Task Analysis Paper

Autism spectrum condition affects a range of different individuals and is a spectrum condition and affects people in a number of different ways. It is important when supporting an individual with autism to identify and recognise each individuals’ abilities – what they can do successfully, needs – what the individual needs support with, strengths and gifts – what the individual is good at, what they have a real talent in, and interests – what is motivating for the person.

There are many different obstacles autism spectrum individuals have to overcome in their daily lives; social insecurities, eye contact, appropriate spatial awareness etc. But in most cases, their biggest hurdle is mostly their communication skills; it’s been shown that communication impairment is at the heart of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and that children with ASD can show a wide range of communication skills as discussed by Agius and Vance (2015). According to Agius and Vance, there is up to a 30% positive diagnosis of children with ASD who will forever remain nonverbal (no consistent verbal communication). With such a high percentage of ASD children it is recommended that their communication and learning needs are to be addressed by using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), it has been shown as an effective intervention that addresses individuals with ASD and their learning and communication needs (Ogletree, Morrow-Odom, & Westling, 2015). PECS has helped children and young adults with ASD communicate with those around them; their teachers, peers, parents etc.

A lot of people don’t realize the challenges of living with a child who has been diagnose with Autism can be. It is a twenty-four-hour seven day a week job no vacation, no sick time and no pay. From the time the child is diagnosed it is a constant worry especially if the parents don’t know much about the condition. It starts with continuous Doctor visits, social services, and therapy sessions, just to figure out how serious the condition may be and what level of the disability the child has and this is only this beginning. Next, to find the tools the child needs to overcome the disability, like learning development and cognitive process, social skills, comprehension capabilities, and many more depending on the severity of autism.

Moreover, sights and sounds often distract students with autism, making it difficult for them to identify or attend to relevant cues. Blocking out as many extraneous sights and sounds as possible can help them focus on the most relevant dimensions of their activities. Dividers can minimize visual and auditory distractions. Bookshelves, window shades, the distribution of work areas around the classroom, and minimal use of decorations on the walls are other ways to minimize distractions” (Levidioti).

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

Plethora of instructional formats can be used by teachers when teaching children with autism. Some of the instructional formats commonly used with children with ASD include small group instruction, one-on-one instruction, peer-mediated instruction, discrete trial and direct instruction. Use of reinforcement can be highly effective when delivering instruction to children with autism. Several forms of reinforcement can be utilized to increase desired behavior, such as use of computers, edibles, toys, stickers, and verbal praises depending on what’s motivating for the child. Barton, Lawrence, & Deurloo (2012) suggested that “Identifying and using individualized reinforcers are useful for maintaining motivation and can be essential to the

I have always been fascinated, though, by the brain processes the individuals with autism go through and how their perception of the world and communication gets affected by this disability. The Autism App wheel categorized each app by the area the student could get a benefit from for improvement and I found it extremely well-detailed. I usually keep a copy of all my school work but I will make sure that I keep an eye on this chart as I can definitely see myself using it in the future with my students. When working with students with autism, I must likely need to keep in mind their struggles with sensory. I need to make sure that my future lesson plans will include differentiated materials that will address a particular’s student needs in a way that he can access the general education curriculum and at the same time with a bigger goal of implementing everything being taught in the classroom to be translated to the real world. AT services and devices could be my best allies when trying to accomplish

As stated by Hume and Reynolds, work stations can provide the visual information that a student with ADS needs to help them increase on-task behaviors since students many with ADS have visual processing as a strength. A student with ADS may also respond more to visual cues since they are sometimes lacking in verbal aspects of life. The work systems should support the behavior needs of the student with ADS. The work systems can be modified to meet their needs rather than trying to change the student to meet the environment. “It is an antecedent-based preventive intervention, which means that the work systems use the visual-spatial strengths of children with autism to intrinsically motivate them to complete academic work tasks, and it natural contingencies.” (Hume and Reynolds, 2010). TEACCH is called “Structured Teaching”. “The term ‘structured’ in autism interventions generally describes organization of time, space, and sequences of events within the environment in order to make learning activities clearer and easier.” (Hume and Reynolds, 2010). There are four types of structure that are recommended in TEACCH program. The first is the physical arrangement such as furniture or use of visual cue to show a student with ADS where activities will occur. This helps in avoiding distractions and overstimulation. The second type of structure is organizing the sequence of the day or an event in a way that the student can understand

In the article, “Family Connections: Visual Supports for Promoting Social Skills in Young Children: A Family Perspective,” (2012), it speaks about how children who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tend to have a difficult time with social, emotional, and other behavior challenges at home. This can be a very difficult thing when trying to communicate and trying to build relationships with people. The article states that, “many children with ASD require specialized supports to experience success in developing social interaction and communication skills” (Moody, 2012, p. 191). Therefore, the article suggests that using visual supports are very effective. Furthermore, it discusses how important social skills are, how visual supports can

Charles is a 7th grade student at Fulbright Junior High in the Bentonville School District. He is a 12 year old male who was diagnosed with OHI. Sustained attention is difficult for Charles, even with transitions and activities built into the classroom structure. He is often redirected from playing with "toys" from his backpack. These items consist of gloves, paperclips, action figures, or drawing. Charles does not work within a small group very well, he tends to allow other group members complete the work for him. In independent work he often has to be encouraged to go back and redo or complete work he has not finished. Modifications of breaking items into smaller parts, encouragement, and opportunity to redo and finish are needed. All directions and steps should be written down for him to follow and cross off as he completes task. He is placed in inclusion classes for English, math, history, and science; and resource class for English. His math scores place him at a 5th grade level. His English scores place him on a 4th grade level. Charles has received passing grades in all subject areas. Math has consistently been his lowest grade with D's due to his inability to organize, complete, and submit his homework or out of class assignments.

There is a lack of equal primary and secondary educational opportunities for student with Autism Spectrum Disorder, in the United States. While there are policies in place to ensure the success of as many students as possible, they are limited in the sense that they generalize. They fail to take into account the unique learning styles of individual students. Pouring funding into the educational system for services gear towards student with disabilities, or in this case, students with Autism, neglects to assist students with Autism specifically inside and outside a Special Education classroom or even those in regular classrooms with Individualized Educational Program (IEP). The issue is that students with Autism have

This approach may be difficult to incorporate in a large classroom with twenty or more students. More research may be needed to incorporate these instructional methods in mainstream classrooms, which could benefit students with autism by providing opportunities for inclusion and academic advancement.

Carberry (2014, p. 22) discusses how Guided Reading supports students with autism with developing meaning. If it is conducted in a small group setting and involves reading, thinking and discussing it can also promote social interaction with peers. The instructional level is said to be within the student’s Zone of Proximal Development. The teacher provides scaffolding and uses problem solving methods to promote meaning of texts.

Students with autism spectrum disorder can have strengths in specific areas of learning. However, they may have difficulty in other areas of learning. For instance, a student with ASD that has a strong visual-spatial ability, may learn to read words to prompt social behavior. Whereas another student with ASD may have a strong nonverbal problem-solving proficiency. This student can be easily driven by tasks that have a clear

Both special education and general education teachers will learn best practices and intervention strategies that they can use in their classrooms to support children with autism. The project will develop and enhance knowledge on autism, positive behavioral strategies, instructional formats, and parent involvement, which are scientifically proven to assist children with autism succeed academically, socially and behaviorally at school and at home.