November 12 Educating Students with Special Needs

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Educating Students with Special Needs

Lecture 8Common Disorders, Classroom Strategies and

Associated Behaviour Problems Part 1

November 12 Educating Students with Special Needs

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Overview – Focus: Common Disorders, Classroom Strategies and Associated Behaviour Problems

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD):Learning implicationsStrategies for the classroom

Mental Health:Attachment Disorder

Depression Anxiety Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Eating Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorders

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To those of you who feel that you don’t

belong.

Always remember that different is cool!

Freaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeA User Guide to Adolescence ...........Luke Jackson 2002

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What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

• A neurodevelopmental disability- a dysfunction in parts of the brain and central nervous system

• Begins in early childhood (onset before 36 months)

• It is characterised by a Triad of Impairments.

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Triad of Impairment

Impairment of social skills

Communication impairment

Limited repertoire of play, interests and hobbies

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Wing in 1991 observed......... “A child with autism lives in a world of his

own while the child with Asperger’s lives in our world but in their own way”.

Autism is a life long developmental disability.

Their condition will affect them in their own way.

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Plus Sensory Issues

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Plus Sensory issues

“We tend to view things differently”

Wendy Lawson

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Tony Attwood:

Children and adults with Asperger's Syndrome often describe feeling a sensation of sensory

overload.”

The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome ... P 272

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Plus Sensory Issues

• Differences in the way their senses work

• Each person experiences sensory issues differently and will respond differently

• Tolerance levels are affected by the student’s well-being-are they tired, ill, run down, worried or stressed?

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Plus Sensory Issues Sight Hearing Touch Smell Taste Vestibular (balance) Proprioception

(body awareness)

• All information travels to the brain where it gets processed for meaning.

This is the process that works differently for those

students with Autism.

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“ Sometimes when other kids spoke to me I would scarcely hear, then sometimes they sounded like bullets.” (White)

“Light touch feels like a cattle prod” (Grandin)

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Plus Sensory Issues

• Senses can function in two ways:Hypersensitive- (the senses work too

well)Behaviours you may observe are:• Rocking These can cause sensations

• Swinging which help the brain block out• Hitting ears something that cannot be • Pressing their eyes tolerated.• Twisting • Flapping • Spinning

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Plus Sensory Issues

• Hyposensitive-(the senses do not work well enough)

Behaviours you may observe are:• Bang objects or doors These can cause• Seek out noises sensations which will• Prefer tight clothing help the brain get • Self injure more information in

from outside.

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Diagnosis of ASD

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Diagnosis of ASD

• Cannot be tested medically• Involves paediatrician, psychiatrist,

neurologist Clinical Pyschologist and family• DSM-IV is currently the most reliable

diagnostic tool to measure ASD• Often difficult if there is an existing

intellectual impairment

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SPECTRUM?

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The name used to cover autism and related conditions is Pervasive Developmental Disorder

Autism Asperger's Syndrome Pervasive Developmental Disability-Not Otherwise Specified Rett’s Syndrome Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

What causes Autism

No single event or agent-idiopathic

One thought..........Environmental factors working in conjunction

with genetic factors.

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Fact or Fiction?

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Childhood vaccines are one of the causes of Autism?

Research has revealed distinct abnormalities in the brain

CHARACTERISTICS

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Characteristics that may be observed in a school setting

• Lack of empathy

• Difficulty forming friendships

• Perfectionism

• Echolalia in speech

• Poor non verbal communication

• Fixation on interests

• Poor coordination

Characteristics that may be observed in a school setting

Autism con’tAutism con’t

• Sensory difficulties

• Anxiety

• Unusual facial tics

• Flapping and rocking

• Unusual tone of voice

• Lack of imaginative play

• Literal

• Dislikes changes in routines

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Theory of Mind

Theory of mind is the capacity we have to understand mental states such as believes, feelings, desires, hopes and intentions. It is

the way we imagine other people’s feelings or thoughts. We can predict some of those

behaviours and anticipate them and react accordingly.

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Executive Functioning

Higher level functions of the brain that allows students to start tasks, plan,

organise information and remember what they learn.

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In The Classroom

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Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom

Learning Implications:- Students with an ASD exhibit a range of intellectual

abilities

- Students with Autism always have a language disorder

- Students with Asperger's Syndrome have impaired social skills but average ability.

Difficulty with:

•chalk & talk lessons

• attention; gaining, sustaining and shifting

• transition between activities

•generalisation

• gross and fine motor skills

•receptive language

Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the Classroom

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Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom and beyond.........

Strategies for the Classroom

• Visual timetables & visual cues

• Warn the student of any changes in routines

• Be aware of group situations and sporting events

• Writing tasks can be difficult

•Be aware of sensory likes and dislikes e.g. videos, music, visual stimuli, noise

•Social stories

•Allow practice with Social Skills in groups

•Provide order and consistency

•Limit the access of their special interests

Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom and beyond........

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I am afraid to try playing kickball in the playground, but it looks like fun. I will talk to my teacher or my friend. I will chew some gum to calm down (or other calming activity suitable for the child) while watching others play it, and then I will join in and play. I can ask questions about the game. I try playing the game and I like it. Others ask me to play next time, so I feel like I’m part of the group.

Sample Social Story

.

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November 12 Educating Students with Special Needs

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Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom and beyond........

Strategies for the agitated student:

• Follow their plan

• Give them space

• Change the activity

• Decrease the stressors

• Use relaxation techniques

• Explain the rule: tell them what to do now32

Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Classroom and Beyond..........

Communication Strategies:• Avoid repeating instructions• Allow processing and response time• Check for understanding• Do not use sarcasm• Teach a stock phrase when a student has not

understood• Use visuals

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Mental Health issues in the Classroom

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Content:

• Attachment Disorder• Anxiety• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

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“Why did I choose the profession?Why am I here?

Simply put, I’m here to make a difference.”

Tommy Lindsey, educator and author of It Doesn’t Take a Genius

Attachment DisorderBowlby the original developer of Attachment Disorder

Latest research has led to a resurgence in popularityDr. Dan Hughes maintains:

Children learn how to feel safe in relationships and how to relate to others and to rely on others through their early relationships with the carer.

The ability to control mood and feelings is established in the first few years.

The child learns about themselves with the help of the carer.

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Attachment Disorder

With fractured attachment comes the inability to deal with the world

appropriately.

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Attachment Disorder in the classroom

The student may:– have an excessive need to control– display oppositional defiant behaviours– display intense negative affects – rage, terror, despair– hurt others and themselves – emotional & physical– have a poor response to discipline – frustration– lie, make excuses or blame– be destructive, steal, hoard– be manipulative and dissociate their behaviour – Avoid specific thoughts/feelings/behaviours

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Attachment Disorder-Do’s and Don'ts for the classroom

Do’s:• Give them structure which is constant and

repetitive so they know what to expect• Let them know in advance what the

consequences of their actions will be so they can see it as their choice

• Impose consequences unemotionally

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Attachment Disorder-Do’s and Don'ts for the classroom

Don’ts:• Don’t expect them to believe what you

believe• Don't expect these children to respond to

behaviour management strategies based on your belief system

• Don’t use shame or rejection as a management technique.

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Generalised Anxiety Disorder

• About 13% if young people experience an anxiety disorder at some point during

childhood or adolescence. Up to one-half of these children may have at least one

additional mental disorder

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Generalised Anxiety Disorder

• Students with GAD have persistent and unrealistic fears about everyday life activities.

• They may appear to be doing well at school but they may have exaggerated concerns about schoolwork.

• This leads to constant tension, self consciousness and pains (e.g. headaches) that do not seem to have a physical cause.

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Behaviours and Symptoms to look for with GAD:

• They are often the quietest and best behaved children.

• Express apprehension about tests, assignments and grades

• Feel fatigued or restless• Have trouble concentrating

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Behaviours and Symptoms to look for:

• Be overly emotional

• Experience stomach aches, headaches and pains

• Avoid participating in school activities

• Be absent frequently

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Classrooms Strategies and Interventions...

• Give lots of reassurance and genuine, specific praise

• Carefully monitor students• Empathise with a student’s anxiety• Establish routines and clarify expectations• Allow for flexibility in workload

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• Establish curricula check-in points• Modify instruction for diverse learning

styles• Establish provisions for times when students

feel overwhelmed• Speak with the school counsellor, parents

and outside professionals working with the child 49

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Obsessive compulsive disorder

Between 1% and 3% of children have OCD and they will probably have other anxiety

disorders as well

Students with OCD will experience unwanted intrusive thoughts or images (obsessions) that can cause them to engage in repetitive behaviours (compulsions).

The compulsions can be elaborate and time consuming effecting their performance at school. 51

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Obsessions can include:

•Fear of illness, death or contamination•Fear of image of harm to oneself or others•Fear of doing or saying something evil or sinful•Fear that something bad might happen-not done correctly, in relation to numbers, throwing something away or something is out of order

Compulsions can include:

•Avoidance of germs and dirt•Requests of reassurance•Frequent praying and confessions•Repeated checking of locks and doors•Extreme perfections•Seeking balance by ordering, straightening or arranging•Doing activities in certain sets of numbedrs•Excessive collecting and hoarding

Behaviours and Symptoms to look for with OCD.......

Some symptoms may be obvious while others may be difficult to observe in the classroom (persistent thoughts)

• Be indecisive and slow to accomplish tasks• Avoid some classroom materials• Wash hands excessively• Be stubborn, argumentative and

demanding

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Behaviours and Symptoms to look for.............

• Act in a distracted or an inattentive way• Repeat particular sounds, words or music• Excessively request reassurance or

explanations• Be irritable and have erratic mood swings• Be ostracised by peers

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Classroom Strategies and Interventions.......

• Provide student with consistent reassurance

• Empathise with student’s difficulties• Consider reducing a student’s overall

workload• Allow for flexibility in deadlines and testing

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Classroom Strategies and Interventions......

• Closely monitor student’s progress with class work

• Avoid grading students on the neatness of work

• Create a place where students can calm down when frustrated

• Eliminate teasing• If student and parents approve then

educate the whole class about OCD56

• Other common disorders to be aware of are in High School settings are:

• Depression

• Eating disorders

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• Myles L Coley: Teaching Kids with Mental Health and Learning Disorders in the Regular Classroom

• Luke Jackson: Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome-A User Guide to Adolescence

• Lorna Wing: The Autistic Spectrum-A Parents’ Guide to Understanding and Helping Your Child

• Wendy Lawson: Sensory Issues in Autism• Gail Anne Ilott: In the Deep End

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• Anna Tullemans and Sue Larkey: The Essential Guide to Successful Secondary School-A Guide for Teachers and Families of Students with ASD

• Megan Hammond: My Life with Asperger’s

• Tony Attwood: The Complete guide to Asperger’s Syndrome

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