Autism In Classroom

Sam Comes to School:
Including Students with Autism in Your Classroom
DIANA FRIEDLANDER

Abstract: Inclusion in the general education classroom is becoming the placement of choice for many students with autism. Autism is a disorder that can impact many aspects of a child’s learning experience. A child’s profile along the continuum of Autism Spectrum Disorders dictates the severity of impairment in language engagement, social connectedness, sensory integration, and cognitive skills. This can often be overwhelming for teachers who are uninformed and untrained in the unique issues of autism. Teacher awareness and understanding of behaviors and perceptions unique to these disorders can facilitate the development and implementation of strategies
ASDs include a wide continuum: Autism, Pervasive Development
Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (Cohen and Volkmar 1997). Researchers are beginning to understand the genetic components of autism, which affects about
1 in 166 children born in the United States (Frombonne 2007). This frequency is put in perspective by the statistical knowledge that only 1 in 800 babies is born with Down Syndrome (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006).
Most children diagnosed with an ASD have difficulty in social areas, such as picking up cues from their environment and the ability to form typical relationships. Language is another area of difficulty. Although children with an ASD may have adequate expressive language, sometimes beyond their years, receptive language may be compromised. Sensory integration is another troublesome spot. Students with an ASD can have difficulty regulating input into their central nervous system, resulting in sensitivity to touch, sound, taste, or smell. Sam once told a story of how he caught a snake after hearing it slither.
When a child is diagnosed with autism, a lack of social or emotional reciprocity in his or her
As with all children, those who have autism are unique. Although they may share some common strengths and weaknesses, each child’s individual needs must be evaluated.
Teachers should consider that children with autism are generally rigid in their thinking and behaviors.
Typically, once they gain an understanding of a specific concept, they tend to access related information in the confines of that concept. For example, one child learned that a specific pet was called a dog; therefore, all pets became known to that child as dogs. This concrete analysis of the world helps them to maintain an orderly and comfortable life with few surprises. Routinization and rituals are common behaviors among some students with autism, as the familiar bears less uncertainty. Often behaviors that are troublesome in school are actually manifestations of uncertainty and lack of order or ritual, which can be frightening to children with autism. Sometimes a child’s controlled world may not blend well with the organization you had planned to make your classroom work. A meeting with parents and their child before school begins will give you and the family time to plan for and avoid pitfalls. Parents have a good sense of how their child