others who would be a good person to help out
[00:29:43.650]or to get close to if they're feeling threatened.
[00:29:48.300]There is, on this slide, a link to Autism Speaks,
[00:29:51.500]and I will include that in the resource handout,
[00:29:55.068]but it just has a list of bullying resources
[00:29:57.810]and ways to prevent bullying.
[00:29:59.640]And then on our state website,
[00:30:02.430]we have a great webinar specific to autism and bullying
[00:30:07.630]by one of the leading experts in the field,
[00:30:09.900]and I will include that link as well.
[00:30:13.590]Before moving on, I did wanna note that in this area,
[00:30:17.210]I've only covered a small amount of resources
[00:30:20.870]that are available to address the area of social supports
[00:30:24.630]for individuals with autism.
[00:30:26.980]I really encourage you to look at the different publications
[00:30:30.020]that there are available,
[00:30:31.280]'cause there are some really good resources in this area.
[00:30:34.810]A few of my favorites are on the screen.
[00:30:37.090]The Hidden Curriculum, from Brenda Smith Myles and team,
[00:30:40.290]I think is an absolute must-have for anybody
[00:30:43.550]who's really wanting to teach social skills
[00:30:47.200]to students with autism,
[00:30:48.750]'cause it helps us really understand
[00:30:52.000]the need to teach students the hidden rules
[00:30:55.270]and the nuances of some social situations
[00:30:58.290]in a way that they may not have understood before.
[00:31:01.460]Additionally, cartooning is a great tool to have,
[00:31:04.820]because it brings a visual element
[00:31:07.410]to explaining social situations
[00:31:09.700]or social errors to students.
[00:31:11.710]And then, the Talk with Me conversational framework
[00:31:15.370]really is an incredibly-well-done curriculum
[00:31:19.520]on teaching conversational skills
[00:31:21.890]and fluency in those skills
[00:31:24.050]so that individuals can have meaningful conversations
[00:31:28.410]and understand the give and take and the back and forth
[00:31:31.669]that's required to have a good conversation.
[00:31:35.040]Definitely check out these resources.
[00:31:39.040]Okay, now we're moving into my favorite part of this talk,
[00:31:43.580]and we're gonna talk about effective teaching strategies
[00:31:46.530]for students with autism.
[00:31:48.790]And we're gonna spend a lotta time
[00:31:51.010]on this idea of motivation,
[00:31:53.220]and how do we capture motivation and use it to teach
[00:31:56.559]the critical skills that the individual needs.
[00:32:02.640]So when we think about motivation and ASD,
[00:32:05.160]it's important to note that individuals with autism
[00:32:09.169]are often described by teachers or parents
[00:32:13.350]as having low motivation,
[00:32:15.180]but the truth is that they have
[00:32:16.690]a different type of motivation,
[00:32:19.100]and so until we find out what it is that motivates them,
[00:32:26.210]it's really difficult to prompt the individual
[00:32:28.330]to complete work and related tasks.
[00:32:33.056]And I heard a speaker talk about this one time, years ago,
[00:32:36.390]and he said, "If you don't have a reinforcer,
[00:32:39.357]"you don't have a lesson,"
[00:32:41.230]and so study the environment, find out what the kiddo wants,
[00:32:46.810]get control of it, and use it to teach.
[00:32:50.670]So use it as a reinforcer to say, "First this, then this,"
[00:32:55.330]or, "You can write about this
[00:32:57.297]"and then have time to play your game,
[00:33:00.127]"or your iPad," or whatever it is.
[00:33:03.660]After we have identified things
[00:33:05.930]that are motivating for our student,
[00:33:08.240]we need to have access to them in the classroom,
[00:33:11.710]and by we, I'm talking about teachers,
[00:33:13.590]adults, and parents in the home setting.
[00:33:16.670]We wanna have things that we can use then
[00:33:18.810]that are of interest to our student
[00:33:20.920]to use as a reinforcement for them engaging in the behaviors
[00:33:24.260]that we want them to engage in.
[00:33:27.440]And so, we like to say, "No reinforcer, no lesson."
[00:33:32.050]So a lotta times I get questions
[00:33:33.920]on what specific curriculums people should be using
[00:33:38.230]to teach reading, writing, math, even functional skills,
[00:33:44.220]whatever it is,
[00:33:46.210]and there are some really good curriculums out there,
[00:33:48.380]so don't get me wrong,
[00:33:50.010]but often I think that what teachers are struggling with,
[00:33:54.070]or parents are struggling with,
[00:33:56.010]is how to teach, "How do I teach this student to do this?
[00:34:00.127]"How do I get their buy-in?
[00:34:01.897]"How do I get them to sit down and work with me?"
[00:34:05.260]And this, the slide that we're looking at
[00:34:08.360]that talks about reinforcement,
[00:34:10.140]tells us that 90% of the effectiveness of a program
[00:34:14.010]is reinforcement.
[00:34:15.370]So do we know what would be reinforcing to the student,
[00:34:18.990]and do we have (chuckles) control of that,
[00:34:21.690]and can we use it then
[00:34:23.030]to work on critical skill acquisition?
[00:34:26.060]So just remember, if the lesson's not going very well,
[00:34:29.350]we don't have a kiddo who is motivated to learn
[00:34:33.660]or compliant, sitting down to work with us,
[00:34:36.540]it's probably related to our usage of reinforcement.
[00:34:43.400]Okay, I don't want you to just take my word for it,
[00:34:46.560]so let's look at this research table
[00:34:48.470]that summarizes the findings of 79 studies
[00:34:54.010]on the topic of reinforcement in individuals with autism,
[00:34:59.830]and these studies covered age ranges from three to adult
[00:35:05.722]and demonstrated positive outcomes in the following areas:
[00:35:10.080]communication, self-management,
[00:35:12.890]social skills and interaction skills,
[00:35:15.750]behavior management, symbol comprehension/expression,
[00:35:20.440]so things like PECS and use of pictures,
[00:35:23.840]communication and speech, food consumption,
[00:35:26.910]leisure education, academic and work-related behaviors,
[00:35:32.070]play skills, and stereotypic behavior.
[00:35:35.230]So there's quite a bit of research that shows us
[00:35:37.590]that reinforcement is really an effective teaching tool
[00:35:42.380]for individuals with autism.
[00:35:46.530]Let's take a look at this short video
[00:35:48.540]that tells us about positive reinforcement.
[00:35:52.190](chalk writes on chalkboard)
[00:35:57.459](eraser erases chalkboard)
[00:35:59.850]Positive reinforcement is a part of all instruction.
[00:36:03.120]It's when students do something right
[00:36:04.650]and we give them something in order to make them
[00:36:06.730]do that right again in the future.
[00:36:08.730]Typically, what we're giving them is a verbal praise,
[00:36:11.760]but it could be any object, event, or action
[00:36:14.690]that makes their behavior go up in the future.
[00:36:17.630]So what we wanna think about is why we would do this,
[00:36:20.450]and again, it's because it's a part of instruction.
[00:36:23.190]We need to be able to let students know
[00:36:25.110]when they're doing it right.
[00:36:26.370]The advantage of using positive reinforcement
[00:36:29.020]is that it's very simple, it's natural within instruction,
[00:36:32.410]and it could have long-lasting effects.
[00:36:34.710]The disadvantage is the teacher must control the reinforcer
[00:36:38.860]in order to make this work.
[00:36:41.640]So how would we do this?
[00:36:43.060]First, teach the student the behavior you wish them to use,
[00:36:46.720]whether that be an academic behavior, a social behavior,
[00:36:49.060]or any other type of behavior, it must be taught.
[00:36:51.900]Second, watch for the student to engage in that behavior.
[00:36:55.670]You may even prompt for that behavior.
[00:36:57.630]If the student does it correctly, we provide a reinforcer.
[00:37:00.380]It must be provided immediately
[00:37:02.180]and every time when we begin instruction.
[00:37:04.840]Third, if the student is not engaging in that behavior,
[00:37:07.850]we must withhold that reinforcer.
[00:37:10.940]One consideration we have to have
[00:37:12.840]is that we don't always know
[00:37:14.190]what those reinforcers might be,
[00:37:16.160]so it may require us to do a preference assessment
[00:37:18.770]prior to moving into this.
[00:37:22.030]Hey, Mr. Alec, what do you wanna work for?
[00:37:24.980]Droid again.
[00:37:25.813]Good job, alright, let's work for a droid.
[00:37:35.430]What are these?
[00:37:37.091]Birds.
[00:37:38.033]That's right, awesome job.
[00:37:43.041]What are these?
[00:37:46.712]Drinks.
[00:37:47.545]Good, that's right, they are drinks.
[00:37:53.633]Point to a dentist.
[00:37:55.691]That's right, dentist.
[00:37:57.761]Point to a banker.
[00:38:01.102]Banker.
[00:38:01.935]Do you need help?
[00:38:02.855]Mm-hmm.
[00:38:03.688]Please say help, please.
[00:38:04.521]Help, please.
[00:38:05.354]This is a banker.
[00:38:07.120]She has money.
[00:38:08.010]Mm-hmm.
[00:38:10.699]Point to a mailman.
[00:38:13.210]Good job.
[00:38:14.331]And what's this one?
[00:38:15.164]Fireman.
[00:38:17.027]Good job, Alec.
[00:38:18.801]Woo!
[00:38:19.890]What did you earn?
[00:38:22.788]A droid.
[00:38:23.621]Yes, you did earn your droid.
[00:38:34.822]Good job.
[00:38:38.070](chalk writes on chalkboard)
[00:38:42.120]I hope you enjoyed that video,
[00:38:44.060]I will include a link to some additional videos
[00:38:47.310]that we have on reinforcement in the webinar handout.
[00:38:51.940]There are some steps for using reinforcement effectively,
[00:38:55.390]and they're not difficult,
[00:38:56.860]but you do wanna make sure
[00:38:57.900]that you identify a desired behavior,
[00:39:00.330]something that is observable and measurable,
[00:39:03.690]and that you also wanna identify an effective reinforcer,
[00:39:07.030]something that the individual really wants
[00:39:09.130]at that time that you're working with them,
[00:39:11.930]and then you wanna administer the reinforcement
[00:39:14.070]contingent upon the desired behavior occurring.
[00:39:20.000]So when the individual is ready for it,
[00:39:21.620]we can definitely start to thin our reinforcement schedule,
[00:39:25.790]and on the screen, there are some examples
[00:39:28.210]of what we call visual supports for reinforcement,
[00:39:31.280]and these simply provide a visual schedule
[00:39:35.320]of when they might get the big reinforcer.
[00:39:38.290]So you can fill the blanks in with stars or check marks,
[00:39:42.271]but it's just a way for the individual you're working with
[00:39:44.770]to see the progression of time
[00:39:46.560]and how much work they have to do
[00:39:48.600]before getting the big item that they might be working for.
[00:39:53.200]And the good thing about this kind of support
[00:39:57.250]is that the adult's in charge of how quickly
[00:40:00.280]they progress through that schedule
[00:40:02.180]to get to the end, big reinforcer.
[00:40:05.820]And there is a few other examples for you.
[00:40:08.040]So if you have a child who's having a particularly hard day,
[00:40:13.460]but still working,
[00:40:15.480]but you feel like they might need a break fairly quickly,
[00:40:18.550]you could fill out those boxes as fast as you want.
[00:40:24.120]You definitely wanna continue to reinforce
[00:40:28.580]behavior that's appropriate.
[00:40:30.260]So it's better to end on your terms
[00:40:33.230]when the desired behavior is occurring
[00:40:35.590]than to wait until the child, you know,
[00:40:37.710]falls out of the chair, or leaves the activity,
[00:40:40.060]or says, "I'm not doing this," that kinda thing.
[00:40:42.960]So you can vary how quickly you move through
[00:40:45.920]this visual schedule of reinforcement.
[00:40:50.408]And then,
[00:40:51.241]on days that the student's having a really good day
[00:40:54.780]and work seems to be a little bit easier for them,
[00:40:58.050]or the task is easier,
[00:41:00.000]maybe it's a known skill that they already have,
[00:41:02.880]we can make the schedule go a little bit slower,
[00:41:06.300]and so it's a longer time before they access reinforcement.
[00:41:10.020]Don't go too long,
[00:41:11.570]we do often fall into the trap of pushing students too far,
[00:41:16.890]and thinning that schedule of reinforcement too quickly,
[00:41:20.000]and that can result in problem behaviors occurring.
[00:41:25.180]I love this quote from BF Skinner that reminds us that,
[00:41:28.067]"The way positive reinforcement is carried out
[00:41:31.107]"is more important than the amount."
[00:41:33.910]So we just wanna make sure that we have fun with students,
[00:41:37.873]that we establish ourself as a fun person to work with,
[00:41:42.770]that we're quick to carry out reinforcement,
[00:41:45.580]so that we make sure we're reinforcing
[00:41:47.980]the behavior that we want
[00:41:49.130]and not something that happens
[00:41:51.220]in between the time the desired behavior occurs
[00:41:54.420]and when we deliver reinforcement.
[00:41:59.040]An important area to consider when setting up good programs
[00:42:02.890]for individuals with autism
[00:42:05.010]is that of emotional and behavior supports.
[00:42:12.090]Individuals with autism often cannot tell
[00:42:14.520]when they are becoming upset
[00:42:16.380]or even if they're becoming overly excited
[00:42:19.110]about a given activity or situation,
[00:42:22.490]and individuals with autism often don't have,
[00:42:25.220]just in their skillset, the ability to self-calm,
[00:42:29.630]so it's really important that we spend some time
[00:42:31.830]teaching those skills,
[00:42:33.390]and one of the ways that has been very effective
[00:42:36.890]is a strategy called The Incredible 5-Point Scale.
[00:42:40.580]This is a strategy that was developed by Kari Dunn Buron,
[00:42:44.750]and it provides a visual representation for the student
[00:42:48.220]using a scale of five.
[00:42:50.730]This has helped students understand
[00:42:52.590]and control their emotional reactions to everyday events,
[00:42:58.005]and additionally, it can break down a given behavior,
[00:43:01.920]and you can work with the student's active participation
[00:43:05.570]to develop a specific scale for them
[00:43:08.160]that identifies the problem,
[00:43:10.370]and equally important,
[00:43:11.780]suggests alternatives and positive behaviors
[00:43:15.240]at each level of the scale
[00:43:17.250]to bring them back down to a number
[00:43:20.100]and an area that's more comfortable for them
[00:43:23.410]and more successful.
[00:43:28.490]A link to The Incredible 5-Point Scale website
[00:43:31.670]will be included in the resource handout for this webinar.
[00:43:35.800]And on this slide, there are a few additional titles
[00:43:38.730]that either use the 5-Point Scale model
[00:43:41.290]or were authored by Kari Dunn Buron,
[00:43:43.750]and are really useful in this topic
[00:43:46.140]of behavior and emotional regulation,
[00:43:48.350]and even self-management using the 5-Point Scale.
[00:43:52.360]I definitely encourage you to check out these resources
[00:43:55.200]if it looks like it would be a good fit
[00:43:57.200]for your student or child.
[00:44:00.280]Another really nice, inexpensive, effective strategy
[00:44:04.970]to use when a social error has occurred
[00:44:08.370]and there might be some emotional
[00:44:10.250]and behavioral regulation discussions that need to be had
[00:44:15.190]is a Social Autopsy Worksheet.
[00:44:17.530]And this is a completed example of a scenario
[00:44:20.630]that could've happened at school,
[00:44:22.200]and essentially what we would do
[00:44:24.010]is after a social situation has gone wrong,
[00:44:29.880]we would wait for the child to be calm and ready to learn
[00:44:33.570]and then we would use this, complete the form together,
[00:44:37.504]to really talk about the cause and effects
[00:44:40.420]of how they responded in that moment.
[00:44:43.980]And here is an example of a blank form,
[00:44:47.320]I will include links to the forms in your resource packet.
[00:44:51.740]This is, again, a really nice, somewhat quick,
[00:44:55.170]but certainly inexpensive tool to use
[00:44:58.070]that really helps show cause and effect.
[00:45:01.000]It really teaches problem-solving,
[00:45:03.340]which may not come naturally for our students,
[00:45:06.250]and then it provides that visual, either pictures or words,
[00:45:11.180]that makes this information more permanent
[00:45:16.080]and something that can be referred to before an activity,
[00:45:19.280]again, debriefed after a social error has occurred,
[00:45:22.910]and be used as a tool
[00:45:26.180]to promote behavior change in the future.
[00:45:30.340]And our final section in the webinar today
[00:45:32.960]is to briefly discuss academic and work supports.
[00:45:36.420]And I intentionally put this section at the end
[00:45:39.460]because I do think sometimes our default
[00:45:42.420]is to give academic strategies the greatest emphasis
[00:45:48.064]in supporting students with autism.
[00:45:50.540]And while it is important,
[00:45:52.410]those other areas can also be equally
[00:45:55.900]or even more important to student success.
[00:45:59.870]So let's talk about academic and work supports.
[00:46:05.610]And to start off this conversation,
[00:46:07.820]I included another favorite quote of mine,
[00:46:10.100]from Richard Lavoie, and it states that,
[00:46:12.537]"Fairness is not giving everyone the same thing.
[00:46:15.607]"Fairness is giving the individual
[00:46:17.537]"what they need to succeed."
[00:46:19.920]I think this quote is relevant as we talk about
[00:46:22.580]all of the supports we've covered today,
[00:46:24.990]but certainly in the area of academic,
[00:46:27.570]when we have to have conversations about handwriting,
[00:46:30.550]maybe fewer number of problems,
[00:46:34.120]having a conversation about if homework
[00:46:36.630]is a good option for a particular student.
[00:46:40.170]So we definitely wanna think individually
[00:46:43.070]and not think about fairness
[00:46:45.360]as being everyone gets the same thing.
[00:46:49.930]I am not gonna spend a lotta time on visual supports,
[00:46:52.640]other than to say I would encourage you to use them.
[00:46:57.040]So as long as they're age-appropriate and easily accessible,
[00:47:01.100]they can often really help us support students
[00:47:05.520]in being more independent in their academic work,
[00:47:08.520]and knowing what to do next,
[00:47:11.410]having a clear breakdown of the things
[00:47:13.690]that they need to get done,
[00:47:15.240]but also removing that adult
[00:47:17.070]from having to verbally prompt on a regular basis.
[00:47:20.060]So definitely consider visual supports
[00:47:22.514]when setting learners up for success with academic work.
[00:47:29.120]When talking about academic supports,
[00:47:31.240]we have to have a conversation about the need
[00:47:34.060]for handwriting modifications for some students.
[00:47:37.110]So I think it's really important
[00:47:39.260]that individuals have at least one person on the IEP team,
[00:47:43.020]if possible,
[00:47:44.070]that can really explain and advocate
[00:47:47.500]the need for handwriting modifications.
[00:47:50.220]And we would base that
[00:47:51.590]on an individual's strengths and needs.
[00:47:53.280]So for some people, it may not be as important,
[00:47:56.050]but for other students, it would be absolutely critical.
[00:47:59.270]So there are some modifications on this slide
[00:48:01.620]that certainly could be implemented,
[00:48:03.370]such as not having the student write
[00:48:05.930]every single word during a lecture,
[00:48:09.380]but possibly underlining,
[00:48:10.870]circling, or highlighting words or answers.
[00:48:15.600]Certainly, fill-in-the-blank worksheets are a nice option,
[00:48:19.410]or even being able to get notes from a peer
[00:48:23.380]on a day that it's just really not feasible
[00:48:26.060]for them to take all the notes.
[00:48:28.560]So I guess what I would just say in summary
[00:48:31.820]is consider handwriting.
[00:48:34.140]Is it going to prevent the individual from being successful
[00:48:37.390]if they have to take all the notes
[00:48:39.770]and write all of the things
[00:48:41.410]that other individuals in the class are expected to write?
[00:48:44.890]And if we reduce that amount, could they be more successful?
[00:48:49.620]We also have to consider organizational supports.
[00:48:52.700]We know individuals with autism
[00:48:54.470]do have difficulty with executive functioning,
[00:48:57.380]and really, the critical skills that help you get organized,
[00:49:02.040]break tasks down into manageable steps,
[00:49:05.670]and so there are some things that we can do
[00:49:07.400]that are fairly easy,
[00:49:08.800]that initially we could do for the student
[00:49:11.780]and then we could also put supports in place
[00:49:14.010]to teach them to do these things themselves.
[00:49:16.800]And so to-do lists,
[00:49:18.440]a daily calendar or a timeline for a longterm assignment,
[00:49:23.530]color-coding based on the class,
[00:49:27.541]there are some different ideas,
[00:49:28.480]multi-compartment backpacks,
[00:49:30.910]those kinds of things are ways we can help them
[00:49:33.310]structure their materials to be more successful,
[00:49:37.090]and so I think that's definitely something to consider.
[00:49:39.590]And then, also,
[00:49:40.690]don't forget that after we put those supports in place,
[00:49:44.110]having them start to do them independently,
[00:49:46.360]providing reinforcement for when they are independent
[00:49:50.112]can help shape that skill up
[00:49:52.000]and make it an independent skill as well.
[00:49:56.260]Finally, a critical area, that in my experience,
[00:50:00.430]doing quite a few observations
[00:50:02.390]and consultations in school settings,
[00:50:05.250]that we often forget to teach is that of routines.
[00:50:09.670]So sometimes we will assign a person
[00:50:12.000]to an individual with autism,
[00:50:14.690]or even the gen ed teacher will be watching them
[00:50:19.170]and providing support as needed, which is fine,
[00:50:22.070]but a lotta times, the things that you see on the screen,
[00:50:24.650]like how to ask for help, how to turn in homework,
[00:50:28.700]organizing materials, how to line up,
[00:50:31.350]all of those things can be verbally prompted by an adult
[00:50:35.350]and then the student responds,
[00:50:37.230]and it's much more important to teach the student
[00:50:39.950]the routine of how to do those things.
[00:50:43.220]And then, again, reinforce them for doing it independently,
[00:50:47.080]and then they have that skill.
[00:50:48.880]And there might be quite a few routines to teach
[00:50:51.400]because different teachers do things very differently,
[00:50:54.640]but a lotta times, again,
[00:50:55.920]I see people prompting the student to do things,
[00:50:59.380]and then the student does it,
[00:51:00.930]but they never actually learn the routine.
[00:51:03.930]And sometimes I will even ask them,
[00:51:05.957]"Where does your homework go?"
[00:51:08.280]And they really won't know,
[00:51:09.890]even though they might be prompted to do that,
[00:51:12.840]to turn in their homework on a daily basis,
[00:51:15.920]but they haven't learned that routine because,
[00:51:18.810]again, it's been a prompted skill.
[00:51:22.460]But definitely take the time to make a visual support
[00:51:26.980]and teach the child to do the routines that are expected,
[00:51:31.050]that are happening every day in gen ed settings,
[00:51:35.170]the resource setting, in the hallway, the lunchroom,
[00:51:38.470]wherever it may be.
[00:51:40.960]And finally, we just have to remember
[00:51:43.660]there's just no secret recipe or quick fix.
[00:51:47.460]Sometimes when I go out to a school,
[00:51:49.150]I can tell (chuckles) that's not the answer that we want,
[00:51:51.790]or even if I go to a home setting,
[00:51:53.970]and that's just simply not the case.
[00:51:57.120]We absolutely have to individualize
[00:51:59.690]because each individual with autism
[00:52:02.820]has different strengths and needs,
[00:52:04.550]and so, I hope there are some strategies
[00:52:08.140]that you heard today that'll be a really good fit
[00:52:10.640]for your child or your student,
[00:52:12.860]and that others might be a really good fit
[00:52:15.110]for another student you may have.
[00:52:17.540]I wanna end with simply restating
[00:52:20.900]that I think the best intervention
[00:52:23.420]for working successfully with individuals with autism
[00:52:27.740]is understanding autism,
[00:52:29.600]so I appreciate your time today listening to this webinar.
[00:52:33.340]Thank you.

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Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders

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