Teaching Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders

By: Susan M. Catlett, Ph.D

 

Learning Styles and Characteristics:

     Autism affects multiple areas of functioning in varying degrees
          -Communication
          -Socialization
          -Behavior
          **The above are examined in diagnosis**
          -Sensory systems
          -Play
          -Motor skills

Communication

     Delayed or no language development
     May use gestures instead of words
     Echolalia (immediate, delayed, mitigated)
     Pronoun confusion
     Receptive often higher than expressive
     Talk "at" people
     Difficulty expressing needs

Socialization

     Appear aloof
     Difficulty making and maintaining friendships
     Little responsiveness to social cues
     Difficulty interacting with other children
     Lack of appropriate eye contact
     Lack of response to people
     Treat other people as inanimate objects
     Difficulty interpreting emotions

Difficulty Interpreting Emotions 

     I wanted to understand emotions.  I had dictionary definitions for most of them and cartoon caricatures of others...I also had trouble reading what other people felt.  I could make some translations, though.  If people's voices got louder, faster, or went up, they were angry.  If tears rolled down their faces, or the sides of their mouths hung down, they were sad.  If they were shaking, they were perhaps frightened, or sick or cold...The most important thing was to check if people were angry.  "Angry" had the worst and most invasive consequences..."Are you angry?"  I ask Dr. M, as his voice changed.  "No Donna, I'm not angry," he replied for the fiftieth time.

Behavior

     Insistence on sameness, rigid routines
     Inappropriate attachment to objects
     Not responsive to verbal cues, acts as if deaf
     No real fear of dangers
     Obsessive interest in item, idea, activity
     Apparent lack of common sense
     Can be extremely active or passive
     May appear "non-compliant"
     Repetitive motor stereotypic behaviors (e.g., spinning, rocking, hand flapping)
     Inappropriate laughing or giggling
     Tantrums and extreme distress/anxiety for no apparent reason
     May show aggression toward self or others
     Advanced competence in a particular area
     May have difficulty with transitions
     May treat people in unusual ways

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