Biological Issues Psychological Issues Emotional Issues Cognitive Issues Social Issues Biological Issues during Physical growth and maturity Improved motor skills and strength Hungry Need more sleep Body changes More self-care involving sensory issues, judgment, fine motor skills Biological Issues Sensory difficulties Physical changes/puberty can be early or delayed May not be as cute or normal appearing as they were as young children Problems with judgment Difficulty understanding and communicating about body changes Biological Issues Education about body changes Use pictures and adults in family to show body changes in others When appropriate, add deodorant, shaving, etc. to visual checklists for grooming Add incentive for self care- activities. Structure to compensate for judgment problems Body outline teach to identify parts that hurt or are uncomfortable 1
Biological Issues continued Look at eating routines. Go for low-fat diet to keep adolescent feeling satisfied, but not gain excessive weight Use visual cues on bowl of snack food, pre-measured to show how many servings per snack Re-examine sleep needs Aerobic exercise Psychological Issues during Increased desire for autonomy and independence Wants more say in decision on daily activities (eating, dressing, leisure) Desire to broaden horizons, take risks increased interests in new experiences, new people and new places New experiences related to growth and to expanded environment Wants privacy Psychological Issues Difficulty dealing with unexpected Age appropriate skills require judgment and sequencing Problems with generalization of skills Activities in community more open-ended Poor concept of time Unable to communicate needs Difficulty understanding what others are saying Psychological Issues Provide choices using visual cues Use monthly calendars and daily schedules Provide greater variety in activities, people and places Use timers and concrete visual cues for when finished Visual strategies to compensate for judgment problems Provide place and time for privacy 2
Emotional Issues during Rigid Moody/Worried Sexual tension/hormones Emotional Issues Difficulty expressing and coping with emotions Emotional Issues Provide tension release activities though out the day Develop a routine for expressing negative emotions and staying in control Look for warning behaviors and encourage adolescent to go to private place until calm Teach relaxation routines early on in adolescent s life and practice daily during non-stressful times Getting Mad and Staying Safe Everyone has good days with good behavior and some bad days with mad or sad behavior.when people get mad, sometimes they cry. Sometimes they say bad words. Sometimes they throw things or have a tantrum. They try not to hurt themselves or other people. When kids have tantrums, the teachers and parents can do many things. Sometimes teachers have their kids lie on mats and bite towels. Some kids have to be held by teachers or parents because they hit and bite themselves. If I have a tantrum, I will go lie on a green mat. I will try to bite the blue towel and hit the mat instead of hurting myself. Adults will try to help me by telling me to be nice to yourself and reminding me to bite the towel and hit the mat. 3
Cognitive Issues during Black and white thinking intolerant, problems compromising Thinking more complex, more abstract Greater perspective taking Cognitive Issues Reasons for intolerance may be different Difficulty with abstract thinking May show more complex thinking in one area, but have trouble with generalization Problems thinking through things Making connections Cognitive Issues Avoid power struggles. Try to re-direct, distract or just walk away and start over again later, using different strategy Use visual choice and directions to help adolescent see options; put what they want on the schedule and show where the activity domes up during the day Social Stories and comic strip conversations Social Issues during Wants friends outside the family Wants a sense of belonging Increase awareness and interest in others 4
Social Issues Difficulty initiating social interactions Trouble extracting meaning from social situations Difficulty judging innuendoes and subtleties in verbal meaning Trouble seeing themselves as others see them Social Issues Increase social opportunities Social club Peer advocate Takes photographs to be reviewed, talked about and used for making choices of preferred friends Use visual cues to help with social activities turn-taking, social rules (pictorial or written) and social stories Private Time I get private time every day. Private time is in my room without anybody else. My private time is written on my schedule. I should not talk about what I do in my private time with my friends. Talking about private time might scare my friends or make them uncomfortable. Instead of talking about private time I can talk about movies school sports my computer games Selected References Autism in Adolescents and Adults by Schopler and Mesibov Sexual Behavior in Adults with Autism by Van Bourgondien, Reichle and Palmer in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders Social Stories by Carol Gray The What s Happening to my Body Book for Boys by Lynda Madaras with Dane Saaverdra 5
and Autism Special Thanks to: All the individuals with autism that have shared their lives with me. and Autism Sara Handlan Kathy Hearsey 6