Autism Essay
Autism Essay
Autism Essay
Autism
Michelle Tavenner
BYU-Idaho
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When I was on my mission, I taught a family who had a daughter that was
mentally handicapped. The grandparents blamed the disability of the little girl on their
daughter who got pregnant out of wedlock. An early researcher name Leo Kanner had a
similar idea for children who have autism (The Atlantic, 2015). One of his theories on
children with autism was if a child had a disability it was due to bad parenting. What is
great about science is that over many years of research it has been proven that parents and
the way they raise their children doesnt affect whether that child will be autistic or not,
rather there could be other factors that play into why a child might be born with autism.
The word autism is interesting because in the Greek language it means self.
People who are born with autism usually struggle with being around others and are often
times in their own world by themselves (The Atlantic, 2015). I was able to take care of a
few children with autism and it was common to find one of the little boys in a corner
while all of the other kids were playing with each other. When I would approach him
about playing with the other children, he would strongly oppose the idea. Learning more
about the different levels of autism and the behaviors that are associated with this
disability has helped me to understand more of why children with autism act the way they
do.
There is a wide range of symptoms for people who have autism. In the Atlantic
magazine it says, Autistic people can be mildly impaired by their symptoms, while
others are severely disabled(2016). There is an autism spectrum that defines the
boundaries of people with different types of autism. The first criteria for diagnosing
someone for autism is called criterion A. This deals with people who have a hard time in
social situations with communicating and interacting with others. When someone
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normally talks to another person, they usually display eye contact and their conversation
deals with sharing and listening. People with autism struggle to give eye contact when
talking to others and often times the conversation will be one-sided. Criterion B states
that a person who is autistic is usually involved in performing a behavior repeatedly. The
behavior is usually what interests them or calms them down. An example would be
watching the same movie over and over again. The child might throw a fit if the parent
The last criterias are lumped together as C, D, and E. The symptoms of autism
will start early in the childs life. Not only will they struggle socially, they will have
problems with other functions. They may feel detached from others and speaking can be
difficult. Also, most children will have self-stimulating behaviors. One of the boys I took
care of would always put his hand in his month and rock back and forth. Another boy
would usually bang his hands on his ears. The DSM, under autism spectrum disorder
As a parent it can be troubling to have a child who has autism and wonder what
you could have done wrong. As mentioned earlier about the story with the little girl, how
the parents raise their children does not affect whether their child with have a disability or
not. There are many different myths about what causes autism. One of the biggest myths
has been vaccination given to young children. Over time science has found that autism
comes from biological factors. In a case study done, more than half of the participants
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with autisms had gene-disabling mutation (Autism Speaks, 2015). There was an article
on a web site for a national organization called Autism Speaks and I felt like it explained
some of the reasons for autism really well. The brain structure is so detailed. The
informations. It picks up vision, hearing, and movement. Once the thalamus has received
this information, it will send the sensory information to certain regions in the brain. This
information goes to the brains outer layer-cerebral cortex. Here is where the cerebral
cortex will process the information and than send feedback to the thalamus. This is a
development in the brain of a 2-way communication. Children with autism do not have a
normal development of this 2-way communication. In the childs brains their is formed an
over-connectivity in the regions of the brain that deal with memory, sensory functions,
and auditory processing. This over connectivity could be a reason why children are so
gifted in certain areas. Most people with autism can remember numbers really well and
process information quickly. With an over connection in part of the brain, there is also an
under-connection between the thalamus and the area of the brain that deals with
emotions, impulses, and processing of social information. This could explain why
children struggle with controlling their emotions and being apart of social groups (Autism
Speaks, 2016).
The long-term expectation for young adults with autism is not as positive as I
would have thought. There was a case study done on people with autism who were born
with in the years of 1974-1984 and the type of life style they were now living in as adults.
The results showed that 56% lived with their parents and 35% lived in-group homes.
From this case study they also found that job opportunities were very limited. Most
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worked part time or less than part time jobs. The transition from high school can be very
hard and there has been an increase in depression and anxiety for adults. One of the
hardest things is to have a new routine in life. Autistic people do best when they have a
consistent daily schedule. They also do well when they have a good support group. At
the end of the case study parents were asked what helps out their young adult children the
most; the parents responded that people make the difference (Eves, 2006).
In connecting with this talk, Temple Grandid had some very good insights on
what has been helpful to her while she has had dealt with autism for her life. Temple
Grandid appeared on a Ted Talk show and shared that people with autism have a different
mindset. They are very detailed oriented and specialize in one thing. I think that it would
be beneficial if young adult with autism were placed in jobs that allowed them to use
their strengths. If you have someone who is very detailed with math and understands that
concept at a deeper level than most people, it would be helpful to that company they are
working for and help that adult with autism feel of value. Temple Grandid also
mentioned that people should have ambition for autistic adults. Dont feel sorry for them
As mentioned earlier in this article, people with autism struggle with social
situations. Another big challenge that affects their life as well as those around them is
their behavior. The behavior of acting inappropriately more frequently in young children
is a common thing. Often times meltdowns, biting, running away, screaming, head
banging and many other physical actions result in a child acting out. There could be
several different reasons for children to act out. I think one of the common ones could be
trouble in the child. The lunchroom at school or on the playground is facilities for lots of
noise and stimulations. An increase in noise and activity could cause some behavioral
behaviors is important to know. Keeping track of when the behaviors occur can help
parents and teacher prevent them from happening in the future. Another reason for some
of these behaviors could be the childs inability to communicate verbally, thus requiring
All humans are born with 5 senses: sight, smell, and hearing, tasting and feeling.
defense mechanism. For me, using the sense of hearing is one of the senses I am grateful
for. I love hearing music and it really helps to relax me. People with autism are often
hypersensitive to things that other people might not notice. Usually the sounds of a clock
ticking back and forth or the A/C unit running are sounds that we tune out. A person with
autism is not able to tune out those sounds. In fact, they hear them at a deeper level.
Often time one of the first warning signs in autism is how children respond to
sensations. Children with autism are very aware of different textures. Often times they
will behave in a negative way if there is a texture that bothers them. This could be food
textures or clothing textures. Foods could be too mushy or soft. The child might want to
eat the same foods daily. The different types of fabric of clothing that children wear could
be a major annoyance. Some of these factors of sensitivity could also explain why a
going through in order to help them cope with their sensory issues. When it comes to
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eating certain foods, having a gradual change to implement different food can be helpful
in introducing the child to new foods. The reason why the implementing of foods should
be gradual is because children who have autism really struggle with change. Something
small changes like changing a meal from chicken nuggets to meat loaf can cause the child
to react in a negative way. Having the child be apart of the food preparation could be
helpful in sparking excitement in the child for trying different foods that they have helped
to make. With clothes it would be helpful to find the fabric they like the most and stick to
having the person wear the same fabric texture (Volkmar, 2009).
Another challenge that children with autism have is going to school. There are many
challenges that are associated with school, but it can also be beneficial because it can
push the child to do harder thing. School provides a place for socializing with peers, it
holds students more responsibility, it creates a set schedule that is vital in helping the
child maintain a stable behavior and to feel comfortable learning. However, putting a
child with 20 other students where there are different noises and energy in the room can
be hard as well. There are different interventions for the school curriculum and other
on how high functioning the child with autism is can determine whether there will need
One really good tool that can be used to help out children in the classroom is using
visual schedules. Visual schedules support individuals who have disabilities to get into a
routine of things that go on in life. A visual schedule is a step-by-step routine that the
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student can refer to often. It is similar to a planner in a way because it lists what needs to
be accomplished. Sometimes, children who have autism thrive more for images because
it is the only things that they understand. So having a schedule with pictures on it is
helpful because the child can see the picture and feel confident in what will happen that
day. There are different types of components to the visual schedules and they can all vary
depending on what will be most helpful to the student. They can tell what activities will
occur that day and in what order they will occur. People who have autism probably feel
little control in their lives. It would be scary to wake up everyday with not knowing what
the day will bring and feelings of insecurity can be present when the child doesnt know
what will be required of them that day. I personally have to have a consistent schedule for
Another assistive technology device that can me helpful is AAC or Augmentative and
strategies to help children who have problems with speech. Children who struggle
speaking are considered on the lower end of the spectrum. There are different
technologies that can speak for the child. This way the child has a way of sharing their
needs, thoughts, desires, feelings, and much more that they would like to share but cant
do without help from another outside source like therapy or different devices. (AAC and
Autism)
children who have autism do not have the speech necessary for normal, daily
In class we talked about how a typically developing child will be able to start
recognizing words around 12 months in comparison to a child who has autism. They will
learn how to speak when they are about 38 months old. By 18 months a child with out
autism will start entering into the word explosion age when they pick up a lot of words. A
child with autism will have decreases in words when they hit age 3.
As mentioned earlier, AAC is used for people who have some form of speech but
dont know how to use it. Alternative methods are used to replace speech because those
students do not know how to speak. Even though they cant speak, they still have that
desire to learn. There are many different devices that can be used effectively to help with
speaking. Having a shared purpose makes communication possible. If the students have
a set routine and they have the same purpose as a teacher or a parent, they are more likely
We all have different habits that help us stay focused. I am always twitching my
foot when I am sitting in class. I struggle with anxiety and when I feel my anxiety
increasing, my leg will move even quicker. When this happens I tend to really struggle to
pay attention in class. Research has found that more than of people who have autism
struggle with SOR or sensory overesponsitivity. There are many different stimulis in the
environment that cause this sensory problem including noisy environment, different
fabrics of clothing, different types of touch. It is really easy for children with Autism to
brain areas involving in primary sensory processing, emotional regulation, and response
Children with autism are more easily triggered by sensory stimuli than other children.
They take a much longer time at connecting with certain environments. With all of the
problems of senses being over stimulated, there are different tools that can be used with
sensory hyperactivity. Weighted vest are popular tools. In a way they feel like a blanket.
Putting them on adds weight to the child and helps them feel more in control instead of
bouncing off of the walls. It provides a sense of stability and also helps them to feel
grounded. There are different fidget tools that can be used to help the students stay
focused.
As a teacher, having different fidgets tools or weighted vests can help to keep order in
the classroom and provided the needs for all students. How a teacher creates the physical
in the class and can create a more conducive environment for learning. There is not one
perfect classroom. In fact many changes will probably need to happen frequently but
when designing a classroom it could be helpful to get feedback from parents and students
The families with the children who have autism are probably the greatest source to go
to in helping out the student. Teachers should not only receive information on what they
can do better to help out their student, but they should try and be aware of the family
structure at home and provide aid to the family when needed. Having children in general
is a difficult and a challenging task. Have a child who has autism can be a heart
wrenching challenge. Tara Derricott and her husband have three children. Two of which
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have been diagnosed with autism. Her oldest son Jacob was three when they found out
he had autism. He stopped talking and would hurt himself. Also, he was always sick. For
a parent to find out their child has any form of illness can be a struggle. To find out there
is no way to fix the illness can create a lot of fear. It is as if you have lost your child in a
way. Parents can feel lost on how they are going to handle the child. Your whole life is
now a mystery. It can be hard to not know what will happen from day to day and what the
future holds for your child. Most likely the child will live with their parents the rest of
their lives. Tara mentioned that what helped out her children during the school year was
when the teacher really put an extra effort to reaching out to her sons and working with
Parents who have children with autism will experience high stress in their lives. Most
of their time will be spend devoted to helping the child. Going places as a family can be a
battle. Financial struggles can arise when one parent has to quit their job to stay home
and take care of this child. It is common to lose touch with friends and sometimes the
social support can be really slim. With that being said, many positive things can come
from having a perfect spirit in an imperfect body. Families can make new friend through
different support groups. The relationship with extended families can increase when the
extended family reaches out to offer support. One of the greatest blessings that were
mentioned in a reading was a couple saying that they would not have come closer to one
another if they had not experienced a child who had autism. Their appreciation for life
has increased. They are more able to extend compassion and provided empathy to others
who are struggling like them. Probably the greatest blessing has been able to get to know
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more about themselves and grow as a family (Altiere, M. J., & von Kluge, S.
2009).
It would be hard for us to imagine that we would be born with a weakness that
could never be overcome in this life. Autism is a lifelong weakness and disorder that will
never go away. Even though it cant be overcome completely, there are different methods
that can help to strengthen individuals who have autism. There are different interventions
that can aid in overcoming different challenges that are associated with autism. Some of
the different programs are best when they are implemented at a young age in the childs
life. One program is called a mind reading program. As mentioned earlier, understanding
facial and vocal cues can be hard for people who have autism to pick up on. This program
is designed to help others to study emotions and pick up different meanings from peoples
facial expressions and the way the tone of their voice is expressed. Some effective ways
that could be a little controversial would be ABA or applied behavior and analysis.
methods. It is a system that is based on rewards and consequences. The best results come
from using rewards that the child loves. ABA uses high levels of behavior and responses.
It is structured on the methods that will be used to help with an undesirable behavior.
Most of the time a professional will come into the childs home and spend around 30-40
hours a week to provide one-on-one intervention. A big factor in making sure ABA is
successful is the person working with the child needs to be persistent in helping the child
to be obedient. There needs to be brief but persistent one-on-one teaching either with a
schoolteacher, parent, or therapist. The person working with the child will start by cueing
a certain behavior, than they use the most appropriate response and than provide
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reinforcement to the child. There are two different types of reinforcement and they are
positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. The positive reinforcement has been
proved to provide the best help to people. It deals with increasing how often the child
with autism will use a desired behavior. It allows more stimuluses to be applied in the
Another model for helping out children is called the TEACCH Model. Its purpose is
training, programs, and research to enhance the quality of life for individuals with ASD
and for their families (Edelson, Stephen). The TEACCH model follows a framework to
help support achievement of educational and every day goals. This frames work is:
1. Physical organization
2. Individual schedules
3. Work systems
4. Visual structure of materials in tasks and activities that determine what supports are
Children with autism struggle with receptive and expressive language, handling
changes in their environment, and sequential memory. Having a physical structure that is
organized more specifically to the persons needs is one effective way to help the child to
display positive behavior and also help them to be successful at achieving their goals.
Having a set routine is one of the most fundamental skills in helping the individual with
autism. Work systems are what are expected of the individual. It is important to teach the
person to work independently. The final framework for the TEACCH model is visual
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structures. They can help with organization, clarification, and instruction to help assist the
person in understanding what is expected of him or her. To summarize the main ideas of
the TEACCH model, it is to help individuals who have autism. It helps the individuals to
achieve their academic goals and lifestyle goals because it creates structure, it helps
people know what they need to do, how much they should do, and when they are going to
be finished with an assignment. The visual schedules helps to create independence and
keeps the student on tasks. The final thing it does is makes sure there is a designated area
behavioral supports. Its focus is on what can be changed in the environment of the
individual instead of trying to change the individual. Changing the environment can
reduce challenging behavior or the likeliness of the behavior to occur. There are different
something. It will only reduce the levels of the behavior; it wont completely stop the
reinforcing the positive behavior or it replace an undesired behavior with one that is more
something when the behavior occurs in order to reduce future occurrences. Extinction
In order to help stop behavior that is not desired it is imperative to understand the
motivation behind the negative behavior. Often times children who act out are either
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trying to get attention or receive access to something, they might be trying to avoid
misbehavior usually provides feedback about the environment they are involved in. It is
the environment that needs to be managed, not the student. Some other effective ways to
help with promoting positive behavior is varying up different tasks so that they child
doesnt get board. Offering praise when they do something will help them desire to keep
doing positive behavior. Also having the student keep record of their behaviors will help
them to be more aware of how they are acting out. Whenever misbehavior occurs, the
student should be encouraged to perform the replacement behavior. Teach the student
For younger children who are struggling with appropriate social behavior, there are
stories called social stories that help teach the child appropriate social cues and responses.
These stories are homemade and have been proven to be more effective when they are
made specifically about the child themselves. The children learn more when it is written
from their point of view with his or her name and picture throughout the book. These
Social skills are focused on how to communicate and interact with others in
effective ways. Is involves expressing language through eye contact, words, and body
language. An effective list to go through when teaching social skills to a child with
autism is to:
1. Set a goal
5. Reinforcement
(Swaggart,1995).
In conclusion, people with autism have so much potential. They are gifted in
certain areas and should have many opportunities to use their gifts to help out others.
Being a parent of an autistic child can be very draining. It is important that parents have a
good support team that can help them create accommodations to help with their child. It
is also helpful if parents understand to what degree their child has autism. This allows the
parent to understand more in depth some of the challenges the child may face.
Schoolteachers also can provide a lot of information or help parents to find resources that
are available to helping out children with autism. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints is a religion that focuses on strengthens the family. In one of the churches
articles it states, Learning how to raise a child with a disability is a process, not an
event ( Family with disabilities, 2016). Children with autism have the capability of
progressing and learn to deal with their weaknesses. It is a process that takes study, time,
and effort. Not only can autistic childrens lives be changed with proper support, the
family lives can also be blessed and changed. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints has a great website that gives information to parents, siblings, and community
leaders who may be involved in the life of a precious son or daughter of God who has
autism. President Packer, a well-known leader of the church, gave an address in 1991 to
You parents and you families whose lives must be reordered because of a
handicapped one, whose resources and time must be devoted to them, are special
heroes. You are manifesting the works of God with every thought, with every
gesture of tenderness and care you extend to the handicapped loved one. Never
mind the tears nor the hours of regret and discouragement; never mind the times
when you feel you cannot stand another day of what is required. You are living
the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in exceptional purity. And you perfect
Children who have autism are special spirits sent to earth that are given imperfect
bodies. Even though they can be a challenge at times and can cause many heartaches and
tears, they still can teach many valuable lessons to us who dont struggle with a disability
like autism. There are many supports out there that when understood and used properly,
can be a way of helping out the individuals with autism. If we try to open our eyes and
notice the good in every child, we will start to see them as a blessing instead of a burden.
We will fulfill what President Packer said by being able to perfect ourselves in the
Work Cited
Altiere, M. J., & von Kluge, S. (2009). Searching for acceptance: Challenges encountered
while raising a child with autism. Journal Of Intellectual & Developmental
Disability, 34(2), 142-152.
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Diagnostic and Student Manual, 5th Edition ( DSM-V)
Autism Speaks (2015) Study: Half of All Cases Trace to Rare Gene-disabiling Mutation.
news/study-half-all-autism-cases-trace-rare-gene-disabling-mutations
Retrieved 05-12-16https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2016/04/19/wired-
differently-exploring-brain-connectivity-autism
Eaves, L. & Helana, H. (2006) Young Adult Outcome of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
from https://www.lds.org/topics/disability/family?lang=eng
Green, S. A., Hernandez, L., Tottenham, N., Krasileva, K., Bookheimer, S. Y., &
Dapretto, M. (2015). Neurobiology of sensory overresponsivity in youth with autism
spectrum disorders. JAMA Psychiatry, 72(8), 778-786.
doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0737
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Heflin, Juane, and Donna Fiorino. Alaimo (2007). Students with Autism Spectrum
Packer, Boyd K. (1991) The Moving of the Water - Ensign May 1991 - Ensign. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 1991
Swaggart, B. L., & Gagnon, E. (1995). Using social stories to teach social and behavioral
skills to children with autism. Focus On Autistic Behavior, 10(1), 1.
"TEACCH Autism Program." Autism Speaks. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.
TED( 2010, Feb 24) Temple Grandin: The World needs all kinds of Minds. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn_9f5x0f1Q
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/08/autism-history-aspergers-
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"The Center for AAC and Autism." AAC and Autism -. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 June 2016
Volkmar, Fred R., and Lisa A. Wiesner (2009). A Practical Guide to Autism: What Every
Parent, Family Member, and Teacher Needs to Know. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons
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