Students with ASD: Developing Socialization and Self-Management Skills

By: Jeffrey Bordeman

Jeff's Portfolio Page

ETAP 623 Fall 2009

INTRODUCTION

Children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) continue to grow rapidly each year. From 1993-2007 the number of confirmed children with ASD has grown 1558% (fightingautism.org, 2009). From 2003-2007 the growth has been 753% (fightingautism.org, 2009.) These numbers mean that we have a growing number of students with ASD in our school system, and a huge number of children diagnosed with ASD who have not yet entered our school system. Students diagnosed with ASD have unique needs that require teachers to have knowledge of this disorder and the accompanying educational challenges. With the push for inclusion classrooms, all teachers, not just special education teachers, need to have a better understanding of students diagnosed with ASD.

This mini-course that will provide participants with information to assist them in better understanding ASD and the educational difficulties students with this disorder face. The first unit focuses on, what is ASD? It gives background information on Autism and other disorders that are incorporated in the Autism Spectrum. It will survey how ASD is diagnosed and the developmental differences between students diagnosed with ASD and typically developing students. The second and third unit focuses on how this diagnosis affects the students ability to learn and what research based intervention are available to provide these students with an educational environment and curriculum that meets their unique needs. Some of the topics that will be covered are; structure and routine, behavioral management, and social skill development.

Unit Objectives

By Completion of this course, participants will:

• Develop an understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by learning all the disabilities the spectrum encompasses.
• Learn how ASD is diagnosed by evaluating the criteria for an ASD diagnosis.
• Discover how to develop social skills in students with ASD by evaluating several research based approaches.
• Evaluate the behavioral issues students with ASD exhibit and develop strategies to assess and develop self management strategies for the student.

Prerequisite Skills

• Experience in a school environment
• Understanding that disabilities affect education of students
• Ability to navigate Wiki-Sites
• Intrinsic motivation to learn new content
• Open mindedness towards new research

Curriculum Map

Unit 1: What is ASD and how is it diagnosed?

Objectives

• Develop an understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by learning all the disabilities the spectrum encompasses.
• Learn how ASD is diagnosed by evaluating the criteria for an ASD diagnosis.
• Understand the developmental differences between students diagnosed with ASD and typically developing students by comparing the developmental milestones of each.
• Understand why learning about ASD is important as an educator by evaluating graphs that show the rapid growth in ASD amongst current and future students.

Unit 2: Social Skill Development

Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the many social skill deficits students with autism may display by evaluating several videos and articles.
• Describe the friendships and language that students with ASD exhibit by evaluating several videos and articles.
• Evaluate several social skill interventions for students with ASD by describing the intervention, evaluating the pro’s and cons of the intervention, and evaluating the research that validates each intervention.

Unit 3: Self Management Support

Objectives

• Develop an understanding of the behavioral characteristics of ASD by evaluating several videos and articles.

• Evaluate self management strategies for students with ASD by assessing the purpose and procedure for such a plan.

• Assess the many reasons for particular behaviors in students with ASD by evaluating several assessment tools and their function.