Case Study 3: Developmental Disability. 1.Peer Relationships

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

“Teaching Play Skills to Children with Autism Using Visually Structured Task”, written by Patricia K. Hampshire and Jack J. Hourcade, focuses on teaching a 7-year-old boy named Keith that has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) play skills. Keith’s special education teacher, Ms. Pool, and his first grade general education teacher, Ms. Carter, have been concerned with Keith’s social isolation in the classroom and believe that he would gain a great deal if he strengthened his social interaction with peers and developed more suitable play behaviors with toys.

Social interaction is defined as “a process of reciprocal stimulation and response between two people. It develops competition, interaction, influences social roles and status, and influences people in development of social relationships.” (What is SOCIAL INTERACTION) By adolescence most individuals are fairly competent at social interaction and have a general understanding of what is required of them in most social situations. For high functioning autistic children, this is far from the case. Simple interactions between themselves and others can be confusing and difficult to navigate without proper adaptive training in social behavior. In the following sections, we will explain the need for this training, how it is implemented, and the

I chose this article because it specifically targets the inclusion of autistic students in general education classrooms. The evidence shows that having a child read social stories and practice social interaction through role play causes an increase in a child’s social behavior thus helping him or her socialize better with classmates and teachers. This builds a better foundation for a child to express his or her wants and

Socially, children with autism have a lot of difficulty with peers as they do not express as much empathy or social involvement as their classmates. Baron-Cohen (2002) refers to children with autism preferring less involved social interaction, saying that “(children)often engage in “parallel play” at the edge of a group rather than joining in cooperative play”

Through play, children are also able to form relationships with their peers, therefore developing socially. They are able to “learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills” all of which are important skills in a child’s world as well as the adult world (Ginsberg 183). This is especially prevalent in young school age children, who have had relatively few social encounters without the presence of their parents before entering school. These young children will often make life time friends by sharing a popular treat at snack time or borrowing a color crayon to another child who has broken theirs.

The topic of investigation for this paper is effective techniques for helping students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) succeed in school. Communication and socialization were the two areas of focus. If students with ASD are helped in these two areas, the likelihood of success in school increases. With ASD increasing, literature reviews with effective techniques can assist school personnel in selecting the best options for students with ASD in less time than completing formal research. This is a topic of interest to me, because of two reasons. One reason is my work

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that affects a child’s communication, behavior, and emotional understanding. It has been described as primarily being a social disability (Laushey et at.,2009). Due to their inability to perceive others emotions, ASD children feel alienated. Consequently, this will result in ASD children having ongoing social problems caused by to their helplessness to interact with others. Since children with ASD are delayed in development, they face many challenges; however, the most severe one is the lack of social relationships. A social relationship is something shared with another person; it is formed when you share common interest, have give and take conversations on that interest, experience the rise or downfall with a friend, being there when a friend is in need. These sensitive moments are when relationships are formed. ASD children have a difficulty seeing things from a different perspective, they cannot analyze people’s emotions, and consequently, it is hard for them to understand another person’s actions when trying to accomplish a particular goal. ASD has become more prevalent each year, however, the cause and treatment are still unknown. Even though children with ASD have a social disability, they also face challenges because they cannot learn from parents or peers, they are incapable of reading others emotional cues and are not able to cope with others emotional regulation. There is a separation when it

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by qualitative impairments in social interaction and communication, and restricted, repetitive behavior (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013), and is associated with impairments in executive functions. Autism Spectrum Disorder is also defined as a group of disorders that impair an individual’s ability to understand and engage in the give-and-take of social relationships. (Boyd, 2015) Autism is a well-known disability in the world today. Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identify 1 in 68 American children on the Autism spectrum. There has been a prevalent increase in the cases of autism in the past 40 years. Over 3 million people in the United States alone are affected by autism. Government autism statistics suggest that the prevalence of autism has increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. There is no established explanation for why there is such an increase in autism in the recent years, but more people being aware of it and environmental factors could be a factor to the increase. (Jenson, Steinhausen, Lauritsen. 2014)

Carnazzo et al. (2002, article: 5 of 8) studied social skills interventions for students with ASD, and also included typical peers in training sessions. One area of their research, encouraged participation in peer mediated groups (using modeling, prompting, and reinforcement procedures) to improving interaction in cooperative learning groups. The second area of their research focused on ten-minute social skills lessons on play skills followed by unstructured play, where students were prompted and reinforced for the targeted behavior. The findings suggest that social skills training with peers is effective for increasing cooperative learning and play in the inclusive classroom. When peers are used as trainers they are taught to prompt, ignore inappropriate behaviors, engage in conversation, monitor skills, and reward appropriate behaviors (Christian, Luiselli, Russo, & Wilczynski, 2008). Michelle

In order to create a successful inclusive classroom for children with autism, it is important to know more about the disorder and its characteristics. Every person with autism has different characteristics. “Children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder display a range of specific characteristics such as: (a) impairments in communication and interactions with others; (b) restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities; (c) delays in either ‘social interaction, language as used in social communication or symbolic or imaginative play’ with onset before the age of three” (Deris & Carlo, 2013). “A child’s profile along the continuum of Autism Spectrum Disorders dictates the severity of impairment in language engagement, social connectedness, sensory integration, and cognitive skills” (Friedlander, 2009). Each person is very unique. “They include autistic disorder (sometimes referred as “classic autism”), Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome” (Autism Speaks). The table below shows three different levels of severity of autism. The data focuses on the level of severity, the social communication, and the restrictive, repetitive behaviors

To encourage the development of social skills students are encouraged to interact with one another throughout the day in a variety of methods, including partner work, small group activities, and large group activities. These teaching techniques enable autistic children to relate to their peers. As autistic children relate to their peers more they are more accepted and in turn continue to learn and acquire new and improved social skills.

Play is an occupation in which all children should engage in to enhance development. Play should be enjoyable, fun, impulsive and naturally motivating. When children engage in play, they are able to discover their surrounding environments, experiment with ideas, and learn from experience (Garvey, 1977; Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983; Smith & Vollstedt, 1985, as cited by Mastrangelo, 2009). Due to social, cognitive and emotional difficulties, children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are unable to develop play skills at the same rate as children without

The benefit of mainstreaming children on the Autism Spectrum is a topic that is discussed frequently. There have been studies on both neurotypical and non-neurotypical children and their interactions with their peers. A study conducted by Ann N. Garfinkle and Ilene S. tested an imitation intervention on preschoolers to see if non-neurotypical children could be taught to mimic behaviors by their peers (Garfinkle & Schwartz, 2002). Another study performed by Brandt Chamberlin, Connie Kasari and Erin Rotheram-Fuller found that children between second and fifth grade on the spectrum benefited from being mainstreamed in regular classroom settings as friendship between neurotypicals and non-neurotypicals helped establish social expectations and

In this article reviewed titled “Play Assessments and Developmental Skills in Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders” written by J. Pierucci, A. Barber, A. Gilpin, M. Crisler, and L. Klinger research diagnostic evaluations that include the assessment of play. Understanding the role of play in regards to the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is essential in developing communication skills to enhance social interaction is essential. The authors examined various aspects of play, draw from play competencies, and design interventions for successful outcomes of goals. In addition, how to measure the correlation between play and developmental skills that correlates with specific play composites. These essential dynamics provided correlation between play behaviors in the development of social skills of children with autism.