ASD

• Engels
• Middelbare school

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Naïma van Strien & Amber Paauwe

Topics

- Mick is different

- Introducing ASD in the classroom

- What is ASD?

- What creates autism?

- Different types of autism

- The strong/ positive sides of autism

- What can you do in your classroom?

- What to do when an aggressive situation occurs.

Mick is different

Would you introduce the subject of autism in your class, yes or no, and why?

Pros

- The rest of the students will now know that someone thinks a bit differently, but not wrong

- They might be able to understand the actions of the child with autism because you addressed it 

- The child with autism and other students can understand each other better 

Cons

- The child with autism might feel different from the rest/feel like they’re not worthy enough 

- The child with autism might not want to interact with other students because they might think he’s weird 

What is ASD?

- Autism Spectrum Disorder

- Disorder in the brain

- Thinking in puzzle pieces

- 1980: 1 out of 10.000

- 2019: 62 out of 10.000

You can separate ways of thinking in three different theories:

- Central coherence: overlooking the big picture 

- Executive functions: planning and organizing and being   flexible

- ‘Theory of Mind’: taking into account someone else's feelings 

Characteristics of autism

Characteristics

- Social contact

- Communication

- Showing empathy

Behavioural

- Repetitive use of objects such as repeatedly switching lights on and off or lining up toys 

- Stereotyped and repetitive body movements such as hand flapping and spinning 

- Usually intense or focused interests 

- Insistence on sticking to routines, such as travelling the same route home each day and doing things in exactly the same order every time 

- Unusual sensory interests such as sniffing objects or staring intently at moving objects 

- Sensory sensitivities including avoidance of everyday sounds and textures such as hair dryers, vacuum cleaners and sand 

- Extra sensitive to triggers, like light and sound

Social interaction

- Limited use and understanding of non-verbal communication such as eye gaze, facial expression and gesture

- Difficulties forming and sustaining friendships

- Lack of seeking to share enjoyment, interests and activities with other people

- Difficulties with social and emotional responsiveness

Communication

- Delayed language development

- Difficulties initiating and sustaining conversations

- Stereotyped and repetitive use of language such as repeating phrases from television

Thesis

The school (regular public school) has organized a trip. There is one child with autism in the class. The teacher says that the child needs supervision. There have been incidents before where the student with autism had outbursts. The school doesn’t arrange supervision themselves. The teacher goes to the parents and tell them they need to make sure there is supervision, or the child can’t go on his school trip. 

Do you agree with the teacher’s decision? Why/why not? 

Different types of autism

- Autistic disorder

- PDD-NOS 

- Asperger syndrome 

- Rett syndrome 

- Heller syndrome (Desintegratiestoornis van de kinderleeftijd)

Rett syndrome

- A 'girl' syndrome

- 1 in 10.000 - 23.000 born girls have it

- Development disorder in the nervous system

- Symptoms start developing after 6 - 18 months

The strong/ positive sides of autism

They; 

- can delve into certain subjects really well. They know all about it. 

- are very honest people. They often don’t see ‘’social tricks’’ so they don’t see the need to lie.

- are often good at reading schematic representations 

- are good at thinking analytically and deductively 

- can solve problems we can’t because a lot of people with autism are picture thinkers or pattern thinkers 

- have a very good visually (long term) memory. Sometimes even photographical

- stick to appointments/agreements/rules. 

What can you do in your classroom?

- Communicate positively.

- Don’t use vague open questions.

- Think about your mimics and body language.

- Limit your flood of words.

- Give clear assignments.

- Don’t use metaphors.

- Be specific.

Avoid these words in general: soon, in a minute, maybe, approximately. Words that are too vague will not help with the communication.

Discuss with your neighbour

The next topic covers how to deal with aggressive situations in class.

The student with autism has an outburst while you are teaching.

How would you approach this situation?

The student with autism has an outburst while you are teaching.
How would you approach this situation?

What to do when an aggressive situation occurs

- You don’t ask of the student to make eye contact.

- You can try to look at the student but try to do this irregularly.

- Think about their personal space.

- If there is a lot of noise in the background, try to silence the other children or turn down music.

- Listen to what the student is saying.

- Get the other students to leave the classroom.

General tips for teachers.

Try to always think about the way you come across in front of the child with autism. Think about your body language, the way you talk to them, and think about ways to improve situations.