How a Student with ASD Could Use Media - Case Study Example

Assignment An Investigation into How a with ASD Could Use Media as a Way to Inform Others about How This Affects His Life Introduction Autism spectrum disorder or ASD is an array of psychological conditions featured by abnormalities in socio-communicational and cognitive interactions like avoidance of eye contact, impaired speech, repetitive behavior, etc. In this paper, the case of Daniel, who is a nine years old patient of ASD, will be discussed. The paper entails the option of using media to help him express himself in regards of his disease. Moreover, the special educational intervention techniques are discussed and certain important questions related to the topic are answered. At the end, a suitable conclusion has been rendered. The Case Daniel is a nine years old boy, who studies in the local special education school. He has been diagnosed with classical autism (a form of ASD) four years back. Daniel continuously has difficulty in making eye contact. According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this is a typical autistic behavior. Atypical eating habits are also a prominent symptom as has been pointed out by Filipek and his colleagues (483). Moreover, lack of social and friendly behavior is another side of the problem (Burgess and Gutstein, 80). Daniel does not prefer to be alone but he is unable to make friends. His eating habits are unusual too. Outline of Support and Related Discussion Daniel has a number of repetitive and restricted interests and activities, although his learning ability has increased through the last year. Computer assisted instruction (CAI) has been an excellent support mechanism for last one year. CAI helps in “significant gains in reading, phonological awareness, verbal behavior, and motivation”, as has been pointed out by the Committee of Educational Interventions for Children with Autism, National Research Council (US) (63). In school, he has lessons in SULP (Social Use of Language Problem). It uses a combination of verbal interaction in discussion format and CAI can be embedded by using audio visual media. Moreover, SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) is also being utilized, which is ensuring development of emotional intelligence along with IQ. According to the Committee on Educational Intervention for Children with Autism, use of frequent student to student interaction is particularly helpful in this regard (63). Further analysis and critique: The educational intervention techniques applied so far have been rather effective. The relation between the measures of instruction and the child’s performance is proportional in the sense that the intensive socialization and linguistic intervention approach is helpful in speech and cognitive development. The SULP and SEAL involve choral responding, interaction between students, rotation of materials, and random simulation programs that are effective in teaching language and developing emotional intelligence. Particularly in SEAL, class-wide peer teaching can be helpful to foster friendship among the children and gradually help them to achieve behavioral maturity. Peer tutoring can replace traditional teaching instruction and help to achieve better results. In this context, Weiss and Delmolino further state that these practices can be adopted both at home and at school (104). Using Media to Help in Explaining ASD In this section, we will look at the option of using media in the form of a PowerPoint presentation as an effective way to help a pupil explain his ASD to others. Two questions will be discussed in this milieu: 1. What is the rationale of the intervention and how does this fit with current understanding of ASDs? 2. To what extent does the intervention address the needs of the pupil in the areas of communication, social understanding, and flexibility of behavior? Using PowerPoint: PowerPoint is a simple MS Office software application that can be taught with relatively less complexity. PowerPoint provides a platform, where text, sound, and graphics can be put at one place. By creating a simple slide show, it can not only help the pupil to explain his/her difficulties through text and speech but also recognize motion, understand graphics, and share thoughts. 1. What is the rationale of the intervention and how does this fit with current understanding of ASDs? The rationale of this intervention is to help the child use IT at a very basic level. This can be particularly helpful to embed CAI in SULP, where the child will express himself/herself to others and share his/her feelings. This can be an interactive form of peer tutoring as well. The technique can assist us in understanding the ASDs by making the patient explain his/her condition from his/her perspective. This sort of educational intervention has clinical-psychological significance too. 2. To what extent does the intervention address the needs of the pupil in the areas of communication, social understanding, and flexibility of behavior? This intervention can be very helpful to eliminate the restrictive and repetitive behavioral pattern of the child and help to develop more cognitive improvement. The child will be helped to communicate using an IT tool, which can be his/her first step in the sphere of information and communication technology. Social understanding will increase since in expressing his/her ideas the child will learn how to communicate them in a systematic way. During learning the technical aspects of the intervention and sharing the thoughts through a PowerPoint presentation, the child will go through a number of practical behavioral lessons. This is likely to bring much cognitive flexibility in the child. In Daniel’s case, SULP and SEAL have already worked well. Integration of IT tools in the process can help him to develop better understanding and help us to understand him. Exploring alternative methods: It is a relatively new idea to help a child suffering from ASD in developing a presentation using an IT tool like PowerPoint. However, implementation of IT tools can be more instructional and equally productive. Software programs like Writing with Symbols 2000 would provide picture representation for the phrases. Picture-It is another interactive graphical tool. Conclusion Using media in the form of a PowerPoint presentation can be regarded as an effective way in assisting a pupil to explain his/her ASD to others and thus enhance his/her IT and soft skills. Use of computers from instructional side is already a feasible and fruitful intervention technique. By involving the student actively in implementing an IT tool, his/her cognitive, mental, emotional, and technical skill development can be made faster and easier. Works Cited Burgess, Andrey F. and Steven E. Gutstein. “Quality of life for people with autism: Raising the standard for evaluating successful outcomes.” Child Adolescence and Mental Health 12.2 (2007): 80-86. Print. Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism, National Research Council (US). Educating Children with Autism. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press, 2001. Print. Filipek, Pauline A., Pasquale J. Accardo, Grace T. Baranek, Edwin H. Cook, Geraldine Dawson, Barry Gordon, et al. “The screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder 29.6 (1999): 439-484. Print. University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Eye Contact Triggers Threat Signals in Autistic Children’s Brains.” ScienceDaily, 10 March 2005. Web. 9 August 2011. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/03/050309151153.htm. Weiss, Mary J. and Lara Delmolino. “The relationship between early learning rates and treatment outcome for children with autism receiving intensive home-based applied behavior analysis.” The Behavior Analyst Today 7.1 (2006): 96-105. Print. Read More