Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Characteristics vary by individual but

and communication abilities and include
behaviors.

affect social
repetitive

Social Challenges:
- Failure to respond to name
- Reduced interest in people
- Difficulty playing social games
- Struggle to imitate actions of others
- Prefer to play alone
- Fail to seek comfort
- Atypical response to parents display of
anger
or affection
- Difficulty interpreting others feelings
and
thinking
- Misses subtle social cues (smile, wave,
body language)
- Difficulty regulating emotion (demonstrates
immature actions for age or lose control
in
unfamiliar, overwhelming, or frustrating
situations
Communication Difficulties:
- Delay or loss of babbling (infants), speaking, and learning to use gestures
- Unusual speech patterns, word or phrase repetition (echolalia)
- Unable to carry conversation even with precocious language and unusually large
vocabulary
- Inability to understand body language, tone of voice, and expressions (very literal)
Repetitive Behaviors:
- Stimming Hand-flapping; rocking; jumping; twirling; arranging and rearranging
objects; repeating sounds, words, or phrases; wiggling fingers in front of the eyes
- Engagement in restricted range of activities (organizing toys rather than
participating in pretend play)
- Preoccupations or obsessions (fans; vacuum cleaners; knowing and repeating
extremely detailed information about certain topics such as Thomas the Tank
Engine, maps, or astronomy; numbers; symbols; dates; science topics)
Genetic Disorders:
- Gastrointestinal (GI) Disorders (up to 85% of children with ASD)
- Seizure Disorders (approximately 39% of those with ASD also have epilepsy)
- Sleep Dysfunction
- Sensory Processing Problems (unusual responses to sensory stimuli such as sights,
sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and/or movement; may be hyper- or hyposensitive to certain stimuli
- Pica (eating non-food items)
Being autistic doesnt mean
Effects also vary by characteristics evident in each individual.
being unable to learn. But it does
mean there are differences in
how learning happens.
Jim Sinclair, Adult with Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

-

Sensory overload
Meltdowns
Self-Stimulation
Anxiety
Isolation

The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder today has been increasing frighteningly
fast over the last years, which is why it is relevant for all teachers to know about and
understand Autism and its variations.
- 1 in 68 American children (Thats 1 student in your class with ASD every two-three
years, depending on class size.)
- 4 to 5 times more common in boys than in girls (1:42 boys, 1:189 girls)
- Over 3 million diagnosed cases of ASD in the United States; tens of millions
worldwide
It is important for all teachers to have some strategies to fall back on when working
with a student with ASD.
1. Visual Schedule with check-off list (first, then chart)
2. Sensory Tools/ Breaks (wide variety to meet various sensory needs)
3. What do you think I said? (to help make sure students understand the direction
or content)
4. Social Stories (to assist the student in understanding social situations)
5. Role Play Model (useful for teaching social interaction and communication
strategies)

Apps that may be beneficial to use with people that have autism include:
-

Locabulary (apple store) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/locabularylite/id322448547?mt=8

An app that can be customized to assist those who are nonverbal to communicate
in different locations and situations.
Sensory Magma (apple store) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sensorymagma/id647810604?mt=8
This app acts as a sensory tool for those who need it. The magma moves on the
screen in a calming way.
Social Stories (apple store) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/social-stories-creatorlibrary/id588180598?mt=8
Social Stories allows you to purchase or create your own social stories to assist
people with autism.
Pocket Picture Planner HD (apple store) https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pocketpicture-planner-hd/id377993736?mt=8
This app allows a user to create visual schedules for each day of the week.