Suspected Autism Spectrum Disorder - Assignment Example

INCLUSION IN ACTION Autism Spectrum Disorder Outline the inclusive practices which would enhance the capacity of leaders, teachers and schools to effectively manage their behaviour To effectively manage behavioural intervention of autistic patients, it is important to always focus on the development of skills that will help the child cope with what is surrounding him or her and be able to communicate what they needs. To achieve this and give a lasting solution, affected children are provided for with other procedures to achieve a positive outcome that was difficult to achieve before. Therefore the victim will have a new communication style away from the difficult one. There is no specific cure for Autism Spectrum Disorder; however, if it is detected early enough it can be managed. This can be done through proper medical attention and school based programs to reduce autism symptoms and quicken the victim’s growth and normal learning procedure. Research shows that intensive therapy during early childhood can significantly improve a child’s cognitive and language skills. Some of the practices that can help in managing this disorder may include provision of a challenging and focused learning program activities at the proper development level for the child each and every week. The affected child can be given therapy class sessions with a therapist and small learning group activities. Parents and family members of the victim can be provided for with special training on how to handle and take care of autistic members of their families. Development activities should be encouraged among affected children in order to meet targeted learning goals. Monitoring and keeping records of every child's daily progress and then adjusting intervention program as required. The child can also be guided to adapt to new skills and situations and how to maintain them. A development curriculum can be set up that mainly focuses on language and communication. Personal grooming and dressing modes, personal hygiene as well as self help and routines can be instilled in them. Also recognition and appreciation skills, like understanding each other’s point of view can be encouraged and finally alphabet recognition and number counting can be used to help children with this disorder manage the effect of it. ASD victims normally have problems socializing with others on a one on one social situation. These may result to stressful situations since they really are not sure what is expected of them and how they are going to interact with their peers therefore they tend to avoid direct contact with them. Some could be willing to socialize only and no contact at all or may approach others with fear while or would rather approach older people than their mates. This could result in inappropriate behaviour like interrupting conversations or even standing very close to others. Repetitive behaviour, autistic spectrum disorder people may be unable to use their full imagination in that their creativity may be specific to an area of interests to them. Some may find it difficult to be creative totally and may prefer a normal routine than new ones. ASD victims normally have problems with their senses, in that their brains are unable to process information normally, either being insensitive or inability to react to stimulation. To deal with this sensory problems, repetitive actions like jumping around, displaying objects or spinning them may help the child regain some sensory coordinations mainly through sense of touch. Describe how these practices would achieve optimal inclusive learning outcomes for the group of exceptional learners To achieve optimal learning outcomes and a lasting solution from these practices, one has to ensure that various aspects of the victims life has to be put in mind, this includes the environment surrounding the child, which should be kept calm and avoiding anxiety. Things like loud noise, strong smell, uncomfortable touch and vision that may trigger a reaction should be reduced as much as possible. Improving a child’s ability to communicate among his or her peers or the the mode of communication with them can significantly assist in behavioural interventions since ASD normally comes with difficulties with communication. Several strategies can be used to improve communication; this includes providing a variety of communication platforms and appropriate social opportunities to the child’s state. One can also use words easily understood by the child, this is by avoiding sarcasm or ambiguous words. Whenever one is giving instructions, he or she has to be positive, for instance, telling them what they can do rather than what they cannot do. Social skills training and development can also be used to achieve optimal outcomes by teaching a child necessary skills face social situations. This includes instructions that surround various areas depending on a child’s needs such as understanding the appropriate topic for the time, how to start a conversation, keep the conversation going and when to end it, appropriate gestures, maintaining eye contact, distance from others, understand non-verbal communication. Responding to a child with autism spectrum disorder and how to do it can go a long way in encouraging new development skills. This can be done through Shaping, whereby preferred social behaviour is enforced, a process that has been broken down into gradual steps, and is followed keenly until a desired response is achieved Redirection, this is focussing the attention of the child to a specific topic while having a conversation or involving them in an activity. This can be an effective way of avoiding situations such as the child getting annoyed or bored or agitated. It is important to have a variety of strategies to calm and distract and angry and agitated child since failure to contain the situation may lead to undesired consequences. Take a break. Since dealing with children with such condition is demanding, caretakers have to make sure they are up to task and can respond to situations appropriately and be able to support and take good care of an autistic individual. This will greatly help in intervention since the caretaker has to be in good shape and well equipped to attend to the victim with challenging behaviours. Since ASD victims find it difficult to manage their emotions for example stress, frustrations and anxiety that may lead to anger, outbursts aggression, anger management can come handy in this situation. This will help identify physical situations that indicate they are agitated and therefore develop alternatives and effective activities to calm them down. These activities may include walking away from the situation, taking a walk, listening to music or watching a movie, breathing exercises or even asking for help. Also the child should be taught communication skills required to ask for help when in distress. Demonstrate your understanding of key theoretical and practice approaches which are relevant to local, national and international contexts to support your critical essay Once a child has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one may tend to panic or feel unable or unprepared to raise the child and provide the necessary childcare and education. Without genuine commitment to support an autistic child by those around him or her like friends and family it will be hard to achieve a lasting solution as far as intervention is concerned. One should know that the behavioural interventions mentions previously together with so many other treatment programs, social services support and other social resources can help in ensuring proper management of the situation. It is important to be consistent when undertaking behavioural intervention strategies since altering intervention procedures may lead to dramatic consequences that my anger the child or cause discomfort. Whenever a strategy tends to be difficult to be implemented consistently, it is important to review it and make the necessary changes and adjustments. Therefore it is important that special care is taken to help a child adapt and apply skills as well as cope with various situations they will come across. In case of difficulty, the strategy is reviewed thereby ensuring instilled skills are kept and maintained for a long time especially in time of stressing situations, if there is a change being introduced or when the child is sick. At the end of the day, the only goal to any behavioural intervention must always be focussed on improve a child’s quality of life, self efficiency and independence. One intervention approach that is believed to fully work and has been put to test through behavioral analysis, and specifically in regard to intensive home therapy is the Applied Behavior Analysis. This has a strong support from medical institutions although it may be limited to diagnostic severity and Intelligence of the victim. Fortunately, with early recognition of signs of ASD and with advanced it will be easier to diagnose and manage it especially in children who are at high risk. Despite all the challenges faced a lot can be done, identifying suspected signs should enhance critical assessment of how the child socializes with the friends and the environment surrounding them, communication, and play development with the peers. Interventions must be focussed towards specific concerns and have to be informed through basic principles such as the child’s social context of learning, if he is active or not and also the relationship between the child and the parents. Parents should be supported all through the process and be taught n how to effectively care for children with suspected ASD signs. Ongoing studies will provide a stronger basis for diagnostic and intervention approaches for proper management of Autism Spectrum Disorder for every age group affected and the extend of the damage caused. References Johnson, C. P.; Myers, S. M. (1 November 2007). "Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders". Pediatrics 120 (5): 1183–1215.  Lord C, Cook EH, Leventhal BL, Amaral DG. Autism spectrum disorders. Neuron. 2000;28(2):355–63. National Institute of Mental Health. Autism spectrum disorders (pervasive developmental disorders); 2009 [Retrieved 2009-04-23]. Zwaigenbaum L, Bryson S, Lord C, et al. (May 2009). "Clinical assessment and management of toddlers with suspected autism spectrum disorder: insights from studies of high-risk infants". Pediatrics 123 (5).  Tsakanikos, Elias; Underwood, Lisa; Kravariti, Eugenia; Bouras, Nick; McCarthy, Jane (2011). Gender differences in co-morbid psychopathology and clinical management in adults with autism spectrum disorders". Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 5 (2).  Kanner, L (1949). "Problems of nosology and psychodynamics in early childhood autism". American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 19 (3). Read More