Serving Students on the Autism Spectrum

1. Serving Students on the Autism Spectrum By Dr. Araksya Arutyunyan, Neurodiversity Specialist Silva Arzunyan, ACCESS Coordinator

2. What will be covered • What is Autism Spectrum Disorder • Some Diagnostic Criteria • Classroom behaviors that may arise • How to respond to classroom behaviors • Academic accommodations that may be helpful • Questions and troubleshooting

3. What is Autism Spectrum Disorder? • ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder spread across a spectrum (ranging from mild to severe). The essential features are persistent impairment in social communication and interaction; and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities. • Present from early childhood and limit or impair daily functioning. (APA, DSM-5, 2013)

4. National statistics • 1 in 59 births in the U.S. has autism (CDC, 2018) • Used to be 1 in 150 in 2000 and 1 in 68 in 2012 (CDC, 2014) • 119.5% increase from 2000 • 6-15 percent increase each year from 2002 to 2010 (based on biennial numbers from CDC). • Each year and estimated 50,000 teens age out of school based services (CDC, 2018). This means we have more students with autism entering our classrooms. • 35% of young adults (ages 19-23) with autism have not had a job or entered higher education after high school (Shattuck et al., 2012)

5. What’s causing the increase? • Environmental factors. • Diagnostic criteria/changes in DSM 5 • Sampling differences. Some areas gave researchers more access to complete student records. • Perceived advantages and support out there? • Increased awareness in minority groups.

6. Some diagnostic criteria….. • Deficits in social communication and Social interaction such as… • Social-emotional reciprocity (ranging from inappropriate social approach; to lack of sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions). • Deficits in nonverbal communication (poor eye contact and atypical body language, deficits in understanding and use of gestures, lack of facial expressions). • Deficits in developing friends/relationships, maintaining them, and/or understanding them (difficulties in adjusting behaviors to fit various social contexts to lack of interest in peers). (APA, 2013)

7. Some diagnostic criteria….. • Restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, or activities: • Repetitive motor movements, speech (i.e. simple motor stereotypies, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases). • Difficulty adjusting to changes in routines or in the environment. Difficulties with transitions (i.e. need to take same route or eat same food every day, greeting rituals). • Highly fixated and intense interests (i.e. knows everything there is to know about Disneyland). • Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input and the environment (i.e. lights, noise, the feeling of the seat).

8. Classroom behaviors that may arise • Easily distractible • Concrete – black and white thinking • Rule bound • Show little or no interest in friends/relationships OR have interest, but can’t • Problems generalizing across settings • Deficits in executive functioning skills • Poor judgment and decision making • Rigid thinking…inflexible

9. Some of the challenges: Executive Functioning Deficits • What are EF: Umbrella term used to look at different cognitive processes. • Planning • Working memory • Attention • Inhibition • Self-regulation • initiation

10. What research says about teaching students these skills. • Strategy instruction should be embedded in the curriculum, as it will benefit ALL Students and is essential for the academic progress of students with learning and attention challenges (Goldstein, & Naglieri, 2014; Deshler, Ellis, & Lenz, 1996; Ellis, 1993, 1994). • Skills to focus on in order to teach EF: cognitive flexibility/shifting, emotional and self-regulation, impulse control, organizing and prioritizing, self-monitoring and self-checking.

11. Flexibility • The ability to shift back and forth between different approaches to a problem and make changes to your plans as needed. • How can we teach flexibility in the classroom? • Embed strategies for teaching ways to thinking about different possible outcomes to a problem. • Emphasize problem solving and critical thinking. • To teach students to view situations from the perspective of their peers, encourage peer discussions and collaborative learning. • Incorporate jokes, riddles, and puzzles into activities to help practice flexibility with different meanings of words, different interpretations, and manipulations.

12. How can we teach flexibility in the classroom? Cont. • Focusing on reading comprehension can help students practice shifting between and among major concepts and details. • Students also need to study differently for different types of tests. Provide tips on how to study for each type: • Multiple choice tests- study more specific details. • Essay format- know more major concepts and be able to tell a story.

13. Emotional and Self Regulation • The ability to regulate both the emotions and the self avoiding extreme mood changes. • Some proactive approaches to help: understand students have different learning styles, experience difficulties in different areas, and have different emotional vulnerabilities. • Try to know and anticipate the triggers that activate a strong emotional reaction. • Develop an individualized prevention and intervention plan for vulnerable students that can be incorporated in the classroom.

14. Emotional and Self Regulation help cont. • Prevention • Approaches may include helping or suggesting the student breaks down tasks into smaller and more manageable ones and/or giving alternative assignments that the student may be able to feel more successful completing. • Intervention • Approaches may include providing support and avoiding judgement, anger, or blame. Offering a student a place to reduce stress or a less distractible room to take tests may be some ways to help a student regulate frustrations.

15. Impulse Control • The ability to inhibit your impulses, such as waiting to speak until called upon. • Explicitly teach classroom expectations of respect for others by using positive interventions and supports (PBIS). • Identify three to five positively stated behaviors or expectations (i.e. raise your hand, wait to be called on, etc.) • Teach the expected behaviors explicitly and systematically. • Develop a system for recognizing when desired behaviors occurred, and • Plan an appropriate response (in advance) when undesired behaviors occur.

16. Organizing and Prioritizing • The ability to schedule activities and keep track of time and materials so that work is finished on time. • Reading comprehension has been called one of the major cornerstones of teaching organization and prioritization. • Using thinking maps and graphic organizers provide students with a structured format to help them extract major themes and understand meanings. • Making columns and separating main ideas from supporting ideas can be used to teach students note taking skills. • Reading the textbook and writing down important information. • Using structured methods to help students take notes will teach them skills needed later.

17. Self-monitoring and Self-checking • Involves setting goals, reviewing their progress towards their goals, evaluating outcomes, and shifting back and forth as needed to make improvements. Self monitoring skills require metacognitive awareness and flexibility. • Explicitly teaching students systematic, structured, and scaffolded strategies of self-monitoring can help students become more independent in using these skills. • Encourage the use of calendars and planners to help with goal setting and breaking down tasks. • Suggest mnemonics to help students learn to check their work and teach steps to check their math calculations. • Checklists can be helpful to check their work before they turn it in.

18. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Writing Papers • Frequent challenges • Producing a narrative vs. lists of facts or outlines • Essay questions (understanding the question, flow of ideas, writing enough) • Term papers/long-term assignments (planning, time management, staying on topic) • Compare and contrast • Using perspectives

19. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Suggested help • Make use of the writing center or tutors that can work on writing • Faculty can also use the following suggestions. • Help the student maintain focus and not write tangentially • Attach sticky notes on pages as reminders for the student • Review the paper with the student in comparison with the instructor’s requirements • Write down notes for the student or make a list of tips which can help them on future papers. • Instead of writing suggest trying dictation software, outlining first (to help with expanding the paper), audio recording with or without transcription.

20. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Taking exams • Frequent challenges • Essay questions • Following the directions • Processing speed • Distractions • Sensory issues

21. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Suggested help • Make sure the student receives accommodations from ACCESS. Use concrete steps and suggest a script for the student to request the support. • Use concise directions, bullet point format • Extra time • Distraction reduced setting • Fidget toy

22. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Presentations and group projects • Frequent challenges • Social anxiety • Language problems • Speed • Narrow or literal interest in topic • Tone of voice (of the student AND of the teacher)

23. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Suggested help • Present to a smaller group, present only to instructor, pre-record your presentation • Discreetly facilitate including the student in a group or pairing them with someone • Introductions to help warm them up to others in the class • Help with time management (timers, five minute prompts) • Allow to pick their topic of interest if there is flexibility • Recognize that your tone isn’t always interpreted the way you’d like it to be • Suggest prior practice with peers or instructor

24. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Taking notes • Frequent challenges • Struggles to take down information verbatim • Large gaps in the notes • Irrelevant information in the notes • Extrinsic barriers (harsh lighting, seating arrangements, open door, uncomfortable temperatures)

25. Academic Challenges and Some Tips to Help • Suggested help • Notetaker, recorder, smart-pen • Provide slides if possible • Provide an outline with space to write notes in • Allow for headphones, sunglasses as a way to reduce sensory stimulation • Adjust lighting if possible, close windows/doors to reduce noise • Accommodate for seating arrangements • Suggest to dress in layers, jacket

26. Contact us with questions and/or concerns Araksya Arutyunyan AArutyunyan@vcccd.edu Silva Arzunyan SArzunyan@vcccd.edu