Essay about Observing a Child with Autism

Many treatment approaches have developed different ways of dealing with the challenges of autism. First, there is the theory of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), which consists of giving a child a specific task, which teaches skills from basic ones to more complex ones, such as social interaction. Children taking this approach, work 30-40 hours a week with a trained professional. (West 66) It may be emotionally difficult for the child, and his/her parents to dedicate so much time, yet it is worth it. However, it has been proven that ABA methods have shown consistent results in teaching new skills and behaviors to children with autism. (West 68)

Autism is a form of neurodevelopment disorder in the autism spectrum disorders. It is characterized by impaired development in social interactions and communication, both verbal and non-verbal. There is an observed lack of spontaneous acts of communication; both receptive and expressed, as well as speech impairments. A person diagnosed with Autism will also show a limited range of activities and interests, as well as forming and maintain peer relationships. The individuals will display limited interests, which are often very focused and repetitive. He or she is likely to be very routine oriented and may show behavioral symptoms such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggressiveness, and self-injurious behaviors.

Books are some of the best teachers we have “they teach us vocabulary social skills and new ways of thinking”(leigh). It’s also true that textbooks could teach a child this, but not in the way they would learn from a story. When a child is really engaged in a story they will learn a lot more than they think. “Books teach us history ”(leigh). and many books are based on certain time periods or cover certain events. When a child reads these stories, they will retain the

Parents are often wondering when it is the best time to teach their children how to read. Most of the kids will have a satisfactory reading ability when they turn 6, 7 and beyond. However, training him during his younger years would go along way.

This case study focuses on Connor, a Year One student diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Observations and assessment of Connor’s specific needs, current level of performance and modifications to the learning and teaching environment currently being made to cater his individual needs will be analysed. Consequently, a range of teaching strategies, assessment strategies and resources to support Connor will be discussed and Individual Learning Plan (ILP) offered. Finally, a reflection on the strategies proposed and their influence on Connor’s learning needs will be detailed.

Zakai is six-years old and will enter the 1st grade next August. Zakai was diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder one year ago at a local university medical school. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological disorder that affects social development. Zakai has trouble making eye contact when communicating with others. Zakai also has trouble creating meaningful sentences, which makes it difficult for others to understand the message he is trying to convey. Therefore, Zakai’s parents requested a conference with me to discuss his current ability levels in the five developmental domains listed below.

I attended the seminar entitled “Getting Boys to Read” held in the Erma C Byrd center of the West Virginia University hospital campus on Thursday November 5th . The presenter was a teacher / librarian named Mike McQueen. In his presentation he spoke about strategies to make reading more appealing to young male readers, and common mistakes that he feels tend to drive young boys from reading. Some of the concepts Mr. McQueen puts forth are common well known facts that may only surprise the most isolated and close minded of teachers. Other ideas were more interesting and some near self contradictory. Included in the seminar the attendees were given a copy of the speaker’s book by the same title. The book gives 114 tips and strategies to help literacy in boys and expert interviews to reinforce his strategies.

The interviewee's child was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was just 2 years old. The child had been enrolled in the public school system since he was able to attend school. The types of classroom settings have been majority of self-contained classrooms, however, in kindergarten he attended a regular education classroom. Currently, his placement is in a self-contained Autism classroom. The family comes from a middle socioeconomic background. Furthermore, the behavior analyst has worked with all types of families and children from many different socioeconomic

When reading silently, he was able to comprehend at a fourth-grade reading level, but he would pout or walk out of the room if asked to read aloud. A few weeks into the fall semester, I noticed that Steven would sneak into the back room during silent reading. It seemed as if he was trying to focus, but I soon discovered that he was actually using technology tools to improve his comprehension. He found audio clips of the novel we were reading on YouTube and he was listening to them as he followed along in his text. With the help of our campus literacy coach, his houseparents, and upperclassmen tutors, I began to push Stephen to practice reading aloud. By the conclusion of his sophomore year, Steven was independently reading grade-level texts, especially teen romance novels. This spring, he passed the California High School Exit Exam on the first try and earned a 4.0 grade point average. He is open about his progress and loves to tell his peers about his improvement. Stephen’s commitment to working hard to improve his skills exemplifies his growth mindset and is becoming one of the most respected students on our

Growing up I was a very avid reader. I remember the first books I successfully read by myself. They were a series directed towards preschoolers called, “Where’s Spot?” written by Eric Hill. There are over twenty books in the Spot series and I’m damn sure I read every single one of them. I would come home ever day after preschool and kindergarten and read the Spot books aloud as I was walking around the house. If you can’t already tell, I was a very self-absorbed child. And although the books are extremely simple, with about one word on each page, and any human being older than ten can probably tell you the exact plot simply based off of the title, I always prided myself in being able to read them. However, soon after I found reading to be a lot less rewarding because as most self-centered children I sought recognition for all my actions, as a dog seeks a treat for being able to do a trick. It became something I was expected to be able to do instead of something I was special for doing.

Jackson is a relatable, humorous 5th grade student at Crestwood Elementary School. Jackson who has autism, is a very social student. He has lots of friends who he loves to goof around with, and considered the class clown of his friend group. When interacting with his peers he wants to make them laugh and evoke a response, so he tends to speak through jokes and crude humor. Because he works to shock and humor his peers, he has a habit of drawing crude and inappropriate objects in his art. Although he may get distracted with his drawings, when he completes the projects they are always creative and proficient. In class, Jackson responds well to talking about his favorite topics, and when reading comics and books. With his friends, peers, and teachers, Jackson loves to talk about his interests, which include robots, pirates, videogames, cartoons, sharks, and fantasy world characters.

Today Nathan told me that he did have any homework for tonight, so we read a book that he chose from one of the library shelves. We read "Diary of Wimpy Kid: Dog Days." He was able to concentrate while we read together, and we read over 50 pages during the session. I told him that if this scenario happens again in the future, then we can continue to read the book. As you know, he does need help with his reading and this was an opportunity to work with him on some of his issues like pronunciation of unfamiliar words and reading speed. He has a tendency to skip words or insert words when he is reading, but this is normal for most readers. I think that Nathan enjoys sitting and reading with someone. He did not allow him to use his spinner while

Pre-reading the book help me pick an interesting and appropriate book to share during storytelling. Also it help me to be familiar with the story to know when to add some excitement into the story by reading it with passion and effectively using my voice such yelling, making sounds effects, reading it in a pace so the kids can understand and

“We see what happens when we introduce toddlers to books. They fall in love.” (Johnson). Luanne Johnson, an accomplished author, discusses how children are not born with a natural distaste for reading, they are very curious and most find books intriguing. Much like my own experiences, I recall my parents always reading to me right before bed, there were two very important authors that my parents would read from, including Dr. Suess and Sandra Boynton, these were authors whose books were the first ones I tried to pick up and read myself. I would sit my stuffed animals up around me and I would read to them, reading aloud to my animals gave me a sense of impeccable intelligence, I continued that habit clear up until I was approximately 9 years

Lesson 3 Lesson title: Rhyming Bingo Standards: Reading: K.4 The student will orally identify, segment, and blend various phonemes to develop phonological and phonemic awareness. b.)