“You can’t put a limit on anything.

The
more you dream, the farther you get.”
– Michael Phelps
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

LEARNERS WITH AUTISM

SPECTRUM DISORDER
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

WHAT IS AUTISM
SPECTRUM DISORDER?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized as a
neurodevelopmental syndrome that makes kids overly
sensitive to sensory input. We refer to autism as a "spectrum
disorder" since the severity of its symptoms can vary from
moderate to severe depending on the child. In spite of this,
autistic students frequently struggle to interact with people
and engage in repeated actions.

A few common signs of autism spectrum disorder include:

Has difficulty speaking or maintaining eye contact
Appears to enjoy playing by themselves and is frequently "in their own
world"
Exhibits strange attachments to specific things or activities
Difficulties interacting socially with other classmates
Seems to be highly sensitive to sounds or visuals
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

WHAT CHALLENGES DO
STUDENTS WITH ASD
EXPERIENCE IN SCHOOL?
Teachers frequently inquire about whether autism is a
learning problem, but the answer is more complicated
than you may imagine. There are some learning
challenges connected to autism, but autism itself is not a
learning problem. Because of the particular difficulties
they encounter, children with autism are also more likely
to experience emotional issues. These students are more
likely to experience isolation or misunderstanding if they
are not given support in the classroom.
WHY AUTISM AWARENESS Every year in April, we celebrate Autism Awareness Month to shed light
on misconceptions about autism and help students with ASD find the
MONTH? DISPELLING MYTHS support they need. Here are a few myths along with the real facts to
help you understand more about your students with autism.
ABOUT AUTISM.
 FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

DISPELLING MYTHS
ABOUT AUTISM
“All children with autism have “Autism only affects boys. Autism in
intellectual disabilities.” girls is uncommon or nonexistent.”
Because autism is a spectrum Autism can affect girls as well, despite
condition, there is a wide variety of the fact that boys are more prone to
severity and symptoms. Some develop the disorder. Although girls
students with autism may also have with ASD are less likely to receive a
cognitive difficulties, while others may formal diagnosis, the ratio of boys to
not. The best way to be sure is to talk girls with autism is thought to be
to their parents or a school roughly 3:1.
professional about their symptoms.

LEARN MORE LEARN MORE

 FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

DISPELLING MYTHS
ABOUT AUTISM
“Students with autism cannot
“Autism can be cured.”
make friends or feel emotions.”
Even though they express their Autism can have its symptoms lessened but
feelings in various ways, children with cannot be "cured" because it is a neurological
autism experience emotions just like illness. Although autistic children may have
everyone else. The majority of autistic difficulties with some things, they are just as
adolescents desire friendship, but if capable of learning as regular kids. They can
they have difficulty with social skills, transform their limitations into strengths by
they may not know how. participating in activities and learning
techniques that address their difficulties.

LEARN MORE LEARN MORE

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BIG NAMES WITH AUTISM

Is believed to have autism spectrum disorder. Darwin was

a very quiet person who avoided social interactions. He
also preferred to communicate by writing rather than
verbally and was very focused on his work.

Charles Darwin
Father of Evolution
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

BIG NAMES WITH AUTISM

Would qualify as having autism. She was reserved around

people. She had a basic and consistent way of dressing
and she was better at interacting with children than adults.

Emily Dickson
American Poet
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

BIG NAMES WITH AUTISM

Suffered from high-functioning autism, called Asperger's

syndrome, says Arshad. Some of his evidence: The men in
Michelangelo's family “displayed autistic traits” and mood
disturbances.

Michelangelo
Italian Sculptor
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

BIG NAMES WITH AUTISM

Grandin was not given an official autism diagnosis until

she was an adult. She received the only official diagnosis
of "brain damage" when she was two years old, which was
ultimately disproved by cerebral imaging at the University
of Utah by the time she reached 63 in 2010.

Temple Grandin
American Academic
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

BIG NAMES WITH AUTISM

Mozart was allegedly extremely sensitive to loud noises.

He had a notoriously short attention span and could fly
through a cycle of facial expressions within seconds.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Composer
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

FUN CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

FOR TEACHING STUDENTS
WITH AUTISM
The lesson plans you create for the rest of your class may
not always align with the educational approaches you use
for students with autism. Fortunately, though, autism
activities can be as easy as reading picture books about
social skills or storing sensory items in your classroom.
Use these four autism-friendly activities to aid children in
learning academic ideas.
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SENSORY ACTIVITIES
Activities using their five senses can help ground autistic
children in the present since they are receptive to sensory
input. Give an ASD youngster a specific sensory object to
play with if they are having trouble focusing in class. Try to
include the sensory item into their homework if at all
possible.

You can utilize the following sensory things to alleviate some of

the symptoms of autism:
Stress ball
Finger paint
Clay or play-dough
Fidget toys
Chewing gum
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

EXERCISE GAMES
According to studies, regular exercise might enhance
social skills and help with autism symptoms. Consider
developing outdoor activities that engage children in
movement and complement your educational objectives.
You may, for instance, organize a kickball game as a class
reward or play hopscotch to teach kindergarteners how to
count. Everyone will be energized and prepared to work
once your pupils return indoors.
FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

SEL PICTURE BOOKS

Important social emotional learning (SEL) abilities can be
taught to autistic children very well through the use of
stories. SEL picture books can be read aloud in class or
given to students to read independently.

Here are a few books about social-emotional skills you can

read to your student with autism:
No, David! by David Shannon
Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
A Sick Day for Amos McGee by Philip and Erin Stead
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
 FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

MILESTONES RELATED TO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

The measurable skills listed below can be used as a roadmap for typical development. Usually, simple abilities must be
mastered before learning more complicated ones. Most children go through these phases at a certain age and time.

Birth to 6 - 11 12 - 17
5 months months months

Reacts to loud sounds Understands "no-no" Attends to a book or toy for about two minutes
Turns head toward a sound source Babbles (says "ba-ba-ba" or "ma-ma-ma") Follows simple directions accompanied by
Watches your face when you speak Tries to communicate by actions or gestures
Vocalizes pleasure and displeasure gestures Answers simple questions nonverbally
sounds (laughs, giggles, cries, or fusses) Tries to repeat your sounds Points to objects, pictures, and family members
Makes noise when talked to Says two to three words to label a person or
object (pronunciation may not be clear)
Tries to imitate simple words
 FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

MILESTONES RELATED TO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

The measurable skills listed below can be used as a roadmap for typical development. Usually, simple abilities must be
mastered before learning more complicated ones. Most children go through these phases at a certain age and time.

18 - 23
2 - 3 years 3 - 4 years
months

Enjoys being read to Says around 40 words at 24 months Has fun with language. Enjoys poems and
Follows simple commands without gestures Speech is becoming more accurate but may still leave recognizes language absurdities such as, "Is that
Points to simple body parts such as "nose" off ending sounds an elephant on your head?"
Understands simple verbs such as "eat," "sleep" Strangers may not be able to understand much of Expresses ideas and feelings rather than just
Correctly pronounces most vowels and n, m, p, what is said talking about the world around him or her
h, especially in the beginning of syllables and Answers simple questions Uses verbs that end in "ing," such as "walking,"
short words. Also begins to use other speech Begins to use more pronouns such as "you," "I" "talking"
sounds Speaks in two to three word phrases
 FOUNDATIONS OF SPECIAL AND INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

MILESTONES RELATED TO SPEECH AND LANGUAGE

The measurable skills listed below can be used as a roadmap for typical development. Usually, simple abilities must be
mastered before learning more complicated ones. Most children go through these phases at a certain age and time.

4 - 5 years 5 years

Speech is understandable but makes mistakes pronouncing long, difficult, or Understands more than 2,000 words
complex words such as "hippopotamus" Understands time sequences (what happened first, second, third, etc.)
Says about 200 - 300 different words Carries out a series of three directions
Uses some irregular past tense verbs such as "ran," "fell" Understands rhyming
Describes how to do things such as painting a picture Engages in conversation
Defines words
HOW DO SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE NORMALLY
DEVELOP?

The first three years of life, when the brain is

growing and maturing, are the most intensive years
for speech and language development in humans.
These abilities seem to flourish in an environment
that is full of diverse noises, images, and regular
exposure to other people's speech and language.
HOW DO SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE NORMALLY
DEVELOP?

A baby can generate regulated sounds when the

voice and the speaking apparatus (jaw, lips, and
tongue) develop. This starts during the first several
months of life with "cooing," a gentle, pleasant
vocalization that is repeated quite often. By the
time they are six months old, babies typically
babble or make repeating sounds like "ba, ba, ba"
or "da, da, da."
HOW DO SPEECH AND
LANGUAGE NORMALLY
DEVELOP?

Babbling quickly develops into jargon, which is

meaningless speech that frequently has the
cadence and tone of human speech but lacks actual
words. Most kids have learned the ability to utter a
few simple words by the end of their first year. Most
young children have no idea what their first words
signify, but as they hear how other people react to
them, they quickly come to understand their
importance.
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF MY
CHILD'S SPEECH OR
LANGUAGE APPEARS TO BE
DELAYED?

If you are worried about your child's speech or

language development, you should consult your
family doctor. You can discuss your problems with
the help of the aforementioned checklist. A speech-
language pathologist, a medical expert qualified to
assess and treat persons with speech, language,
voice, or swallowing difficulties, may be
recommended by your doctor.
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FROM OUR LESSON
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