After viewing the video ‘Dear Teacher: heartfelt advice for teachers from students with autism’ () which aspect of the video impacted you the most? Do you think this video should be used with teachers of ‘diverse’ classrooms (classrooms that have students from the general population and students with disabilities) or should it be used only with teachers that work with autistic students? Support your response with citations from the readings using APA format and classroom examples where applicable.
My husband came home from work late last night and we sat down to dinner. The kids had already eaten and were watching a cartoon on TV. My husband told me that the next day was a city day open house at his work and he would love to take our daughter on a tour. I countered that we all had the flu right now and we should all stay home. The next morning my daughter got up early, did all the necessary chores and said: - Mum, did you know that today is City Day? Thus, my daughter heard the whole conversation, made her conclusions and already from the next morning encouraged us to do certain actions. This is an example of healthy child behaviour.
No matter how healthy a child is, he or she absorbs information several times faster and better than any adult. It is enough for any child just to be around an adult, in a certain environment or situation, especially for the first time, to internalise something, learn something and gain some important life experiences (Brainhighways, 2015).
Another example I can give from my son's life (even though he has no developmental abnormalities, it is very interesting to observe his development from a scientific point of view). A week after starting kindergarten he started using words with diminutive suffixes, in English it can be conveyed by the example ‘boy - boykin’. Since my son is still learning Russian and his kindergarten teacher speaks Russian, he is actively learning her way of speech. And as a bonus there is absolute squeamishness to hair on the floor, on the comb and in any other manifestations, for example, when he is tickled with the tips of some hair.
Children with autism perceive the world differently. Often people with ASD are hypersensitive to sounds, smells and tastes.
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is not a disease, as is wrongly thought, but a complex of neurodevelopmental disorders that affect a person's socialisation, communication and behaviour (Is Autism a Neurodevelopmental Disorder?, 2024).
Symptoms are highly dependent on the type and severity of ASD and usually manifest before the age of 2 years. Typically, people with autism experience a need for a strict routine that is repeated day in and day out. Even small changes can trigger anxiety or tantrums. ASD is not a disease, so there is no cure. It is important for people with this disorder to adapt to society and learn to manage their emotions. Behavioural, educational and family therapy can help with this well (Ash, 2014).
Autistic people are very unique, primarily because they do hear, see, and experience reality differently (Graetz & Sisson, 2016). Due to genetic disorders, their brains are hyperactive and simply do not have time to analyse everything that surrounds the child. Therefore, the world is perceived in a fragmented and distorted way.
The diagnosis of autism is not a label, but a signal that a person needs help to realise their potential and live in society together with others. To help a child with ASD adapt to society, key deficits need to be overcome - developing social skills, flexibility, learning to regulate emotions and self-care.
A diagnosis of autism is not a label, but a signal that a person needs help to fulfil his or her potential and to live in society with others. In order to help a child with ASD adapt to society, key deficits need to be overcome - developing social skills, flexibility, learning to regulate emotions and self-care.
Behavioural therapy (ABA, or applied behaviour analysis)
Behavioural therapy is a programme that is based on specific techniques and teaching methods (Begum, 2021). It gently changes a child's behaviour by helping them understand what happens before and after they do certain things.
The goal of ABA is to identify the child's natural desires and use them in the learning process (What Is ABA Therapy & Is It Right for Your Child?, n.d.).
The learning process consists of several independent blocks. Thus, all complex skills, including speech, creative play, eye contact, and even brushing teeth, are broken down into small subtasks - actions. Each subtask is learnt with the child separately, then they are chained together to form a complex action (What Is ABA Therapy & Is It Right for Your Child?, n.d.).
For example, auditory perception and attention in the ABA method are developed in the following way (Orekhova & Stroganova, 2014):
- The educator or parent asks to touch the ears.
- The educator (parent) helps to choose the correct answer (points to his/her ears).
- The educator (parent) asks the child to demonstrate the skill (touch their ears).
- The educator (parent) uses a reinforcing stimulus (does something nice for the child): strokes the child, praises him/her, hugs him/her, etc. The educator (parent) asks the child to demonstrate the skill (touch his/her ears).
If the child does not succeed or does not like it, the teacher (parent) does not give any evaluation.
According to the ABA programme, teachers and parents reward the child for positive (desirable) behaviour, focus on successes and do not react in any way to negative (undesirable) behaviour.
Going back to my children's examples, I would like to point out that the educator often focuses on how to teach his or her subject rather than what tone of voice or facial expression he or she uses to say it. However, it is the tone or smell that his or her unconventional learner may remember, which will be an integral part of the knowledge.
References
Ash. (2014, November 16). Types of Autism - 5 Major Autism Spectrum Disorder Forms. Autism 360TM. https://www.autism360.com/types-of-autism/
Begum, J. (2021, June 23). What Is Applied Behavior Analysis? WebMD; WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-applied-behavior-analysis
Brainhighways. (2015, August 28). Dear teacher: Heartfelt advice for teachers from students [Video]. YouTube.
Graetz, J., & Sisson, L. (2016, April 5). Autism spectrum disorder in the classroom [PowerPoint slides]. Oakland University. http://wwwp.oakland.edu/Assets/Oakland/cetl/files-and-documents/PowerPoints/Winter2016Workshops/ASDintheClassroom.pdf
Is Autism A Neurodevelopmental Disorder? (2024). Goldstarrehab.com. https://www.goldstarrehab.com/parent-resources/is-autism-a-neurodevelopmental-disorder
Orekhova, E. V., & Stroganova, T. A. (2014). Arousal and attention re-orienting in autism spectrum disorders: evidence from auditory event-related potentials. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00034