Wendy Ashcroft - Success Strategies for Teaching Kids with Autism

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Copyright 2010, Prufrock Press Inc.

Edited by Lacy Compton

Cover and Layout Design by Marjorie Parker

ISBN-13: 978-1-59363-754-5

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In the following pages, additional information is provided for each of the five disorders. Descriptions of children are presented to help explain how the disorder may affect individuals.

AUTISM

Autism (also called autistic disorder) is a complex condition diagnosed by observation and analysis of a persons behavior patterns. It is a spectrum disorder, meaning it includes individuals with widely varying abilities and unique combinations of behavioral deficits and excesses. A complete evaluation of language, cognition, and behavior, as well as physical and neurological assessments, are necessary for a formal diagnosis. A good evaluation process involves consultations from a physician, psychologist, and speech-language pathologist, and parent information regarding developmental history and current functioning.

There is general agreement that autism is a neurological disorder affecting brain functioning and that it is a developmental disorder, usually diagnosed before the age of 3. People with autism often have difficulty with verbal and nonverbal communication and social interactions along with restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, and resistance to change.

Case Study of Autism: Mark

Mark was diagnosed with autism at age 2. From birth he had typical development, sitting at about age 6 months and walking at about a year. At 14 months he was consistently imitating sounds and actions, verbalizing while pointing to things he wanted and babbling. He clearly asked for mama, daddy, ball, and play, and occasionally put two words together like Daddy go. By 18 months he was walking on his tiptoes, wringing his hands, and crying instead of communicating. He no longer used understandable words and he stopped interacting with people.

When Mark was diagnosed, he had significant delays in social interaction such as avoiding eye contact and running away from people. Not only did he lose his ability to communicate with others, he showed no understanding of spoken language. He did not follow even simple directions. Between the ages of 2 and 3, Mark developed very frequent hand movements such as wringing his hands and twisting his fingers. His interest in toys was limited to waving them in front of his eyes.

At age 3, Mark began receiving intensive Discrete Trial Training (DTT) and quickly regained his ability to follow directions. He also learned to match and to name objects and pictures. In spite of intensive interactive instruction, Mark continued to show little interest in communicating with people. His restricted interests limited his opportunities to play with his brothers and yielded even fewer activities with neighbors and schoolmates. By age 6, Marks expressive vocabulary was more than 1,000 words; however, he still had little interest in interacting with others and often communicated with whining and crying rather than talking.