Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders

Most parents wonder what is the next chapter after their child with autism spectrum disorder graduate from high school, for some individuals, it is to move onto higher education. As stated by Cai and Richdale (2015), the USA has one of the lowest rates of college enrollment for individuals with ASD, with over 50% of these individuals being in neither education nor employment following their secondary school, with similar finding in the UK (p. 31). For the individuals with ASD who move forward in gaining a higher education will have to learn to adapt and determine how to transition into higher education. Mentioned by Cai and Richdale (2015), a USA national survey illustrated poor outcomes from transitioning from secondary school into adult-hood. “The findings showed that after young adults with ASD left the public school system, 80% continues to live at home, only 32% attended postsecondary education, just 6% had competitive jobs, while 21% had no employment or education experience at all. Further 40% reported having no friends. (p. 32)”

The common traits of ASD, which include anti-social and often disruptive patterns of behavior, can make children with autism challenging for typical learning children to approach. Though the issue of including children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms is a complex one, peer-mediated interventions can promote the growth of social skills at every level of education. By educating the general population of typical peers and empowering them to be a part of the process a dent can be made in the social exclusion often experienced by the ASD children in mainstream settings. Implementing these interventions enriches the lives of all of the children involved, “possibly developing sustainable social relationships” expanding the effects of the program beyond the academic setting (Hughes et al., 2013). Also, these methods provide teachers an unobtrusive method of teaching that has benefits for the entire class. These methods could be helpful to other student populations that have intellectual

Often children with autistic spectrum disorder are omitted from mainstream classrooms or have limited interactions with their typical learning school mates possibly due to the extra time and energy it takes teachers to manage the anti-social behaviors often associated with the disorder. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is often identified by the impairment of the ability to form normal social relationships, by the impairment of the capability to communicate with others, and by repetitive behavior patterns. People with ASD are prone to resist or easily anger at changes in their daily routine. Since they often lack or avoid eye contact, prefer to be alone and don 't often recognize social cues, ASD

First of all, the Educational Advocates for Students with Autism defines the accommodations which are adjustments made in how a student with a disability is taught or tested. Accommodations do not change what the student is taught or what he is expected to know. However, modifications change the level of instruction provided or tested. Modifications create a different standard for the student receiving them. For example, if a student has a processing disorder in a math class and he produces work much more slowly than others an accommodation for him might be work on less questions than others only if the questions include all the knowledge that expected from the student to learn. On the other hand, if

While many individuals may have racial categories in mind when they are presented with a topic about minorities, autistic individuals are rarely brought to the surface of this conversation. This means that one should consider those with disabilities as another minority category. Those with autism cannot express their thoughts well, showing their lack of socialization with anyone. Knowing that autistic individuals are born with this genetic disease serves as a detriment when they face a classroom environment, where communication is quite important, especially in the K-12 system of the United States. Therefore, not supporting autistic students to their fullest potential serves many problems to the student, parent, and educational system.

There are many things that we take for granted such as being able to tell when someone is upset or excited, being able to express how we feel, or the social norms of how to act in public. Individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) struggle with these things. Everyday, individuals who have been diagnosed with an ASD have to learn how to deal with their feelings and try to understand the feelings of others. Additionally, those with advanced cases of an ASD struggle to communicate at all. Humans are very social beings and without having these skills it is very difficult to grow up to be a productive person in our society. The key to helping these individuals is to recognize the core traits that are causing them to not fully be able

In the educational setting, children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly experience academic or behavioral challenges that affect their overall educational and social outcomes and require the implementation of evidence-based interventions (Stichter et al., 2006). Of these challenges, attending to a given task is a behavior that is essential to positive educational outcomes. Regardless of a student’s cognitive potential, performance will be poor when a student neglects to attend to an assigned task. Demonstrating on-task behaviors is a critical skill for all students to master, especially those with ASD. A variety of interventions have been implemented as an effort to increase the on-task behavior of students with ASD, such as visual activity schedules (Bryan & Gast, 2000), video social stories (Cihak, Kildare, Smith, McMahon, & Quinn-Brown, 2012), token economies (Carnett et al., 2014), and self-monitoring (Cihak, Wright, & Ayres, 2010; Coyle & Cole, 2004; Holifield, Goodman, Hazelkorn, & Heflin, 2010; Legge, DeBar, & Alber-Morgan, 2010; Stasolla, Perilli, & Damiani, 2014). Previous research has indicated that self-monitoring increases independence and generalization of positive behaviors among various populations (Ganz & Sigafoos, 2005; Holifield et al., 2010; King- Sears, 1999; Levendoski & Cartledge, 2000; Loftin, Odom, & Lantz; 2008; Stahr, Cushing, Lane, & Fox, 2006; Todd & Reid, 2006).

More than two million individuals are affected by autism in the United States and it is one of the fastest growing disorders but with very much research being put behind it. Autism can tend to be one of the most confusing and stressful disorders but yet it is still able to be coped with lots of patience. Imagine being put down or not given an opportunity deserved because of something that is out of one’s control, more specifically children with autism spectrum disorder. Parents have a huge role in preparing their kids in order for them to be able to be around others. It is not easy especially with autistic ones but kids with autism can be capable of being at the same pace as others and should be treated the same just as students normally

Dr. Seuss once wrote “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” The world has an opinion quite the opposite of this. If a person acts different than the rest of the word they are categorized as strange or “unfit” to be with the rest of the society. This was also the categorization of children with autism until recently in the United States. Views regarding these kids have changed over time; influence from the environment has had a great impact on these changes. The views of these children now and what teachers in the 21st century need to do to help them are key to not reliving the past.

Office of Special Education Programs). IDEA also requires every school district to establish an individualized educational program (IEP) for special education students. In the 1990 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, autism is identified as an independent disability category and defined autism, by law, as "a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction" (Lewis and Doorlag 338). This law requires schools to give every student the chance to learn, but unfortunately does not require schools to see that the opportunity for students with special education is sufficient to their needs and effective in pushing these students to their highest potential.

     As a student living with no impairing physical or mental disability, it is difficult to imagine life any other way. On the other hand, when taking the time to contemplate what people with disabilities, such as Autism have to cope with, I realize just how much I take for granted in every day life; such as options to any class, learning at a normal pace, and peer interactions, to name a few. Autism not only affects people physically, but socially as well, ensuing subordinate self esteem, meager social skills, and poor peer relationships, aspects of maturing which are crucial to proper development.

Historically, students with disabilities have been excluded and even recent studies show that inclusive practices may not be the most productive, that placement in inclusive settings is “not sufficient to encourage authentic social interaction between students with ASD and their typical peers”.(Owen-DeSchryver et al., 2008) Different strategies in inclusive classrooms have been moving towards facilitating social relationships and interactions with elementary-aged students with ASD that encourage the argument for inclusion.( Owen-DeSchryver et al., 2008) Additionally, research has shown that the field is shifting from adult directed assistance to peer-based instructional strategies including; training, peer tutoring and peer networking-strategies which are all referred to as peer mediated intervention and focus on using typical classmates to improve the behaviors of students with ASD and to motivate interaction that would otherwise not occur, all of which would not be possible in a classroom where all students had ASD. (Owen-DeSchryver et al., 2008) Peer-to-peer support also allows the student with autism to function with increased autonomy in a manner that more closely replicates that of a situation the is more real-life and useful for

I have been working in the field of special education since I graduated from college in 2013. I have always had a strong interest in working with students that present with Autism. No two kids are alike; this is especially true for children with Autism as Autism is not a single disorder, but a complex and diverse collection of behaviors. Children with Autism can have a wide range of abilities. No child is alike in their behaviors, their potential to learn, or even in the way they respond to a particular (and even well thought out) instructional approach. Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) is the most widely known tool for educating students with Autism, but has been deemed fairly controversial.

Have you ever given thought to what a person with ASD, also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder, has to face when attending school? Autism is a disorder that affects a person’s way of communicating and limits their comfort around others. Many individuals with ASD have a hard to time making eye contact and meeting new people. More than 40% of children with autism have experienced bullying sometime in their life. According to Klein (1998), “Autistic Disorders is the third most common developmental disability in the United Sates and almost 400,000 people are affected” (p.312)

For many of us while growing up school was a place to grow, to play, and to learn with those around us. When we were younger we spent time playing with all the different toys and spending time with our friends. As we grew older, we spent even more time expanding our social skills and finding ways to learn about ourselves through others. However, for the nearly one in every one hundred and fifty children (Mazurik-Charles, 2010) this is more easily said than done. Children with autism have difficulty reading social cues, initiating, sustaining, or terminating a conversation appropriately with peers (Boutot, 2007). Children with autism lack proper communication skills and other alternative devices and also may have limited activities or other