Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder - Report Example

Introduction Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a life-long mental disability that affects a person’s cognitive ability. It impairs their understanding of the things they see, hear, and sense (Iovanne, Dunlap, Huber, & Kincaid, 2003). The symptoms of ASD differ from one individual to the other, which means that each person with this disorder has unique needs and abilities. According to Gillingham (2005), individuals with ASD have varying levels of intelligence; some are of normal intelligence, while others have intellectual disabilities that can range from mild to severe. These differences should be taken into consideration when teaching students with ASD (Bushbacher & Fox, 2003). The information provided in this booklet provides a brief overview of this disorder and provides strategies that can be used at the primary school level for teaching students with ASD. Depending on the unique needs of each student, the teacher should apply strategies that will enhance their learning, communication, behaviour, and social interactions. Learning When teaching the students with ASD, the teacher first needs to understand that their psycho-educational profiles significantly differ from those of other students (Groden & La Vasseur, 1995). Students with ASD have deficits in some, but not all, cognitive functionalities. The most common deficits that a teacher should be aware of are a shortened attention span, a limited ability to plan and solve tasks that are easy for other students, and difficulty of receptive language expression that is normally linked to communication. Strategies To Improve Academic Performance Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT). DDT is a teacher-directed approach in which the teacher analyses a student’s skills based on curriculum requirements. These skills are then broken down into small steps and taught using prompts. As the student masters the steps, the prompts are gradually eliminated. The core strategy in this method is giving the student opportunities to repeat the various steps and to practice these steps in different settings. This model is very effective for dealing with students with Attention Deficit Disorder and those with behavioural challenges (Groden, & LeVasseur, 1995). This strategy reinforces acquired skills using rewards. Transactional Support (SCERTS). SCERTS leverages a combination of approaches that support behaviour, social skills, and communication. It includes integrating students with ASD into the regular classroom so that they can learn from and with their peers (Groden, & LeVasseur, 1995). Through social interaction, they can improve their communication skills and progress academically. Difference Relationship Model (DIR). DIR is also referred to as “floor time.” This strategy is normally focused on improving a student’s academic performance by incorporating learning into play activities. Through this method, the teacher focuses on developing the child’s interest in different subjects and works on improving their communication and thinking skills (Groden, & LeVasseur, 1995)). Communication. Communication plays a crucial role in the education, general development, behaviour, and social interaction of students. Primary school students are still in their early years of education, and their language development is very important as it forms the basis of social interactions and plays a key role in boosting their confidence. According to Freeman and Lorelei (2007), students with ASD have deficits in communication that affect their overall communication. This varies in severity among students with ASD; some will speak in a monotone that is limited to a certain topic, while others will be unable to verbally communicate at all. A teacher should keenly observe these students, as sometimes they become caught up in a private world and do not pay attention to the class. This may be due to the student’s inability to communicate or due to an attention deficit. A teacher should also pay attention to the difficulties expressed by the student through nonverbal communication, such as gestures, facial expression, and body postures. Teaching Strategies To Improve Communication According to Pierce and Schreibman (2012), there are two interventions a teacher can use to improve the communication skills of students with ASD depending on their unique needs. These strategies include Pivotal Response Training (PRT) and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). They are based on stimuli response and placing the student in an environment that encourages communication. PECS. PECS entails teaching the child how to communicate through the use of a symbol card. The symbol used should depict the child’s communicative intention (Pierce & Schreibman, 2012). For example, when a child wants a snack, the child can show the teacher the picture or symbol of a snack. The teacher can encourage the child to use this means of communication while, at the same time, discouraging negative behaviour, such as struggling to reach for a snack without asking for it. Over time, the student should be encouraged to use more complex pictures that can even be used to form sentences. This method fosters picture-based communication and helps the teacher communicate with his or her student. This intervention has been found to be effective by Pierce and Schreibman (2012), who evaluated the effectiveness of PECS among 10 students with verbal communication challenges in different schools. Their teachers were trained on how to use pictures and symbols to communicate with them. There was a marked improvement in the communication behaviour of the students in addition to the pictorial communication; the researchers found that the approach also increased verbal communication among the students with ASD. PRT. PRT is another intervention that a teacher can use to address the challenge of communicating with students with ASD. Unlike PECS, which targets communication through symbols and pictures, this intervention seeks to improve a student’s verbal communication. According to this intervention, the teacher should model a request made by the student by saying the name of the item (Pierce & Schreibman, 2012). For example, if a student wants crackers for snacks, the teacher will say the name of the snack in order to prompt the student to understand and internalize the name and repeat the said word. If the student is unable to articulate the name, then a verbal estimation of the name can used. PRT concentrates on the student repeating the words. It is through the trial of the words that the student can receive the natural award through the word reinforcement. Socialization Students with ASD are characterized by the inability to initiate and carry on meaningful social relationships with their peers. Students with ASD find it difficult to identify and interpret emotions; this means that they often lack the social skills that are required in the general classroom (Koegel & Lynn, 2008). If students with ASD are in the general classroom with students without disabilities, they will have strained social interactions during group discussions. The same applies when they are participating in sports and socializing games. It is advisable for the teacher to closely monitor students with ASD in these contexts and to identify any activities that they find particularly interesting. The teacher should bear in mind that the needs of students with ASD can vary widely. Strategies to Improve Socialisation According to Koegel and Lynn (2008), to improve the social interactions of a student with ASD, a teacher should use the following measures: Priming Script fading Actively encouraging peers to interact with a student with ASD Through priming, the teacher gives a student with ASD a chance to actively participate in social activities. For example, they can be given an opportunity to practice a game that they find interesting, such as soccer, before participating in the game in a real social context. The student should be given an opportunity to practice how to kick the ball and to internalize the general rules of the game. This enhances the confidence of the student and prepares the student psychologically for the social interaction in the course of the activity. When implementing this measure, a teacher needs to be very patient as it is time-consuming but very effective. This intervention has been supported by research carried out by Embse, Brown, and Fortan (2011), who determined the effectiveness of priming. Four students with ASD between the ages of 10 to 12 were included in the study along with their parents. The parents of two students were given the task of training their students before the actual task took place. The other two parents served as controls. This action was repeated for four different tasks, with the parents taking turns as the controls. The findings showed that whenever the students were involved in priming, there was increased positive performance during the actual activity. A teacher can also improve social interaction through the direct involvement of peers. This entails teaching the other students how to model and prompt targeted social behaviour. For example, the teacher can teach another student how to signal a classmate with ASD to ask for a turn when they are playing and to then remind the student when his/her turn comes. Runcharoen (2013) investigated social interactions of students with ASD by observing three students with ASD interacting with students without ASD. The three students had poor social interactions. At the end of the direct involvement study, an analysis was carried out. It was found that the students with ASD had increased social interaction in the group activities and improved communication skills. Challenging Behaviours Students with ASD normally engage in challenging behaviour more than their peers (Bushbacher & Fox, 2003). If students with ASD are not closely monitored, their challenging behaviour can prevent them from receiving academic instruction and can negatively impact their social life in school. Some behaviours can even cause physical injury to the student with ASD or to fellow classmates. Therefore, the teacher should closely monitor the behaviour of the student with ASD and employ a strategy to improve the student’s behaviour. Strategies To Address Behavioural Challenges To address challenging behaviour, the teacher should apply behavioural interventions that make it favourable for the student with ASD to learn. This can include modifying the classroom or the home environment to deter the negative behaviours and teaching the student behaviours that are considered more positive (Neitzel, 2010). A research carried out by Koegel & Lynn (2008) has established that behaviours that are proactive and positive are essential if good education is to take place. Teachers should thus be aware of environments that will support proactive and positive behaviour. Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) A common intervention that the teachers can employ is PBS. This method has been found to be effective for students with challenging behaviours in both primary school and high school. The intervention is normally aimed at improving quality of life for students with ASD and enhancing positive behaviour (Neitzel, 2010). It also entails adjusting the environment to discourage the reoccurrence of inappropriate behaviour. This approach uses a three-tiered model; i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary. The tiered model involves prevention measures, assessment of functional behaviours, and the application of comprehensive behavioural interventions that are aimed at reducing the challenging behaviours. Each tier has a special emphasis on fostering positive behaviour through family and friend involvement (see Fig. 1). Figure 1: Positive Behaviour Support Model Source: OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioural Interventions and Support (2009). To improve the behaviour of the student, a teacher should also engage the student in taking control of his or her actions. This strategy is referred to as self-management. In this teaching strategy, the student with ASD is encouraged to take ownership of the desired learning activity. Kamps (2002) carried out a study that encouraged five students with ASD to use a self-appraisal mechanism. The students were trained on the choosing right behaviour and discarding the perceived wrong behaviour during sporting activities. If the student engaged in an appropriate behaviour, he/she rewarded him/herself. Different reward systems were used; one was ticking a 1-week chart that included a list of positive and negative behaviours. At the end of the week, the charts were collected and analysed (Kamps, 2002). The findings indicated that students ticked more positive behaviours as the days progressed. For students with behavioural challenges and communication impairments, techniques can be taught to the student to replace the challenging behaviour using Functional Communication Training (Kraayenood, 2009). This entails deciphering the communicative intent of the behaviour and then teaching the right behaviour to replace the challenging behaviour. The replaced behaviour is then rewarded. However, the reward is withheld if the challenging behaviour is repeated. Conclusion Teaching students with ASD requires a teacher to a have a clear understanding of the unique needs of these students and how to apply strategies to positively influence their teaching. Students with ASD mainly have difficulties in communication, social interactions, and challenging behaviours. If effective teaching of these students is to be realised, the teacher needs to employ proper teaching interventions that have been proven to be effective to address the unique need of each student. DTT, SCERTS, DIR, PRT, PECS, PBS, self-assessment, and priming are all methods that have been successfully used for teaching students with ASD and addressing their unique needs. These practices have been found to be effective for positively impacting the learning of students with ASD. References Bushbacher, P.W., & Fox, L. (2003). Understanding and intervening with the interfering behavior of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34, 217–227. Embse, N. Brown, A., & Fortain, J. (2011). Reducing problem behaviors for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Intervention in School and Clinic, 47(1), pp. 22-30. Freeman, S., & Lorelei, D. (2006). Teach me language: A language manual for children with Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and related developmental disorders. Langley, BC: SKF Books. Gabriels, R.L., Cuccaro, M.L., Hill, D.E., Ivers, B.J., & Goldson, E. (2005). 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