Case Study Autism 7th Grade

Tommy R. is a 6-year-old boy and a kindergarten student in a K-8 combined elementary and junior high school in the San Jose greater metropolitan area. There has been a meeting requested by his educational team and parents to talk about his behavior in school and cognitive abilities in the classroom. School staff have been receiving complaints from Tommy’s teacher and classroom staff about not following direction and non-compliance. Tommy also struggles with completing some classroom tasks as well.

Based on the case study, Sara has many elements and character traits that can identify with her diagnosis of autism. I do strongly believe Sara diagnosis is appropriate and in line with IDEA definition and the revised criteria for ASD in the DSM-5.

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.

Autism is a very complex, neurobehavioral disorder that includes impairments in social interaction and communication and development skills. It usually occurs during the first three years of life. The disorder has a large range of symptoms and levels of impairment. It can severely change the way someone lives. People with autism show little interest in other people and lack social awareness. It is troubling for them to communicate express themselves, and understand what other people think and feel. In the United States only, more than 500,000 people have been diagnosed with autism. Autistic children may have repetitive body movements such as rocking, pacing, or flapping their hands. The disorder prevents children from forming relationships

During the second quarter, Lisa Beresford and I have met weekly or sometime more. Our discussions for this quarter have been focusing on several different topics. First, we have discussed different transition activities and strategies that we can use to help the students to be successful. We have discussed transition plans (IEP portion), for students that want to attend the CTC next year, and also students that are graduating this year.

Autism according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary is defined as “a variable developmental disorder that appears by age three and is characterized by impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, to commutate with others, and by stereotyped behavior patterns.” Autism was believed to be a psychiatric or emotional illness, and doctors told mothers that they were the cause. They were wrong. The cause for autism is still a mystery, however, the facts remain that autism in children is on the rise. Erin Allday of the San Francisco Chronicle writes, “Environmental factors play a more important role in causing autism than previously assumed and, surprisingly, an even larger role than genetic.” There are theories based on that

Many children are diagnosed with Autism every year. Not all parents find out about their child being autistic as soon as they are born. Samantha is 4 years old and her parents are just finding out that she has Autism. They did the right thing by getting her evaluated once they found that something was not right with her. Now her treatment can begin and the parents will feel better knowing that they have help with Samantha.

The No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act entail that students with disabilities or special needs to be open to the overall education and determine the progress of the child. Three unsurpassed practice strategies for supporting young children on the autism spectrum (including Asperger's Syndrome) in an early learning environment. The first strategy is reinforcement. Reinforcement is a critical strategy of evolving and maintaining the enthusiasm of this type of student. A teacher must use objective or actions that the students would like or enjoy that can be obtainable behavior. In my field experience observed I have seen the Pre-K teacher use the computer and smartboard to interact with the class as well

144). Some other techniques for improving the learning experience of students with autism are structured teaching, speech and language therapy, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy. Keeping a structured and predictable schedule is imperative when instructing a child with autism. The child will also, most likely, need some specialized classes in speech as well as instruction in appropriate social interaction, as one symptom of autism is a lack of comprehension of social norms. Educators need to keep in close contact with the team responsible for the student’s educational plan and diagnostic write-up to ensure that there are no large gaps in the educational programs suggested and the ones being applied.

I found your family to be very interesting as well as the treatment you suggested. Families of children on the autism spectrum experience strong emotions such as loss and sadness, worries about the ability to cope, and frustration and isolation in settings that appear unresponsive to their needs (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). The family seems to be having a hard time with Joey being Autistic. I believe that their attitude plays an important role in the way that Joey is developing. The fact that they don’t see him as being normal already says a lot. I believe that some education is needed on the family’s part. Children who have Autism and receive early intervention can do very well. I think that a support group for the family would

On December 4, 2015 we observed the class for which we developed this response plan. Our main objective was to observe the setup of the classroom as well as the different instructional tools the teacher used to enhance her teaching. In addition, we wanted to see what strategies the teacher implemented to help the ELL and autistic students and see if they were similar to what had in our plan. Upon arriving, we observed that the teacher, Ms. Schmitt, had a large classroom with enough space for groups of students to work together. At the front of the classroom, was the teacher’s desk with a smart board behind it. Several other white boards filled the rest of the wall space. The board on the left was used mostly for instructional purposes while the two on the right were filled with vocabulary and important announcements such as upcoming tests dates. The extra space allowed the teacher to interact with all the students individually. Also, we noted that the teacher had placed the ELL students near the front of the room where she could easily help them or ask them to help each other. The students on the Autism spectrum where located near the back of the classroom where they had more room to work with their aids. However, none of these students were completely isolated from the teacher or rest of the class. Rather all of the students were able to easily interact with one another.

Students with autism can become overwhelmed very easily by even minor deviations from the routine. It is important to be sensitive to the way autistic children function so that their potential can be reached.

My field experience assignment is an SLC or Structured Learning Center self contained unit at the United High School 9th grade campus. The students in this particular classroom are all students with Autism and they are all boys between the ages of 14 to 15 years old. Their learning goals vary and are very different from those of the students in the general education population; therefore, their assessments are going to be different as well. The main goals for our students include learning daily living skills, display proper behavior, and increase social activity. Assessing these goals vary between formative assessments and authentic assessments, but we mostly use checklists for our students.

For Mark, it seems like he can’t complete any sort of assignment given to him, no matter what the subject is. He also didn’t sign a release form, which is a reasonable thing to point to dislike of any sort of tasks that requires mental effort. Additionally, Mark does not exhibit symptoms of autism. He does not meet any of the DSM-V criteria of autism which are things like a deficits in social-emotional reciprocity and restrictive interests or behaviors. Although Mark has issues with working with others by constantly interrupting other students in class and blurting out answers in class, these symptoms are better explained by ADHD rather than deficits in social-emotional

Working with students that are labeled as special education can be very difficult and very time consuming. In the 7th grade special education classroom there is a girl named Blair who is moderately autistic. Blair requires a para professional to be with her at all times during the day. Her para gets her every morning from her car, spends the whole day with her, then walks her out out to her car at the end of the day. Blair struggles a lot in school, her special education teacher, Miss Humphrey, told me that she can read perfectly but once she is finished reading something, she has no idea what it is she just read. Blair is always the first one to raise her hand in class and is always apologizing for things