Autism is not a single condition but a collection of conditions that have common behavioural characteristics.

Transcription

1 AUTISM Autism is not a single condition but a collection of conditions that have common behavioural characteristics. Autism can affect people across a wide range of intellectual abilities and skills. All children on the autism spectrum will have difficulty in some areas of social understanding, and this can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including: an apparent disinterest in other people subtle difficulties in understanding what other people really think difficulties in communicating thoughts and feelings some inflexibility in thinking or behaviour they may insist on sticking with familiar routines unusual interests difficulty in finding connections and drawing them together Fundamental principles that make for successful teaching: intensive, structured and purposeful teaching clear, ambiguous and explicit instructions and teaching strategies use of repetition to consolidate re-teaching in different contexts and in different ways, not assuming that the child has understood because they have repeated or demonstrated something the use of a communicative form that the child understands and can use to convey ideas to others e.g. visual methods, speaking and listening, experiences of the world opportunities for learning with a personal meaning that is interesting and motivating a high level of adult tuition and support development of meaningful relationships with others

2 ASPERGER SYNDROME Social and Emotional Behaviour Solitary play or with much younger or older children Indifferent to peer pressure Conversation with adults rather than peers At lunchtime, finds secluded places or goes to the Library Appears rude but is unaware of social conventions Unusual social behaviour may not be apparent until the child is four or five years old Lacks empathy seeing things from another person s point of view unaware how their behaviour affects others Can be bullied and teased by other children Not interested in competitive team activities School may be the only social life experienced outside home Need for reassurance Poor self disclosure May take on the persona of other people as an attempt to become socially skilled Disproportionately upset by failure or criticism Limited vocabulary of emotional expression

3 Cognitive Development Normal or above average IQ Discrepancy between verbal and performance IQ, usually having greater verbal skills Good readers but may be better at accuracy than comprehension Motivation and achievement in a specific area of interest, poor concentration in other areas Reads books for information, little interest in adventure stories Excellent long term memory for events and facts Solitary imaginative play or other children become manikins that are physically manipulated CHARACTERISTICS OF ASPERGER SYNDROME Social Obvious impairment in two-way social interaction not necessarily due to a desire to withdraw. 1. A lack of ability to understand and use the rules of governing social behaviour. 2. Unusual eye contact, proximity to others. 3. Inappropriate choice of clothing, unaware of the need for grooming/personal hygiene. 4. Seemingly appropriate social behaviour (may be rote learnt). 5. Extreme egocentricity 6. Aware of their social problems and may strive to overcome them, but in inappropriate ways and with lack of success. 7. No intuitive knowledge of how to adapt to the needs and personalities of others e.g., the need of others for privacy. 8. Over sensitive to criticism e.g., over-reacts to teasing. 9. Suspicious of others e.g., think people are out to get them 10. Lack of empathy 11. Misinterpretation of what others may do to them e.g., an accidental bump seen as deliberate. 12. Lack of ability to understand the consequences of their own behaviour. Communication Verbal 1. Speech acquired at age expected or mildly delayed. 2. Odd prosody (e.g., intonation, stress). 3. Peculiar voice characteristics (e.g., pitch, volume). 4. Full command of grammar is usually acquired. 5. Content of speech may be abnormal at times.

4 6. May indulge in lengthy monologues on favourite topics. 7. Repetitive patterns of speech e.g., questions and phrases. 8. Formal, pedantic, precocious or idiosyncratic speech is used. 9. Poor conversational skills e.g., unable to understand reciprocal interactions (turn-taking, changing topics, one sided conversations. 10. Either talks too much or too little. 11. Good verbal mimicry. Communication Non-Verbal 1. Little facial expression except with strong emotions such as anger or misery which can be exaggerated. 2. Learned expressions e.g., fake smile. 3. Gestures may be limited, or large, and clumsy and inappropriate. 4. Misinterpret or fail to perceive the non-verbal communication of others e.g., facial expression, gesture, eye contact. Skills and Interests 1. Imaginative play is limited to one or two themes. 2. Above average skills e.g., an unusual memory. 3. Intense interest in one or two specific topics often to the exclusion of all else e.g., computers, jigsaws. 4. Specific learning difficulties e.g., maths, writing, reading

5 ATTENTION DEFICIT/HPERACTIVITY DISORDER Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is thought to be a neurological disorder and is sometimes referred to as ADD for those without the hyperactivity. It is always present in childhood and is considered to be a chronic syndrome for which there is no medical cure. Causes Genetic Diet- preservatives, E numbers Neurological disorder Cerebral glucose level below 8.1% Alcohol, tobacco smoke, lead poisoning Moderate to severe protein deficiency Lack of fatty acids, omega-3 Premature birth Consequences Poor handwriting Decoding problems Poor organisational skills Concentration problems Low academic achievement Fidgety, restlessness

6 Disengagement Avoidance of tasks requiring high mental effort Failure to follow instructions Appearing not to listen when spoken to Excessive distractibility and forgetfulness Excessive speech Poor social skills Poor impulse control Strategies Medication, stimulants which work on the areas of the brain related to focus and attention Diet modification, removal of artificial colours, flavours and some preservatives Use of multivitamins, zinc and omega-3 Caffeine Help with self management Use kinaesthetic stimulation in class Flexible rules Brain gym Structured timetable TREATMENT GUILDEINES FOR AUTISM AND ASPERGERS DISORDER 1. Social Skills Discuss problems, model and role play correct responses Check on basic skills, eg. If they know if they have made someone angry. If they don t, ask them to clarify this with people concerned. Emotional training: work on recognising, describing and acting out different emotional states 2. Repetitive Interests Look at other interests as supplements. Look at things to fill in time when there is no structure Teach relaxation exercises so they do not get anxious if they cannot fill time with their favourite interest. 3. Language Practice conversation skills, how to open and close a conversation Help them to learn to understand jokes, eg. By asking people if something is a joke or not. 4. Auditory Sensitivity / Tactile Sensitivity Help identify upsetting noises, eg others screaming can then ask them to let the teacher know that it upsets them.

7 Use music or something else pleasant as a way of blocking out unpleasant noises. It also helps to get used to different sounds 5. In the Classroom They appreciate structure. Teach use of clocks early it helps enhance their feelings of safety. Low tolerance of failure hate criticism so a good relationship with the teacher, with a lot of positive reinforcement is vital.