Autism Janine Steinhauser

Autism in the Classroom

Autism is also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Individuals with Autism often face challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, and speech and nonverbal communication. Individuals with Autism usually have a hard time communicating, prefer to be alone, struggle with others feelings, have highly restrictive interests, and intense reactions to the five senses.

  DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria

A.      Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history
B.      Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history
C.      Symptoms must be present in the early developmental period (but may not become fully manifest until social demands exceed limited capacities, or may be masked by learned strategies in later life)
D.      Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.
E.       These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay. Intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder frequently co-occur; to make comorbid diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, social communication should be below that expected for general developmental level.

What Causes Autism?
Currently, there is no one cause of Autism. Research suggests that Autism develops from a combination of genetic and nongenetic, or environmental, influences.
1. Genetic Risk Factors

Research tells us that autism tends to run in families. Changes in certain genes increase the risk that a child will develop autism. If a parent carries one or more of these gene changes, they may get passed to a child (even if the parent doesn't have autism).

2. Environmental Risk Factors

Research also shows that certain environmental influences may further increase – or reduce – autism risk in people who are genetically predisposed to the disorder.

Increased Risk - advances parent age (either parent), pregnancy and birth complications (e.g. extreme prematurity, low birth weight, multiple pregnancies [twin, triplet, etc]), pregnancies spaces less than one year apart
Decreased Risk - prenatal vitamins containing folic acid, before and at conception and through pregnancy

3. No Effect on Risk

Scientists have conducted extensive research over the last two decades to determine whether there is any link between childhood vaccinations and autism. The results of this research is clear: Vaccines DO NOT cause autism.

Prevalence of Autism
1 in 68 Children
1 in 42 Boys
1 in 189 Girls

Examine the evidence that vaccines
DO NOT cause Autism.

Vaccines

Strategies in the Classroom

1. Daily routine outlines, previewing/reviewing the day ahead of time
2. Alternative media (visuals, color coding, visual directions, auditory)
3. Sensory tools – various manipulatives that releases stress and improves focus (opportunities to relieve stress) (noise cancelling headphones)
4. A place to escape, change of environment (Quiet corner)
5. Frequent extra breaks
6. Develop and use social stories
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