Transcript Tell me about this student Please !!!! Sue Holmberg, Sherry Kocher and Jodie Wyatt Corvallis School District Autism Services.

Tell me about this student Please !!!!
Sue Holmberg, Sherry
Kocher and Jodie Wyatt
Corvallis School District
Autism Services
Special Education/Autism
If a doctor, lawyer or dentist had 40 people in this office at
one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of
whom didn’t want to be there or know why they were there.
If they were causing trouble and the doctor, lawyer or dentist,
without assistance, had to treat them all with professional
excellence for nine months, then he/she might have some
conception of the educators job. If their nurses or assistants
had to drop everything, whenever and wherever needed; had
to wipe up messes; create tasks; deal with behaviors; have one
more responsibility added to their and still do some
worthwhile support teaching, they would get a taste of an
assistants job.
Video - ASD
Some Background
Worldwide
numbers
History of ASD
2013
1:50
2012
1:82
Early 2000
1:150
1990’s
1:250
Pre 1990
Pre
1:10,000
1970
1:25,000
Why the change in numbers?
 Different criteria, but
world wide all the
same
 Environmental Issues
 Higher % in certain
industries
 Medical
 First studies only
looked at 8 year olds
 ??????
 Numbers video
TONY ATWOOD STATES:
IF ASD IS A 100 PIECE PUZZLE
AND YOU HAVE 75 OF THOSE
PIECES AND YOU MARRY
SOMEONE WITH 85 OF THOSE
PIECES, YOUR CHANCES OF
HAVING A CHILD WITH AT LEAST
80 PIECES IS GOOD.
Corvallis Numbers
The numbers rose steadily for many
years
2006
2008
2010
2011
2013
Video
85
135
165
130
145
What is may not be what is……
 The trick to working with students on the spectrum is to
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understand what is going on and what is not going
on…often we assume things that make sense to us, but not
to them….
We know that students on the spectrum have difficulty in 4
areas – not just the typical eligibility areas, but day to day
areas
Social Interaction
Communication
Imagination
Sensory Sensitivity
Video
Tip of the Iceberg
Tip of the Iceberg
 What we see is not always what is going on
 What we hear is not always what is going on
I have heard it all before ….
 Others list problems such as
 lack of empathy
 Naïve, inappropriate, one sided
 No ability to form friendships
 Pedantic, repetitive speech
 Poor nonverbal communication
 Intense absorption in certain subjects
 Clumsy and ill coordinated movements
This is what I am …..
 Lets look at it differently – for example in a positive
way!! Who would not want these students in your
classrooms who are
 Honest
 Reliable
 Dedicated
 Determined
 Attentive to detail
 Hard Workers
 Not concerned about the drama/trauma of social
relationships
Honesty
 doesn’t understand why people lie and when asked to lie
is very unconvincing
 Says exactly what he/she thinks
 Will stick loyally to people – which can be a good thing
or not …
Creative
 Often approaches things in different ways – in a way
that makes sense to them, not necessarily to others
 Often devises methods that they get stuck on, that
work for them and give the required result, just does
not fit with the “prescribed way”
 Can find it hard to distinguish fiction from reality
 Is often musical, artistic or dramatic, no matter what
the cognitive level is
Special Interests
 May have a topic of special interest that means the
world to him/her – these interests may change from
time to time
 Has to find out all he can about his interest
 May use his interests to facilitate conversation
 May know far more than he needs to about a topic, and
yet can’t do simple topics
 May get in the way of what is supposed to be done
Will try to hold hands or touch others in
inappropriate ways while he is saying he should not
Will follow others, while he is saying he should not
Will blurt out statements as a way of telling us what
he needs
Severely impaired thinker – in a social
world he does not understand
Routine, routine, routine
 Responds well to routine – sometime why elementary
school is harder than middle school and high school
 Does not like last minute changes
 Does not like routine to be changed
 May create routine of own to help – do not change this
unless you have to
 Don’t assume they do not need a routine because they
are doing well
Attentive to Detail
 This can be a blessing and a curse. Often can not get
past this attention to detail
 This can also mean not being able to look at things
any way but the way they see it. If you show them a
finished product, that is what will stick with them and
they will want it to look like this.
 The detail may also go beyond what you want. Be very
clear and ask for clarification. Sometimes when we
think we are clear, it is not the least bit clear to these
students.
Hard Working
 May not be the hard work we want them to do, but
once they get it and buy into it, it is hard to get the
student to stop doing the work
 If given a daily task most will take it seriously and not
want to miss the task, any day, ever!
 The student may be hard working in one area and not
the least bit interested in another…this can be
misleading and feels like they don’t care…..in some
ways you are right, they don’t care, about your needs,
just theirs.
Social Interaction
 Social skills look different
 Does not get the right and wrong of situations
 Acts without regard for how they impact others
 Wants to fit in but does not get how to
Communication
 Video Third rock ( actually Big Bang Theory)
Academic
 Bright in the area of interest
 Can have difficulty in those areas that are not their
strength – is that different than other students?
 Written work is usually very difficult for these
students and can make or break a class. The student
may develop a bad attitude before they even get to
class and then be totally unproductive
 The ideas and thoughts are there, but the ability to put
this on paper is not
Physical/Senses
 Fine motor tasks for day to day work difficult yet can
be very creative and artistic
 Impacted by sensory issues we know nothing about –
these are real and do impact them….it is not an excuse.
There are cases when the student may not be feeling
the sensory issue, but is concerned about it. This can
be as bad as experiencing the sensory issue.
 This group of students tends to be low tone which can
manifest in needing to be all over the desk, sitting in
awkward positions and getting fatigued easily.
Behavior is Communication
 If the student is upset, limit verbal cues to specific,
short and concrete cues. Do not attempt to engage in
conversation with the student until he/she is calm.
Limit eye contact when student is upset and don’t
require it of them.
 Use their interests to teach them skills that seem
difficult
 Allow a limited number of questions for a particular
topic – stay consistent with this
 Change can be a deal breaker – it is very difficult for
most of these students.
“Echos” what he hears or sees, but does not
process the language or the action well
Has difficulty using words to express needs –
often uses actions instead
Read at a 4th grade level at 3 years of age,
before he talked, but had little
comprehension of what he read, could only
echo it back – this has not changed
Perseverations
Will get stuck on his thought(s) and can not let go of
it(them) – he can not shut the file/image in his head and
will go out of his ways to get what he feels he needs
Will echo what it is that he thinks we want to hear –
because he can not process
the real meaning
Lets look at these details
 To understand how to work with these students it is
helpful to understand from their point of view.
 “Aspergers Syndrome – What Teachers Need to Know
 Temple Grandin “During my career I have met many
brillant….. From “The Gifts of Aspergers”, pg 114
 Page 110 – “Gifts of Aspergers”
Break
Behavior and communication
Behavior is communication! For individuals
with ASD, behavior may be the only means
by which they have to communicate a need
or frustration. Mirenda (2005) stated the
individuals with autism will communicate
using the “ most effective and efficient
means possible”
When challenging behaviors occur they are used
to control one’s environment and serve four
purposes
 To fulfill a sensory need
 To escape the demands of an undesired situation or
event
 To gain attention
 To obtain tangible object
 These students have a preference for routines, narrow
interests and difficulty with transition. These
characteristics should not be confused with behavior.
The challenging behaviors occur when the individual
is trying to cope with the changes. It is then the
individuals lack of communication skills, to tell you
what is wrong, that leads to the behavior
What can we do
 Look at what we are doing and correct your actions
first -
Things to think about
 Are your instructions clear?
 Are your sentences short?
 Are you using sarcasm or idioms?
 Am I using supplemental visual materials?
 Am I being as consistent as the rest of the team that
works with the student?
 Do I allow enough time for processing?
 Am I asking too much information? Are my
expectations too low or high
 Does the student have friends in class?
A negative behavior in school is something that interferes
with educational and social processes:
 not attending in class
 refusing to work
 being perceived as rude
 anything that affects your ability to function in school
environment
 anything that separates you and makes others have weird
thoughts about you
Michelle Garcia Winner
Behavior can be modified in
two ways:
 EXTERNALLY:
From others giving
feedback
(as in
reward
systems)
 INTERNALLY:
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From teaching the
student how to
change his
behavior
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Self-awareness
Self –monitoring
Self-control
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M. G. Winner
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR
THERAPY:
 Learn the ‘why’s
and the ‘how’s
 Internal regulation
 Learn that behavior
is remembered
over time
 Behavior change is
slow
M. G. Winner
•Social Stories (Gray)
•Comic Strip Conversations (Gray)
•Incredible 5 Point Scale (Curtis Buron)
•Social Behavior Mapping (Winner)
M. G. Winner
 SOCIAL BEHAVIOR MAPPING:
EXPECTED BEHAVIORS
VS.
UNEXPECTED BEHAVIORS
M. G. Winner
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR MAPPING
BECAUSE:
 The rules change with age
 Social rules are sensitive to the context more than the
environment
 Behavior has an impact on how others feel
 How one is treated is in large part based on how they
make others feel
 Each person has an emotional reaction to how they are
treated
M. G. Winner
Ideas …….
Five Point Scale exercise
Individual Five point scales
The Five Point Scale
This could make
me lose control !!!!
This could make
me mad
This could make me
really nervous
This might make me
Uncomfortable
I can handle this, no
Big deal
Supports
 Visual supports
 Low and High tech communication options
 Calendars
 Social Stories
 Visual rules
 Token reward system
 Schedules
DVD
 Our present to you
In summary
 Students who have Autism Spectrum Disorder are
truly wonderful, enchanting and a gift to teachers.
They can learn, progress and be strong contributors to
our society and it is hoped that you will thoroughly
enjoy these students, learn from them and assist their
learning throughout the educational years. It may not
be easy but that is where we come in…..please call or
send in the referral to us and we will come have a look
and see where we can help.
 Video