1

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and their characteristic features. Classroom
strategies and ways of treating
This paper mainly concerns two questions:
1. How are the children with Autism Spectrum Disorder different from their peers? What
are some of their characteristic features?
2. Are there any possible strategies of treating such learners in the classroom
environment?
People with autism are a highly studied layer of population. A lot of research has been
carried out; such people are tested, and treated, and observed, and examined very carefully, as
if through the magnifying glass. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder are in the center
of attention of neurosurgeons who are continuously examining their brains. And yet none of
their studies or research is complete. We can only draw some conclusions or assume that
some of those facts are true.
Hence, one of the most appealing aspects of the condition called autism is its
variability. Autism is specified by DSM-IV as a pervasive disorder, and according to
American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(1994) it is a term meant to indicate severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of
development: reciprocal social interaction skills, communication skills, or the presence of
stereotyped behavior, interests, and activities (p. 65).
Frederika M. Miranda Linne (2001) describes autism as a developmental disorder
whose behavioral characteristics range on a continuum from mild to severe. It is
characterized by impairment in the development of reciprocal social and communication
skills, abnormal language development, and a restricted repertoire of behaviors and interests

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

(p. 10). Having compared the two different definitions, one can easily notice the similarities:
individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder have significant problems in communication and
language development, being unable both to express themselves and to perceive the
information correctly and fully. Furthermore, autism is present within the first year of life,
but usually this type of disorder cannot be diagnosed in children before they turn 2 or 3,
which makes it more difficult to treat them. One more point for discussion is whether those
who suffer from autism are mentally retarded or not. Information proving presence or
absence of mental retardation varies across different studies some researchers claim that
more than one half of all children with autism do have mental problems and are, indeed,
mentally retarded though no effective tools for such an assessment have been created.
Apart from poor or no communication skills, another characteristic feature of children
with autism is their stereotypical behavior, i.e. stereotyped body movements, longer interest
in one object or concentration on one of its parts, existence of routines, and disappointment or
distress over any (significant or insignificant) changes in the environment.
According to DSM-IV (1994) Diagnostic Criteria for Autistic Disorder (American
Psychiatric Association) such phenomena are present in the autistic childs behavior:
1. Qualitative impairment in reciprocal social interaction
2. Qualitative impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication and in imaginative

activity
3. Markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests
4. Delayed or abnormal functioning in at least one of the following areas, with onset

prior to age 3 years:

social interaction

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

language as used in social interaction

symbolic or imaginative play

Some of the first signs that an autistic child under the age of three may display are as
follows: little or no eye contact, lack of responsiveness to speech (often leading to suspicion
of deafness), apparent obliviousness to people. Shirley Cohen (2002) also states that as the
autistic child moves from infancy/toddlerhood to the preschool years, ages three to five, we
see a child who lacks the foundation for social interaction and communication, and who may
well have problems in modulating stimuli. Some new areas of delayed or deviant
development are also likely to become apparent: the absence of age-appropriate play and the
presence of stereotyped behaviors, that is, repetitive motor sequences that have no obvious
function, like hand flapping. They mark an inauspicious entry to preschool years (p. 38).
Though the autistic children by the age of five will have got lots of input and they are
expected to produce speech and use it for different purposes, this may seem for them to be an
impossible task to complete. Often they are able to acquire only very few words or manual
signs and this becomes one of the possible explanations why they cannot organize a
communicative act later on.
During the middle childhood period (age 5-6 12) children with autism continue to
develop significant disabilities. Among the most outrageous ones self-injurious behavior and
aggression towards others can be identified, and they slowly become more difficult to cope
with and to control. Besides, most autistic children cannot establish relationships with their
peers during this period of life.

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Even though the children with Autism Spectrum Disorder need special treatment,
most of them go to a regular school, and it becomes a challenging job for the teachers to
provide them with all the possibilities to study and to communicate within their groups.
Concerning all the facts and factors mentioned above some strategies of successful
teaching have been worked out. First and foremost, the teachers have to remember that most
of the children with autism are visual learners and it is of significant importance to use a
range of visual strategies to help them understand and enhance their learning abilities.
Furthermore, the change of environment leads to the change of behavior. That is why
what is very important is adapting the environment to the children's needs. For instance,
instead of simply telling a child what to do the teacher might give them some freedom of
choice. And this works perfectly well the educators have to try and build the possible
relationship between desirable results and the environment the child is in.
Other strategies of successful learning comprise workload, work tasks, work
environment and feedback and rewards. Let us look at them more closely.
Firstly, workload it is extremely important that autistic children are given an
achievable task to complete. They need to know precisely what is expected from them and
what the time limits of every particular task are.
Secondly, work tasks the teachers have to make sure that all the activities are within
the students' area of interest. They also have to pay attention to the degree of familiarity with
the subject or the task. The teachers may also want to take into consideration the fact that the
work should be balanced so that the tasks of high, medium and low interest are included. The
tasks should be relevant and functional wherever possible. Much attention has to be paid to
stress-free studying process. The students with Autism Spectrum Disorder will likely be

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

reluctant to complete the tasks which are meaningless or irrelevant to them, or have an
unclear purpose.
Thirdly, work environment the hints for the teachers are as follows: use visual aids
as often as possible; allocate a specific area for a specific kind of tasks; ensure that the
children feel safe and understand their teacher's requirements.
Finally, by far the most important strategy feedback and rewards there is some
advice that the teachers might want to use: do not explain, rather demonstrate; reward trials to
make sure the children are motivated enough; make a list of rewards and choose those which
are concrete and functional; give a lot of immediate feedback; in your instructions use only
relevant words, avoid redundant information.
Simple work procedures create additional difficulties for autistic children. As they
have a very limited understanding of the concept of time and find it difficult to predict and
sequence the events, they ought to be guided and presented with a very consistent and
structured help. Any changes create additional stress for the students with Autism Spectrum
Disorder, and that is why they stick to the routines so rigidly. Making up schedules may be a
good way out since they can be in the form of diaries, timetables, monthly calendars,
ten/thirty-minute schedules as well as a lot of other variations, and can be placed on the walls.
Apart from these, many other strategies for teaching autistic learners can be used:

Discrete Trial Teaching (DTT) or Lovaas Model all the skills are broken down into
smaller steps. Each child is given an opportunity to master every step through the
continuous practice in different settings.

Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) the learning system that gives a
possibility to the children who have not acquired a verbal language to communicate

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

using pictures. The teacher helps the children learn words by exchanging a picture for
an object it represents.

Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) the system that concentrates on critical or

pivotal types of behavior. The primary pivotal behavior is for the child to be able to
initiate the communication with others. The aim of PRT is to stimulate positive
changes in pivotal behaviors so that the communication is being improved.

Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) aiming at improvement of the child's

social skills, self-awareness and adaptability through teaching them to create
emotional and social skills.

Social Communication/Emotional Regulation/Transactional Support (SCERTS) the

main goal is to improve the child-initiated communication in real-life situations and
the ability to learn and apply spontaneously their communication skills in different
settings and with different interlocutors.

Verbal Behavior (VB) consists of behavioral research on the language development

and is formed for the autistic children to communicate through finding the
connections between the words and their value.
To sum up, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder differ greatly from their peers.

The difference is mainly in their inability or poor ability to use verbal language for
communication. It is also difficult for them to establish social contacts, and their behavior is
characterized by repetitiveness and following the routines. There are a number of strategies to
be used in a classroom for such kids to learn successfully and achieve good results. Provided
they are implemented by teachers correctly the autistic children are more likely to be
successful in their learning process.

CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

References
1. Cohen, Sh. (2002). Targeting autism: what we know, don't know, and can do to help
young children with autism and related disorders. University of California Press.
2. Larkey, S. (2006). Strategies for Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
and

other

Students

with

Special

Needs.

Retrieved

from

http://www.learninglinks.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/LLIS-03_AutismStrategies.pdf
3. McClannahan, L. E., &. Krantz, P. J. (1999). Activity schedules for children with
autism: teaching independent behavior. Woodbine House.
4. Miranda-Linn, F. M. (2001). Individuals with autism spectrum disorders: teaching,
language, and screening. Uppsala University.
5. Teaching Children with Autism. Special Education Interventions. Autism Speaks
School

Community.

Retrieved

from

http://www.autismspeaks.org/sites/default/files/documents/familyservices/faq_teaching.pdf
6. Wilson, D. (2010). Puzzling Through. New Ways to Teach Children with Autism.
Boston

Parents

Paper.

http://www.flashedition.com/publication/?i=32436&p=22

Retrieved

from