Educational Interventions for Children with Autism - Research Paper Example

Running Header: Autism Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Autism Introduction Dianne (1999, p. 121) maintains that Autism is a development disorder that affects communication and social skills. There is usually a learning difficulty that is associated with children with autism. Children with autism have a common difficulty when making sense of the work and, on how others do things regardless of general level of intelligence. Autistic Children have a repetitive and restricted behavior due to the affected information processing in the brain through altered nerve cells and synapses connections and organizations. They are several characteristics with people affected with autism that include communication problems. Children with autism seem to have no ability as well as understanding that is essential in engaging in any significant communication. Language development in those children is also very slow with speech patterns being weird as illustrated by Pennsylvania Bar Institute (2007, p. 21). Children with autism find it difficult to interpret signals and messages that many people take for granted including tone and voice, facial expressions, and gestures. Those difficulties make it hard for children with autism join and continue with normal educational setting. It results to special attention being paid to those children when it comes to education especially with other normal children. It may sometimes lead to some adjustments in education environment settings in order for them to be accommodated well. However, it usually results to some implications to the other children with no autism. Barriers to Educational Setting They are several barriers that make it difficult to include children with autism in educational settings. This is mainly due to the problem they have in communication. Autism Society of Kenya (2009) argues that due to their inability to engage in communicating necessary in education as well as poor understanding, it becomes difficult for them to be incorporated in the normal education setting. This becomes a big challenge especially when they are learning with other who have are normal. Slowness in development of language is another challenge in children with autism. There is inappropriate use of words in a child with autism which is a major challenge in education of the child. In any educational setting, use of appropriate words is necessary for success in education and academic work. Therefore, any child with inappropriate use of words may have a hard time in succeeding in education. Failure to recognize or even interpret signals and messages by children with autism may as well be another challenge in developing and succeeding in education sector. Signals and messages are used in a greater extent in classes to emphasize and illustrate points hence failure to interpret and comprehend some of them like tone and voice may be a major barrier towards the success of a child. According to Research-autism (2006), facial expressions and gestures are as well the most important signs used in classroom. Therefore, failure of an autism child to recognize the meaning as well as difficult of interpreting them is a major challenge towards his education capabilities. This in a greater extent hinders his success in academic sector and work. Treffert (2005, p. 76) argues that in a class environment, there is need for a good social relationship in order for an improved success in any academic work. However, failure by children with autism to socialize well may lead to be a big challenge in education sector and related work. Their capability of developing relationship is impaired hence a big challenge and a major barrier towards academic achievement. This makes most children with autism not be able to achieve and socialize academically which is a major boost towards development of a child in academic work. This is a major barrier towards academic achievement of an autism child. Ryaskin (2004, p. 56) maintains that education requires some substantial amount of imagination in order for a child to be able to develop and achieve well academically. Another major barrier towards success in education is resistance to change of routine. It becomes a major problem or barrier as autism children is introduced in any form of academic work. This is because of the need to multitask on various routines at the same time when learning. Therefore, failure to become flexible to change results to reduced rate of focus on various changing perspectives and illustrations in class that keep on changing. This is hence a major barrier towards autism child’s success in education. Quick change of temper in those children as well as serious temper tantrums results to poor understanding and comprehension in academic work. Lawrence, Mitchell and Lovaas (2005, p. 390) argues that Autism in children usually makes them become severely disabled in various ways while at the same time displaying talents in various areas like music, mechanics, and art. This makes them concentrate and focus maximally in other areas other than academic fields. Their general performance in academic is affected greatly due to this condition; this usually leads to extremely poor performance in some subjects. This is usually a major barrier towards general performance of autism children in their work. A high level of concentration required in classrooms is difficult to be attained by those children hence affecting overall performance of their education as compared to other normal children. This has been seen as a major challenge and barrier in those children’s performance. Autism condition makes them not be able to think and reason as quickly as it may required in a class setting. According to Foxx (2004, p. 132), Children with autism usually have cognition hence exhibiting abnormalities in thinking process as well as generalizing process. Their judgment, awareness and general thinking are greatly affected by autism conditions. This is a major obstruction for an autism child in any educational settings. In most instances, it is difficult to look and manage special requirements and needs of a child in a classroom of normal children whereby they are mixed. A child with autism requires special attention especially in any classroom or education setting. Due to lack of proper management of classes with such children, it becomes difficult to include autism children in an educational setting. Lack of informed and trained staff or teachers on autism management usually results to a barrier when managing and including such children in an educational setting. Adjustments to be make In order to include children with autism in any educational setting, there is need for some adjustment in educational settings. National Research Council (U.S.) Committee on Educational Interventions for Children with Autism (2001, p. 143) argues that there is need for proper and effective management policies and strategies in ensuring an autism child fits well within any educational settings. Effective autism management in any classroom setting will ensure an autism child fits well in the classroom. Schools are supposed to make adjustments in their ways they manage children with autism disorders, there is need to train staff on how to handle and manage them. There should be outlined strategies and policies in ensuring there is good management of autism in any classroom environment to ensure such children’s need and conditions are accommodated by teachers and staff. Such policies will also ensure there are reduced interferences behaviors in children’s academic performance. Proper and effective policies and strategies will ensure they are reduced interferences in the learning process of an autism child. This will assist in enhancing the learning process and improved academic achievement when the appropriate adjustments are put in place. Carr (2008, p. 55) argues that in order to enable autism children to fit and be able to adjust well in any educational training, schools should bear responsibility of providing special training and education to the staff. Schools should ensure they put in place conducive learning environments and creating strategic educational goals for autism children. In some instances, there may be need to autism children in self-contained classes in order to try and improve their basic concepts and skills of life. Martine and Nell (2002, p. 56) illustrated that there is need to provide advanced basic skills and concepts to these children in order to make them be able to adjust and live together with others in their classroom together with other children. However, in the normal classroom environment, there is need to train and teachers on various ways on managing and handling such children. Erik (2010) argues that the school staff and in particular teachers should be equipped with special management skills in such a way that they will be able to manage classes with autism disorders. The staff should be prepared to meet all the demands of autism children in classroom setting. This will in a great extent assist in reducing barriers that may hinder proper performance of autism child in the classroom setting. Robert and Wilhelmina (2006, p. 380) maintains that proper training to the staff will provide a good solution towards effective autism management. Staff must be developed and trained professionally on what autism is and how well it can be managed. It is also important to know how effectively one can work with those children with autism in any classroom environment. This will in a greater extent reduce the barriers that may make it impossible for autism children not fit in the learning environment. Such adjustments in staff training will assist in training and educating an autism child without a lot of difficulties or barriers. Strategies for managing an autism child are not as complex as it may seem but rather a simple management process. There is need for make an autism child feel secure, calm as well as comfortable. This will in a great extent reduce the number of barriers that may block the child from coping with the normal educational settings. This will assist such as child with autism to perform and improve in the academic performance. Frith (2007, p. 45) maintains that they are various steps and ways towards ensuring an autism child is capable of coping with education setting. Various strategies and measures that can be put in place to ensure an autism child is capable of adjusting to an academic environment include being provided with an environment that is predictable and a daily routine. This will play a great role in managing the child in his academic works. Due to their incapability to adjust very quickly to changing environments and situations, there is need for preparing such a child early in order for him to be able to adjust to a classroom environment. According to Robin and Dina (2002, p. 78), a class with autism child should be kept off distractions or surprises because this affects their minds greatly. It is important to make any changes that are required only when it is necessary and crucial for them and not unnecessary. When communicating with the child, it is important to ensure all his attention is drawn towards you. This will enable the child’s concentration to be drawn to maximum hence increase his concentration. It is also important to ensure a child with autism is given enough time to process the instructions he has been given to gain maximum attention and understanding. It is crucial to ensure that the child is handled with much care as possible. It is crucial to be as patience as possible in order for the child to get enough time to process the instructions and other necessary information being given to him. According to Amy (2006, p. 190), it is also important to reduce any underlying causes hindering the child from coping with any underlying situation. It is crucial to pair an autistic child or kids with others who are non-autistic when they are being in the academic settings. This will ensure the child is able to cope and improve his social behaviors hence overall improvements in the academic field. It is crucial to adjust class condition where an autistic child is learning to be safe place as well as encouraging group situations or activities. Avril and Bruce (2005, p. 89) argues that buddy or companion system should be introduced in school where such an autism child will be learning. This will in a great extent assist in reducing academic barriers that may be on the way. Introduction of buddy system in school will enable autistic children to get maximum support both academically and socially. This will reduce greatly the socializing problem within a child and improve greatly the condition of such a child in terms of socializing with others. This is a major breakthrough towards improved academic and communication performance. The overall imagination process is greatly improved in a child to ensure that the child is able to interpret figures and facts as well as other things and feelings within his environment. However discussing issues mainly in politics and religion may become extremely difficult for autistic children to imagine about. This needs to be improved through extensive training and focusing more on the religion, politics, and other related subjects. These children should be engaged in rigorous discussions in those topics to enable them have an improved knowledge, judgment, and imagination. Michael (2008, p. 45) maintains that Schools should adopt some behavioral techniques which can assist in utilizing and reinforcing behavior of autistic children. Due to some self stimulatory behavior associated with autistic children, using some techniques like overcorrection, time-out, and punishment will in a greater extent assist in behavioral correction and improvement of autistic children. Due to difficulties they have in trying to understand and interpret signs, body languages and facial expressions, there is need to adjust their usage as well as the way they are used. It is important to make them be as simple as possible and direct to the autistic children. Proper adjustment in school policies and strategies will ensure that the barriers that may exist when including a young child in educational settings are reduced. Proper outlined policies in school will ensure their life is not at any point affected by their conditions. Parents should as well play a major role in ensuring they cooperate with school staff towards improving and assisting the child in his academic works improvement. Kaplan (2007, p. 45) maintains that parents with autistic children should ensure they put in place and apply necessary skills required to change the behavior of their children. Effective teaching methods should as well as be applied to ensure they effectively support their children on how to cope with education settings. Parents should be provided with crucial information by concerned agencies and qualified professionals in order to assist their children in education work. Local schools with other consultancies should provide necessary information to the concerned parents on various techniques they can use to educate and guide their children in reducing problems in behavior. Although a major part of training programs on autism children should not be played by the parents, they need to participate consistently in helping shape educational plans of an autistic child. This is an effective way of ensuring there are no barriers that may hinder the development of a child in education. Articlesbase (2010) argues that parents should also take a step of teaching their children through art. Art enables the change of behavior of an autistic child. Art is a therapy that increases the self awareness as well as increased problem solving strategies in a child. Training autistic child through the art also increases the safe feeling of the environment there are living or learning. These strategies will enable the child be able to adjust and fit well in the educational settings. They will ensure the autistic children are able to adjust in educational setting through improved creative thinking as well as self accomplishment. Teaching an autistic child through the art will make him be able to develop his social skills. Effective and thorough training of the autistic child will enable them be able to learn and adjust well in any educational settings. Proper adjustment of policies and teachings to the autistic child will enable him be able to improve and perform well in his academic works. Implications to Normal Students Including autistic children with those without autism usually comes with some effects or implications. In some occasions, children with no autism are unable to control themselves as they continue to interact with autistic children. In most cases children with no autism do not know how to work with those children and how to manage them. Children not suffering from autism are likely not to improve in thinking if they are included together with autistic children. There is a likelihood of retarded or slow development in terms of social interaction and creative thinking. Due to reduced competition between the children, the expected improvement in children with no autism is likely to reduce. Due to high influence between young children to each other, there is likelihood that children with no autism may be influenced towards doing some funny behaviors. There may as well be influenced towards staying alone or impaired. This is mainly because autistic children will continue to stay alone even when with other normal children. However, children with no autism may be able to gain some of the technique aspects that autistic children have. This includes mechanics or arts; this is easily transferred to those children with no autism as they become much interested with certain kind of technical aspects. Children without autism are likely to develop a tendency of ignorance if they continue interacting with autistic children. This is due to failure of signs and body movement understanding as they continue to communicate with autistic children. Children who are not autistic are likely to feel that some signs are not useful as they are being used. Failure to have capability to share things or even feelings with others in autistic children may result to other normal children acquiring the same habit as they interact with those children. Autism is usually associated with lack of fun in children. This aspect and behavior may end up making other children who may be involved with them being unable to enjoy themselves or even find any fun. Due to low levels of fun associated with autistic children, this in most occasion leads to normal children developing a low interest in making fun when they continue interacting with autistic children. Normal children ways of making fun or their ways of fun may be affected greatly due to an interaction with an autistic child. Children with no autism are likely to feel that their teachers pay more attention to their colleagues who are autistic. They may feel a sense of discrimination when they are in the same class with autistic children. This may lead to reduced performance in academic or their education as teachers’ concentration is more focused on autistic children and little attention to the normal children. This may even lead to a psychological disturbance in the normal children as they feel as sense of being neglected. Children with no autism are likely to have a pessimistic feeling when socializing and studying with autistic children. They are likely to feel disturbed as sense of discrimination overwhelms them as they continue to study with other autistic children. This is because staff and teachers are likely to pay more attention to autistic students as compared to normal students. Normal students are likely to find it difficult to communicate with their fellow autistic students in the process of learning. This is likely to slow down the communication between them and eventually ineffective cross communication. Conclusion Autism in a greater extent affects social and communication skills of the affected child. Autism is associated with repetitive and restricted behavior in the affected children. Autistic children have a communication problem with no ability to comprehend some situations as well as solving some problems. They find it difficult to interpret some signals and messages which eventually make it difficult to join and continue with normal educational setting. When joining educational setting, they are various barriers that face them hence making it difficult for them to join and continue normally with education. This is mainly due to the problems they have in communication process. Due to their inability to engage in communicating required in education as well as poor understanding of simple language signs, this becomes a major barrier towards effective communication and success in their education. Other barriers that face such children when joining educational settings include their slowness language development. There is inappropriate use of words especially when autistic children are in a learning setting or even environment. This is major hindrance and limit in ensuring good communication. Autistic children have a major problem in trying to recognize or even interpret signals and messages. They are extremely poor in this hence becoming a major barrier towards effective communication. This becomes another major barrier in their educational settings. This problem is usually accompanied by poor use and interpretation of facial expressions and gestures which is another major aspect in educational settings. Due to their resistance to change of routine, this hinders or acts as a barrier to effective academic work and in general their overall academic work. Socializing academically is also another major hindrance towards effective communication and good academic achievements in autistic children. Autistic children are extremely poor in social relationship which is a major requirement in any educational setting. Therefore, failure to have good social relationship will lead to poor academic achievement. In order to enable autistic children fit well in any academic setting, there is need to adjust various aspects and factors. Such adjustments include setting out of polices and strategies in schools that those children are learning. There is also need to train staff on various ways in ensuring they are capable of managing such children as well as giving them the assistance they require. Other adjustments required include providing advanced basic skills and concepts to autistic children. Pairing autistic children with the ones who are not autistic will also be a major boost towards improvement of autistic behavior making him fit well in the academic settings. This will help in eliminating barriers that make hinder child’s academic development. However, including autistic children wit the ones who are not autistic will have some implications or set backs in the normal children. There may be some reduced performance or thinking in the normal children. Normal children may also feel a sense of being neglected as staff and teachers focus or pay more attention to autistic children in the classroom. Autism is a problem which requires to be given a lot of attention in every aspect including its management and special care. This will assist in the improvement of the affected child in academic and social life. References Amy, B. 2006, ‘An observational analysis of self-stimulatory behavior and behavioral interventions’, Journal of autism management, Vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 189-197. 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