Children With Autism

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.

Autism is a brain disorder that is characterized by slow and difficult comprehension of spoken and non-verbal communication and repetition of behaviors. Autism is normally noticed in the first two years of a child (Myers & Johnson, 2007). Asperger syndrome is an autistic disorder that has almost the same similarities with autism. People with Asperger syndrome have little comprehension of the world and its surroundings and poor communication with other people. People with Asperger syndrome are hard to recognize, as they do not show on their outward appearances. They are average or above average intellectually and have fewer problems in terms of speech and specific learning disabilities unlike in autism. These difficulties include dyslexia, epilepsy, and attention

In this paper, I will be discussing the disorder of Autism, a sever disorder that affects the function of the brain. It causes problems in such areas as social contact, intelligence, language and speech impediments, along with ritualistic or compulsive behaviors, as well as different responses to the environment that an autistic individual may have different than individuals not having autism would exhibit. I will be discussing generally about the history and description of autism. Also I will be discussing the charactistics that mark an autistic individual, the actual treatment that an autistic person may receive, risk factors that an autistic person may encounter, and interventions/treatments activities that an individual who has autism may take part in. I feel that by doing all of this that I will gain a greater sense of understanding for individuals with autism. I will be giving this information to you by going through each topic that I have outlined in the introduction and explaining what each means and how they affect an individual with autism.

There are many different unique needs for children with autism spectrum disorder. These needs consist of developmental and behavioral needs. This paper will discuss five developmental and five behavioral needs unique to children with autism spectrum disorder. In addition, this paper will also discuss how teachers, families, and colleagues work together to identify the needs of children with autism spectrum disorder.

Millions of Americans are affected, or know someone who is affected by a disorder that affects the very things we need to fit in to society. The ability to be able to fit in, communicate and behave in proper ways, allows us to function, work and survive in life. For many children and adults, they live with a disorder that dictates these behaviors and language skills to be very different from the average American. These skills they are challenged with, make it very difficult to live independently. The disorder these individuals live with is called Autism Spectrum Disorder. With early diagnosis, intervention, and proper treatment, some children with Autism Spectrum Disorder possibly can lead independent lives.

This article is all about AAI otherwise known as the animal-assisted intervention. AAI has been suggested time and time again as a possible treatment practice for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Article starts off by talking about autism what it is and the diagnosis of it. It then goes into detail to talk about AAI; AAI is an alternative intervention that has developed into treating all sorts of individuals with a range of medical issues and developmental issues. The article talks about the lack of evidence to support the programs on AAI and its effects on children with ADS. IT goes into detail identifying 20 studies that were done to assess the effectiveness of AAI on ADS patients. They assess AAI by participant

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

Holding morning meetings helps autistic children by establishing a common routine that begins the student’s day in a predictable pattern (Sapona & Winterman, 2002, p. 31). Autistic children often need predictable routines, and a highly organized and structured environment in order to function.

The following directive was developed as part of ongoing individual art therapy for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) attending a Jewish culture school. Students at the school range between three and eleven, and are classified as being either pre-school aged or school aged. Students are separated in their classes, based on level of functioning, as well as age. Each student has an individualized education plan (IEP) that specifies any extra therapies they receive, including occupational, speech, and physical therapy. Art therapy is not included on the IEP, but is available to all students. These therapies are used in tandem with a full day of Applied Behavioral Therapy (ABA). The students participate in group art therapy once a week in their classrooms. All students over the age of five, within the school-aged group, have individual art therapy sessions at least once a week. There are some students who are seen twice a week if approved by the head art therapist.

Play is one of the most crucial ideas in the development of all children. Children play for many reasons including learning, exercise, stimulation, and for pure entertainment. They are learning and exploring the world around them by testing out ideas and just having fun playing with simple objects. However, like language, play is a skill that develops in stages. As a child gradually learns to understand the world around him or her, they begin to play and learn by engaging in exploratory and manipulative play. This is no different for children with Autism except the Autism Spectrum Disorder can impact on how play develops. Play is important for not only developing and advancing their thinking, comprehension and language skills, but also the emotional and creative skill development of children with autism. The stage of symbolic and imaginative play is the one that is often considered to be the most difficult for children with autism because too many presume they are unable to play and pretend. However, this stage is not just about role playing, it is also about learning to substitute one object for another or coming up with a new function for an object. The goal for helping children with autism should be to not necessarily change the things they play with or to teach them to play in the same way that their peers do, but instead to help them use the way they play and the things they find engaging to progress through the developmental stages to develop other more

Autism is a developmental disability, that over the past few years the numbers of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder have been growing at a fast pace. It is estimated that children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder are one in 88 children (Cardon, 2012). Children diagnosed with autism face difficulties in developing daily living skills independently (Rayner, 2011) Also children with autism may lack of motor skills, which can be addressed by the participation in physical activities, as well as play (Yanardag, Akmanoglu, Yilmaz 2013). The absence of social skills in children with autism, resembles in the lack of social interaction; as well as the failure to normal social development with the same age group peers (Sani-Bozkurt,

In general, Autism is characterized to have children struggle with social difficulties, communication challenges and a tendency to have repetitive behaviors. One of the ways families struggle with children having autism is that there is parental stress involved. For children to target social skills they are able to work on body basics, participation, wants and needs, and finally beginning a conversation. According to the article “Effects of a Social Skills Intervention on Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Peers with Shared Deficits” it mentions how the clinic is doing two clinical trials on two little boys. Therefore, this article shows graphs for the two children that are slowly improving on their social skills. On the other hand,

Autistic individuals struggle daily with social impairments like “the use of non-verbal behaviors”, creating and keeping friendships, and lack of interest in others (Orsmond, Krauss, & Seltzer, 2004, pg. 245). When placed in a social setting, adolescents with autism don’t interact with their peers as much as typical children (Orsmond et al., 2004). Also, they rarely ever initiate conservations, making potential friendship more problematic to maintain (Orsmond et al., 2004). A study showed that 47% of individuals had no friends that shared the same interests (Orsmond et al., 2004). A small group of autistic children are able to relate to teachers and parents, but majority still have difficulty (Orsmond et al., 2004).

Autism is a condition that affects how you communicate with others, and because of this Autism makes it harder to develop socially, and harder to talk to other people. In the book “Relationship Development Intervention with Young Children” Steven Gutstein states that most positive relationships with