Autism-+Breaking+Down+Barriers

Submitted by Melanie Ryan August 4, 2011 Teaching a child with autism can certainly be challenging. Considering the autistic child's struggle to stay focused, his hypersensitivity, and verbal and nonverbal communication problems; an educator needs to take advantage of every tool and bit of advice at his or her disposal. Fortunately, with the exponential innovations in technology, there are some very promising Web 2.0 tools available to help make a huge difference. To help with communication there are many Web 2.0 applications that can revolutionize learning for a person with autism. Programs such as Voice4U and other speech generating devices can enable a child to have a voice. There are also sentence builder programs to help struggling students write. Since most students with autism are visual learners, any time a teacher can provide a visual, it is helpful. Web 2.0 tools are available that allow a person to make interesting, customized, and effectual visual aids. Interactive flashcards are also available in a range of topics or customizable. One big struggle with autistic children is scheduling. Routine is important, and any deviation can be very difficult. Web 2.0 has several apps for making visual schedules. They are easy to change so they can be updated and used to prepare the child for changes ahead of time. Autistic children often struggle to understand emotions. There are programs on the Web that can help children struggling to understand emotions which use that specific child’s face, voice, and favorite colors. Another great resource on the web is the plethora of autism related websites and blogs offering an abundance of information and support for people with autism, their families, and their teachers. Hand-in-hand with that are the many types of social media such as Facebook and Twitter available to use as a resource and communication tool for all concerned. Although the Web offers some exciting possibilities, there are barriers to accessibility for many autistic people as well. Some types of online information may be difficult to see, hear, or process. Autistic learners may have difficulty reading and comprehending text. Some people may not have a computer with a fast enough operating system or may have an incompatible operating system. The price of some online resources can be prohibitive. Fortunately, there has been an active move to make the Web accessible. Some of the features now considered when putting Web applications together that will help autistic learners are the following: closed captioning, plain fonts, contrasting colors, less cluttered pages, searches which are clearly marked and may include graphic icons. Also, many applications which are expensive have free or less expensive counterparts if one is willing to investigate.
 * Autism: Breaking Down Barriers**

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Making Web 2.0 Accessibility Mainstream []

//**SpecialEducation staff needs to be in place to support the classroom teacher. Too often Autism is generalized when everycase is actually very personal.**//
=== //**Children with Autism exhibit deficits in areas such**// //**as social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and monotonous**// //**behaviors or interests. In addition, they often demonstrate unusual responses**// //**to sensory experiences. These may include reactions to certain sounds or even**// //**the way objects look. Each symptom of Autism runs the range from mild to**// //**severe, and will present in each individual child differently. For instance,**// //**each child will display communication, social, and behavioral patterns that are**// //**quite individual but yet, fit into the overall diagnosis of Autism. Sometimes**// //**the symptoms are obvious from birth, but in most cases troubles in**// //**communication and social skills become more noticeable as the child develops.**// //**Children with Autism do not follow the typical characteristic patterns of child**// //**development however individual needs may be as broad as the spectrum it**// === === //**Some children with Autism start off well, then between 12 and 36 months old,**// //**unusual behaviors become apparent. One**// //**example might be displayed in the way they react to people. A number of parents**// //**report the change as being sudden, stating that their children start to reject**// //**people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had previously**// //**acquired. In other cases, there is a plateau, or leveling, of progress so that**// //**the difference between the child with autism and other children the same age**// //**becomes more noticeable as these children combine, such as in a school**// //**setting. Some of the early indicators of**// //**Autism Disorders include but are not limited to the awareness that the child**// //**does not babble, point, or make meaningful gestures by 1 year of age, they may**// //**not speak one word by 16 months, they may not combine two words by 2 years, and**// //**they may not even respond to their name. Those that do acquire some verbal**// //**communication may lose language or social skills. Some Other indicators you may notice in areas**// //**socialization are; poor eye contact, not seeming to know how to play with toys,**// //**excessively lines up toys or other objects, maybe an attachment to one**// //**particular toy or object, the child may not smile, and at times may seem to be**// //**hearing impaired. Some people with Autism may also have seizures and may also**// //**have mental retardation**// === === //**Eventhough the typical characteristics of Autism include the social relationshipsand emotional communication of a person, it is clear that it is a neurologicaldisorder and not purely a psychiatric disorder. It also involves problems withsensory integration. Typically, it appears during the first three years oflife. It is estimated that it occurs in approximately 2 to 6 in 1,000individuals, and is 4 times more prevalent in males than females. In addition,it is most prevalent in Caucasian males. Although the specific causes of autismare unknown, “many researchers suspect that autism results from geneticallymediated vulnerabilities to environmental triggers”. While there is disagreement about the degree,nature, and means for such environmental factors, researchers have found atleast seven major genes prevalent among individuals diagnosed as autistic. Forfamilies that already have one autistic child, the odds of a second autisticchild may be as high as one in twenty. Diagnosis is based on a list ofpsychiatric criteria, as well as a series of standardized clinical tests, whichmay also be used.**// === === //**As of 2004, autism is considered treatable, but not curable.Early diagnosis and intervention are very important to the future developmentof the child. It is widely considered that cure is impossible, because autisminvolves aspects of brain structure that are determined very early indevelopment. Teachers working withstudents amid Autism have a number of modification strategies to consider.Being consistent with everything you do is extremely important if you havechildren with Autism in your classroom. Structure the learning environment, sothat things in the classroom are predictable and consistent. This includes the physical structure of theclassroom as well as routines, schedules, and teacher behavior. Designinstructional programs to provide ways to help children learn tocommunicate. Because verbalcommunication is but one way to communicate, providing students withalternative communications such as, writing, computer, or some means ofsigning. Develop individual and group behavior plans that stress positivebehavior management and set clear instructions, rules, and consequences. Alwaysdo your best to work closely with the family to ensure consistency betweenschool and home and other settings in approaches, methods of interaction, andresponse to students. Positive reinforcement is good for all students, inparticular children with Autism. Avoid long strings of verbal instructions.People with autism often have problems with remembering the sequence. Some hyperactive autistic children, who tendto fidget all the time will often be soothed if they are given a padded,weighted vest to wear. Pressure from the garment helps to calm the nervoussystem. Some nonverbal students withAutism cannot process visual and auditory input at the same time. They aremono-channel, which means they cannot see and hear at the same time. Thesestudents should not be asked to look and listen at the same time. They shouldbe given either a visual task or an auditory task.**// === === //**When servicing students with Autism assistive technology canprovide a greater learning environment. Visit; []This article will discuss how various modes of technology can be used for children with autism.**// ===