What is a u t i s m ?

2. What is autism? • Autism is a life long developmental disorder that affects a person’s ability to communicate, form relationships, and respond appropriatelyto the environment. • It is a spectrum disorder that affects each person to a varying degree, ranging from mild to severe. • Individuals with autism do not process the environment in the same way as others. • 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism. • Four to five times more common among boys than girls • 1 out of 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States.

3. Common Characteristics *Keep in mind, although there are some common characteristics, no two individuals with autismare exactly alike • Impaired communication and social interactions • Repetitive behavior • Unusually strong attachment to objects or special interests • Resistance to change • Anxiety • Extreme sensory sensitivities

4. What are sensory sensitivities? We all learn through our senses: • Touch • Sight • Sound • Movement/balance • Body awareness • Taste • Smell Sensory processing: The ability of our nervous system to take in information from our own bodies as well as the environment, process that information, and then make an appropriate response. For most people this process is automatic. Think about it! You hear background sounds and feel your clothing, chair, and the floor beneath your feet. You resist gravity to stay seated. You see letters on the screen. You filter out unimportant sensory input so you can make sense of what you are reading.

5. Sensory Overload!! Over-responsive: Receives too much sensory input Hard to tune out sensory input Gets too close to people Sensitive to other people’s touch and clothes Overly sensitive to touch and smells…DO NOT TOUCH Notices sounds that others tune out

6. Stop

7. Sensory Overload Simulation Goal: Students will understand what it feels like to be overwhelmed by sensory stimuli. DIRECTIONS: Arrange students into groups of three Complete a very simple word search (while wearing goggles, wearing oven mitts, group member knocking on desk next to them, and other group member is reciting the alphabet in ear) Discuss as a class how difficult it was to focus on even the simplest of tasks when your senses were overloaded.

8. Craving Sensory Under-responsive: Do not receive enough sensory input Touches surfaces of objects repeatedly Bumps into objects/people Not bothered by injuries Visual Difficulty controlling eye movement Confuses left and right WHAT IF Someone with autism does not get the input he/she needs? They do things to help get it!! Craves excessively spicy, sweet, sour, or salty foods Unaware of being dirty Does not respond to name Makes noises Loves to swing Runs, jumps, hops instead of walking Talks to self out loud Rocks body, shakes leg, or head while sitting Enjoys loud music or sound Cannot sit still

9. Processing difficulties lead to impaired communication and social interactions Students with autism may have difficulties with: • Comprehension • Casual conversation skills • Understanding the subtleties of language (e.g. jokes, sarcasm, idioms, and clichés). The phrase, "There’s no sense crying over spilled milk," would cause a child with Asperger Syndrome to think that someone had spilled milk, when in fact we use that phrase to mean, “What’s done is done.”

10. A person hears speech sounds but does not perceive the meaning of the sounds. Sometimes the lack of speech comprehension is interpreted by others as an unwillingness to comply, when in fact the person simply isn’t able to retrieve the meaning at that moment. So what do teachers do?

11. A person hears speech sounds but does not perceive the meaning of the sounds. When you ask a student with autism a question give him/her WAIT TIME. Wait time - the time given for a person to respond after a question has been asked. It can take a student up to one minute to respond after being asked a question due to difficulty with processing information. Main idea: GIVE THEM TIME

12. Draw It Simulation Goal: Students with ASD often have difficulties processing information receptively. You will understand what it feels like to struggle to attend to auditory information (receptive language). DIRECTIONS: • Break up into two lines • Each line is given a task to accomplish that involves drawing a picture. • Only the first student in line is given the instructions on paper. • The first student reads it and then by memory, must whisper as much information as they can remember to the next person in line. • This continues until all people in the line have had the information whispered to them. • The last person in the line must draw the picture based on the details they have been given  RULES: Students may not ask for clarification and only the last student can draw the picture without help from his peers.

13. Visuals, Visuals, VisualsSome students with autism are nonverbal and use visuals to communicate.

14. Tell Me All About It Simulation Goal: Students will understand what it feels like to have difficulties communicating their thoughts to others. DIRECTIONS: Students are arranged in pairs. Share with your partner what you did over the weekend WITHOUT using words that contain the following letters: A – R – S – B Discuss as a class how difficult it was to communicate information with one another with these limitations in place.