Definition: A developmental disability significant affecting verbal & nonverbal communication and social interaction generally evident before age three that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.
Characteristics
Cognitive & Academic Characteristics:
-Rote Memory is the ability to easily remember things without necessarily knowing what they mean. Rote Memory would usually be considered as an asset, however it can be a disadvantage for students with autism. They have well developed rote memory skills; so often times, they will give the impression that they understand certain concepts when in fact they don’t.
-Theory of Mind- People with Autism often do not truly understand that others have their own thoughts and points of view. They face challenges in understanding others' beliefs and emotions. Some professionals contend that its theory of mind deficit that sets individuals with autism spectrum disorders apart from those with other disabilities.
-Problem Solving- Many students with autism have access to only one problem solving strategy for a particular situation and use it consistently even if that situation changes and regardless of whether its successful. Difficulty retrieving information or strategies many make problem solving even more challenging.
-Motivation- Students with Autism generally are interested only in a small number of activities or rewards, and might not participate in activites that are not interesting to them. Sometimes their interests are difficult to discover and can change quickly with no warning.
-Language Disorder- Many autistic students have extraordinary difficulties in language development. This has a significant negative impact on their abilities to interact well with others. Students may have problems knowing the socially acceptable distance to maintain between people during conversation, or they may stare intensely at another person while interacting making that person very uncomfortable. -Communicative intent- These students often don’t communicate in order to obtain the attention of others, and they many not communicate for social purposes. 50% of individuals with autism are nonverbal; that is they have few or no verbal language skills. Those who do have verbal skills often repeat words and phrases that have been uttered by someone else with no or little understanding of their conversational meanings. Students might also have problems with pronouns, using you for I & vice versa. They might also lack voice tone or inflection. Known as prosody problems, individuals with autism may use a monotone or sing-song tone of voice, regardless of the intended message. They may also struggle with understanding and correctly using figures of speech such as metaphors, idioms, parables and allegories and grasping the meaning and intent of rhetorical questions. -Immaturity- To be socially adept, people must be able to perceive and understand social cues such as frowns, smiles, boredom and other expressions of emotion. Because of language disorders and communication challenges experienced by students with autism they often make statements that are inappropriate or that do not make sense. Behavior Characteristics: -Self-Stimulatory Behaviors- might involve rocking, awkward hand gestures and any other repetitive, behaviors patterns that appear to have no apparent functions. These behaviors tend to stigmatize them, interfering not only with social acceptance and integration but also with learning. -Sensory issue- Students with autism have difficulty with the 1) tactile, 2) vestibular, 3) proprioception, 4) visual, 5) auditory, 6) gustatory, and 7) olfactory senses. Recommended Educational Practices: -Environmental supports- changes in a student’s surroundings that are considered key to effective programming. -Visual supports- Students with autism benefit from visually presented information because it’s more concrete then auditory information and allows for greater processing time. -Visual schedule- presents a list of activities using a combination of icons, photographs, words or clock faces to help students anticipate upcoming events and activities develop an understanding of time and predict change. -Task Cards- help students with Asperger syndrome recall academic content, routines, or social skills. -Home Base- a place students can go when they feel anxious/upset and need to calm themselves. -Assistive technology- stadapted eating utensils, talking, calculators, pencil grips, voice output devices, and audible word scanning devices and talking word processors with text.
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