Autism is a disability that affects the developmental ability of the individual in either their verbal or nonverbal communication, their socialization or their levels of interests or activities. Children with autism often have difficulties with their sensory processing they may sometimes overreact or underreact in depending on their situation (Sheehan, 2016). There should be a definite distinction in the way children with autism and those with learning and attention disorders are treated and how their learning is facilitated. These two conditions are entirely different, despite having similar symptoms.
When developing an action plan for helping children with autism with their learning difficulties, I learnt that the first step is to evaluate the difficulties of every student. It is also important to understand the needs of each student. Understanding this need will help the teacher to come up with a learning plan for the students. Since each student has their learning needs the teacher has to come up with a teaching plan that helps every student and at the same time it should incorporate other students as it would be in an average classroom. This action plan should incorporate all the components of the triad of autism (Sheehan, 2016). These elements incorporate impedances in social collaborations, social dialect and correspondence and disabilities of social, creative ability and cliché interests. It is equally important to tailor the learning session to children with ASD rather than incorporating the features of children with a learning disorder. These features while effects they may have long-term damaging effects.
Children with autism have challenges with empathy; understanding other people’s mental abilities and trying to understand them. They also lack the ability to react correctly to other people's emotional and mental situations (Raising Children Network, 2016). According to research, there are benefits to having a low ability to empathizing with difficult situations. It gives them the ability to deal quite rationally with catastrophic situations that would make other people hysterical. It gives them the ability to analyze impersonal events or inanimate objects impartially (Raising Children Network, 2016).
The social interactions of children with ASD are affected by the difficulties in coping with transformations, the inability to interact with other children, limited use of language and the inability to manage their personal space (Raising Children Network, 2016). They have restrictive behavior whereby they lack imagination while they play, they also have a strong preference for routines and they are preoccupied with specific items. They have trouble maintaining their verbal memory and controlling their impulses this makes it difficult to control the in a class environment. To develop an efficient action plan, there is no specified method to deal with children with autism in the learning environment as such every teacher or facilitator has to formulate their action taking into consideration their situations, the available resources and the recommended school structure. However, the teacher should utilize the available resources and customize teaching plan that will help the students be more comfortable with their tendency to be strict routine followers. The teacher should ensure that the sessions are structured the same ways and that the class sitting arrangement and plan is the same way. This is less distracting for the children, and it means that they do not have to adapt to a new system every time.
The action plan should also include visual aids to help the children with autism learn and focus their energy. The teacher should use various learning tactics during the learning session to keep the children focused. However, variations should be short and far between to prevent the children from getting distracted or fixated on particular items (McCabe, 2015). To help children with autism learn and focus their abilities effectively any learning action plan should be focused on helping them learn to engage their creative nature and apply their need to have a routine and maintain order.
I learnt from the lectures that Children and generally people with autism do not have the inclination towards multi-tasking, they tend to be nonsocial and lack the ability to integrate various stimuli the same time. They have difficulty focusing and deriving information from a conversation, and they find it difficult interpreting gestures and facial expressions. However, when they gain interest in a discipline, they master it and gather all the information about the discipline. This is a great strength when it evolves to having a career they excel in areas that require the mastery of content such as philosophy, law among others (Sheehan, 2016). It is important for teachers to the teacher the children a variety of this during a learning session to help them have the ability to multi-task. This would include using facial expression and gesture during while teaching to help the students learn how to interpret a variety of things at the same time Teachers should also deal with the students gently but firmly, and they should use low pitch voices and avoid shouting at the students. The same applies to their parents and guardians. Shouting intimidates the students and prevents them from having a normal life.
Children with autism spectrum disorder have different developmental patterns and learning compared to normal children. This means that they have difficulty learning and interacting with others. As kids, they develop at the same time as normal kids, but they do not quite keep up. They may start showing signs of language development at the same time as normal kids, but they do not show the same development as normal kids (Sheehan, 2016). They may be able to show the physical parts of their bodies, but they may not have trouble relating the parts if they are in a picture. They may also be able to label colors, but not be able to apply this knowledge in practical situations.
Children with autism spectrum disorder are sometimes unable to relate the reward or conditioning that comes with the operant or classical conditioning as such, it is recommended that they are taught social behavior using the application of the theory of social learning. Children with autism are encouraged to be friends with other children with the same disability or with other disability. They are also encouraged to be friends with normal children in order to experience having a normal life. This network will encourage the child to try their best to learn and experience the world as others do (Raising Children Network, 2016). The interaction will also provide a support system for the children. It will also encourage the normal children to interact and include the children with autism in their social activities. Promoting this interaction between children will bring out their difficulties as well as help the teacher identify and learn how to help the students out.
When using any method of learning it is important that the teacher liaises with the school administration to ensure that he or she is provided with the required resources as well as that they approve of the method before its implementation. There is also need to consult with the parents of the children with autism. This will allow them to participate in the learning process of their children. The collaboration between parents, teachers, facilitators and children will help the children in their learning and their development (Sheehan, 2016).
Children with autism are often bullied and stigmatized. Using focused learning groups has proven to be the most effective method of helping children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It supports the children strengthen their social skills and their interpersonal skills. It enhances their self-esteem as well as helping the increase both their levels of empathy and the empathy of the other students in the schools (McCabe, 2015). Most of the schools incorporate a physically challenged children’s program to cater for students with the disorder. As such encouraging all-inclusive, interactive sessions with them, all the students will help them develop a multi-cultural perspective towards the world. It will also help the normal students become more comfortable around the students with the disability. This will help the transition of the children with the disability with the transition from the special program to the regular program (Sheehan, 2016). It will reduce the children’s self-consciousness and the likelihood of being bullied while at the regular school interactions or during after school social interactions. Normal interactions help the students develop normal, appropriate behavior in any social settings where they will be treated as normal people without exceptions. As well as the promotion of peer acceptance.
References
McCabe, B. (2015). The Learning Styles of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The Arc’s Autism Now Center. Retrieved 30 May 2016, from http://autismnow.org/blog/the-learning-styles-of-children-with-autism-spectrum-disorder/
Raising Children Network, (2016). Autism spectrum disorder & learning | Raising Children Network. Raisingchildren.net.au. Retrieved 30 May 2016, from http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_learning.html/context/1037
Sheehan, J. (2016). 6 Facts You Need to Know About Autism. Parents. Retrieved 30 May 2016, from http://www.parents.com/health/autism/facts/facts-about-autism/
