A Complete Guide to Teaching Art to Those with Autism: Utilizing the Elements and Principles of Design and Life Skills

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About This Resource

How To Use This Book

Part 1: Basic Facts About Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Prevalence of Autism

What Is Autism?

Pervasive Developmental Disorder

Rett Syndrome

Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

Asperger Syndrome

Pervasive Developmental Disorder as Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)

Grouping Autism Spectrum Disorders Together

Part 2: Schematic Art Developmental Stages

The Scribbling Stage

The Longitudinal Stage

The Circular Stage

The Naming Stage

The Pre-Schematic Stage

The Schematic Stage

The Latter Part of the Schematic Stage

The Transitional Stage

The Gang Stage

The Pseudo-Realistic Stage

The Adolescent Stage

Part 3: Foundational Instructional Elements

Teaching Art to Students with ASD

Art Therapy and Students with ASD

Learning and Developing Life Skills

Improving Communication

Cultivating Essential Life Skills

Teaching Life Skills to Students with ASD

Interdisciplinary and Cross-Curricular Education

What Is Interdisciplinary Education?

Interdisciplinary Teaching versus Cross-Curricular Teaching

Advantage of an Interdisciplinary/ Cross-Curricular Curriculum

Part 4: Review of Literature

Rational for the Review of Literature:

Art Education Philosophers Throughout History

Plato:

Aristotle:

Ficino and the Medici Family:

Kant:

Schiller:

Franklin:

Rousseau:

Pestolozzi:

Froebel:

Contemporary Educational Experts Advocating the Integration of the Arts in Education

Dewey:

Dow:

Ross:

Parker:

The Progressive Movement of the Twenties:

Read:

Influences of Integrated Arts Curriculum Development

Bloom:

Munro:

Jacobs:

Gardner:

Part 5: Successful Art Model Programs

20th Century Successful Examples of Integrated Arts Model Programs

Bauhaus:

Owatonna Art Education Project:

Government Programs:

Interdisciplinary Model Program in the Arts for Children and Teachers (IMPACT):

Building Arts Systems (BASIC):

An Approach to Learning through the Arts

Gifted and Talented in Art Education:

The Mead School:

Arts Propel:

Successful Examples of Current Integrated Arts Model Programs

Whole School Institute:

The High School for the Arts:

The Lakeview Education and Arts Partnership (LEAP):

Spectra +111:

Higher Order Thinking (H.O.T.) Schools:

SmArt Schools:

Different Ways of Knowing:

A+ Schools That Work for Everyone:

Conclusions:

Part 6: The Elements and Principles of Design

The Elements

Line

Shape

Shape Definitions

Form

Space

Space Definitions

Methods of Achieving Space

Texture

Color

Value

The Principles

Repetition

Rhythm

Pattern

Balance

Emphasis

Methods for Achieving Emphasis

Contrast

Methods of Achieving Contrast

Unity

Unity Definitions

Methods of Achieving Unity

Part 7: Building an Art Cabinet

Various Mediums and Types of Supplies: An Overview

Paper

Types of Paper

Cardboard

Types of Cardboard

Drawing Mediums

Types of Pencils

Erasers

Types of Erasers

Crayons

Types of Crayons

Markers

Types of Markers

Tapes and Adhesives

Types of Tape

Other Adhesives and Related Materials

Cutting Equipment

Types of Cutting Equipment

Painting

Paint Vocabulary

Types of Paint

Finger Paint

Tempera Paint

Watercolor

Watercolor Papers

Paint Brushes

Paint Brush Vocabulary

Types of Brushes

Pastels

Pastel Vocabulary

Types of Pastels

Sculpture

Sculpture Vocabulary

Types of Sculpture

Mixed Media and Collage

Print Making

Print Making Vocabulary

Types of Print Making

Suggestions for Stocking a Basic Art Supply Cabinet

Paper and Cardboard

Erasers

Drawing Supplies

Colored Pencils

Markers

Crayons

Adhesives and Tape

Tape

Glue

Cutting Equipment

Scissors

Paint Supplies

Finger-Paint

Tempera Paint

Watercolor Paint and Paper

Paint Brushes

Pastels

Sculpture Supplies

Print Making Supplies

Classroom Supplies and Tools

Craft and Additional Sensory Supplies

Part 8: Planning an Art Curriculum

Developing an Art Program Getting Started

Teach Art Every Day!

Designate a Specific Time for Daily Art Class

Make Attending Art Class By All Students a Primary Focus

Input Classroom Rules and Procedures

Assure and Maintain Safety In the Art Classroom at All Times

Order Supplies and Classroom Equipment

Prepare the Classroom for Art Instruction

Create a Proper Work Area

Allocate a Space for the Storage of Art Supplies

Designate a Space to Store Wet Work-In-Progress

Ensure a Space for the Storage of Student Portfolios

Part 9: Individual Developmental Concerns

Get to Know Your Students

Know Their Schematic Developmental Level

Reference Student Independent Learning Programs (IEP)

Accommodate a Variety of Learning Styles

Look for Common Repetitive Subject Matter Within Student Art Work

Become Aware of Student Sensitivities to Art Supplies

Part 10: Designing A Curriculum

The Art Curriculum

Teach the Elements and Principles of Design

Introduce and Use an Array of Mediums

Teach Core Subjects

Capitalize on the Life Skills Instilled in Every Lesson

Require Students to Master Basic Motor Skills

Review and Reiterate Subject Matter Taught on a Daily Basis

Invoke Effective Teaching Strategies

Part 11:

Teaching Strategies

Effective Teaching Strategies

Always Be Positive and Enthusiastic

Encourage Independent Thinking

Use Visual Communication Aides Whenever Possible

Make Examples of All Lessons Prior to Implementation

Utilize Paraprofessionals and Other Support Staff

Implement a Visual Technique as a Means to Promote Critical Thinking

Incorporate Virtual Technology Within Art Lessons

Make Visual Cognitive Connections as Much as Possible

Encourage Students To Draw Large

Advocate Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum

Help Students Overcome Obvious Mistakes When Creating Artwork

Always Encourage Student Participation in Art Class

Upon Project Completion Make Sure There are No Idle Hands

Display Student Work Often

Document Student Work as Much as Possible

Part 12: Behavior Modification Techniques

Suggested Behavior Modifications

Implement Appropriate Interventions

Introduce a Positive Support Plan (PBSP)

Implement a Reward System

Conduct a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA)

Help Students With Impulse Behavior

Modify the Use of Supplies When Essential

Part 13: Implementing A Curriculum

Implementing an Art Curriculum

Create Student Portfolios as the First Project

Set Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

Choose Lessons to Teach

Consider the Emphasis When Teaching Lessons

Lesson Selection: Using This Book of 100 Lessons with 1000 Combinations

Emphasizing an Element of Design

Adding a Principle of Design Concurrently

Different Lessons Reiterating Similar Skills

Teaching the Same Lesson Using Different Mediums

Teaching the Same Lessons Year After Year

Designing Progressive Skill Lesson Units

Supply, Medium, or Subject Units

Goal and Objectives Form Directions

Goals and Objectives Form

Part 14: Evaluation Procedures

Invoke Multiple Means of Assessment

Promote Verbal Communication Through Student Group Critiques

Engage In a One-On-One Personal Evaluation of Student Work

Conduct a Portfolio Review

Progressively Assess Student Work Throughout the Creative Process

Provoke Higher Level Thinking Through Assessment

Devise a Rubric or Scoring Guide

Assessment Rubric Form Directions

Assessment Rubric Form

Part 15: Instructor & Parental Participation

Notes for The Special Education Teacher

Recommendations For the Art Teacher

Suggestions For the Home Schooled Parent

Part 16: Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

Part 17: Lessons

100 Lessons: Table of Contents

Part 18: Appendices

Lesson 8: Pin Wheels (p. 178): Pattern

Lesson 10: A Form of Pumpkin (p. 180): Pattern

Lesson 13: A Pair of Lined Mittens (p. 184): Mitten Pattern

Lesson 21: Texture Turkeys (p. 197): Turkey Pattern

Lesson 23: A Shapely Pair of Gloves (p. 200): Glove Pattern

Lesson 32: Yakety-Yak Please Talk Back Puppets (p. 214): Lips and Mustache Pattern

Lesson 37: Repetitive Shamrock Pattern (p. 224): Shamrock Patterns

Lesson 40: Fingerprint Mosaic Animals (p. 228): Frog Pattern

Lesson 40: Fingerprint Mosaic Animals (p. 228): Bunny Pattern

Lesson 42: Snow Buddy Paper Chains (p. 232): Snowman, Dress, Hats, and Scarf Pattern

Lesson 46: Three Scoops of Neapolitan (p. 240): Ice Cream Pattern

Lesson 52: Three-Dimensional Lizards (p. 252): Lizard Pattern

Lesson 57: People Should Stand Up Busts (p. 264): Head Pattern #2

Lesson 57: People Should Stand Up Busts (p. 264): Head Pattern #3

Lesson 64: Having a Bad Hair Day! (p. 278): Head Pattern

Lesson 67: The Candy Jar (p. 284): Candy illustrations

Lesson 67: The Candy Jar (p. 284): Jar #1 Patterns

Lesson 67: The Candy Jar (p. 284): Jar #2 Patterns

Lesson 67: The Candy Jar (p. 284): Jar #3 Patterns

Lesson 67: The Candy Jar (p. 284): Jar Pattern #4

Lesson 67: The Candy Jar (p. 284): Jar Pattern # 5

Lesson 68: My Refrigerator (p. 286): Food Illustrations

Lesson 68: My Refrigerator (p. 286): Food Illustrations Continued

Lesson 69: Down On the Farm Fingerprint Animals (p. 288): Barn, Silo, Fence Patterns

Lesson 72: African Masks (p. 296): Head Shape Patterns

Lesson 72: African Masks (p. 296): Head Shape Patterns

Lesson 72: African Masks (p. 296): Head Shape Patterns

Lesson 72: African Masks (p. 296): Facial Feature Patterns

Lesson 85: Twist a Gigantic Soft Pretzel (p. 334): Pretzel Pattern

Lesson 93: Your Own Geometric Design (p. 348): Sample #1

Lesson 93: Your Own Geometric Design (p. 348): Sample #2

Lesson 93: Your Own Geometric Design (p. 348): Sample #3

References

Dedication

In memory of my beloved son

Zachary Jacob Cookf

or what could have been, and might have been...

you will always be in my heart

-mommy-

Acknowledgements

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge two people that directly affected the outcome of this book. The first, Patricia W. Reynolds who is as a retired guidance counselor and lifelong educator instilled the value and importance of education in me overall. Her genuine support and continual confidence in my work reminded me of who I am and what I am capable of. Personally her contributions to the book, helping me create original lesson examples, her moral support, and tireless encouragement made this journey, process, and inevitably the project possible.

The second is Justin W. Fawley, who originally started as a short term layout designer who eventually became an invaluable resource and instrumental to the production and quality of this book as it evolved, regarding page layout, design, and countless corrections. This exceptional individual went above and beyond all expectations over the last two and a half years to make this book the best that it could be. Both of these remarkable individuals should be commended for their dedication and foresight in trying to help me help as many people on the autism spectrum as possible, using art as a means.

About the Author

Mishawn Reynolds has been an art educator for more than twenty years. As an art specialist she has taught art to students in kindergarten through the secondary level. Specific courses include Advanced Placement Art, Elements and Principles of Design, Fundamentals of Art 2-D and 3-D Levels 1-2-3, Photography, Sculpture, Ceramics, Drawing, Painting, Art History, Portfolio Preparation, and Technology within Art.

At The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA where she earned her BFA and MA in Art Education she wrote her first curriculum guide, entitled: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Art Education: Exploring the Colonial American Theme Utilizing the Webbed Model. Since then she has written and implemented multiple curriculums.

These curriculums include: Autistic Support in the School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA; a secondary art curriculum introducing 3-D courses into a 2-D only program in the Pottsgrove School District, Pottstown, PA; an interdisciplinary curriculum for middle school students coinciding with their Language Arts and Social Studies program in The Springfield School District (Delaware County), Springfield, PA; an elementary curriculum based on the Elements and Principles of Design in the Christina School District, Newark, DE; and a Multicultural program at Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for the Gifted at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA. She has also taught an In-Service course entitled Teaching Core Subjects Through an Interdisciplinary Approach in Art on the secondary level in Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Annapolis, MD.

She received a grant to attend Teaching with Instructional Multimedia in Mathematics and Science at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), Essex Campus. She is certified to Teach Advanced Placement Art and was awarded a Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship.

As an eclectic artist, Ms. Reynolds continues to be a practicing artist in photography, graphic design, and gourd art. Her work has been shown in both juried and group exhibitions in galleries, including: the Centennial at the Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA; Maryland Hall, Annapolis, MD; the Rosenwald, Mednick, and Off-the-Wall Galleries, Philadelphia, PA; and the Florida Gourd Show in Merion County, FL.

About This Resource

The visual arts provide an excellent forum for the development of cognition, imagination, reasoning, sensory, communication, and motor skills in all students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). I discovered this first hand as an art teacher while instructing students with ASD in multiple learning environments over a period of time.

However, within contemporary education there is no existing standard art curriculum for these students. In fact there is no mandated art curriculum for special education students at all in most states and school districts. This is primarily due to the fact that the autistic spectrum is so broad, and the population so diverse, that it is difficult to impose specific standards, mandates, goals, objectives, and benchmarks on them. An additional reason for the lack of teaching art in special education is that most of these teachers have no specialized training in teaching art.

After continual interaction while teaching those with ASD, I realized that the visual arts are a necessary vital component of their education. These students are more then capable of learning concepts through art, including complex ideas as well as life skills, more easily than in another format as they are predominantly visual learners.

Eventually I created a successful comprehensive art program for this population which included sensory, vocal, social, and experiential projects. It was designed specifically for this purpose through repetition, reiteration, the continual gradual introduction of the Elements and Principles of Design and life skills, while using a large variety of mediums and techniques.

I have found this type of program guarantees progress and improvement at all levels for students with autism, including increased student achievement, confidence, and an improved sense of self esteem, as well as their desire to learn. Thus the arts command attention.

The art program just has to be concise, appropriate, and designed for each individual student’s needs. This is important as differentiation is the key to all quality education. Thus I began devising a way to help people create an individual art curriculum in order to use the visual arts to help as many people possible on the autistic spectrum.

The challenge was finding a way to write the information down in a simple easy-to-understand format so that art could be facilitated, achieving maximum results by all, even those with no previous experience in art or the teaching of art. Thus, this all-inclusive source was created in order to do so for the special education teacher, art specialist, Inclusion teacher, one-on-one, paraprofes-sional, methods professors, behavioral specialists, speech pathologists, and anyone else interested in, or involved with, teaching those with autism who wishes to use art to continually promote lifelong learning and independence.

How To Use This Book

The Complete Guide to Teaching Art to Those with Autism assists you through every phase of designing an appropriate successful fine arts curriculum for every student across the autistic spectrum. Ultimately this type of education will help those with ASD achieve goals and minimize or overcome disabilities, enriching and improving their quality of life. This book, when used to its fullest extent, is part of the solution and an appropriate intervention for helping those with ASD. It is organized into 18 sections containing the most recent research and methods.

Part 1: Basic Facts about ASD draws awareness to the overwhelming amount of people that are being diagnosed and living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) today. Necessary information is then provided for anyone to become familiar and understand the multiple types of ASD and the typical disabilities associated with each.

Part 2: Schematic Art Developmental Stages provides you with the necessary information, including: descriptions, signs, symbols, and characteristics to look for so that anyone can easily evaluate students’ work in order to assess each individual’s current status within these stages of development.

Part 3: Foundational Instructional Elements contains insight into teaching art to students with ASD emphasizing the fact that art is an appropriate effective means of learning. Although the goal is similar when teaching art therapy to these individuals, life skills and group communication are more part of the core in the type of curriculum design and development proposed.

Life skills are a vital part of the overall plan, the heart beat, of the whole idea in order to prepare them for the world and a productive future. The intention is to build all kinds of life skills, both inherent and otherwise, to those with ASD in order to eventually dissipate their disabilities, build confidence in a safe environment, and advance new sources of strength and inspiration for the benefit of all of these students.

This section also explains the important concepts and subtle differences between multidisciplinary connections incorporated into the projects within this book. The more you relate things together through experiential learning, the better students absorb and retain information as it is not taught in isolation. This is a clear advantage to all students as it assists them in problem solving more easily.

Part 4: Review of Literature is an outlined explanation of the historical development of art education throughout time from Aristotle to contemporary educational experts.

Part 5: Successful Art Model Programsresearch results show that art has a positive impact in a curriculum on student achievement within modern education. By reviewing effective model programs we can investigate the reasons why. Thus, familiarizing oneself with these reasons contributes to the understanding that art education leads us to the path to best help this population.

Part 6: The Elements and Principles of Design are the essential component of designing a successful art program. One must acquire a clear understanding of these as they are the back bone of any quality art curriculum. Not only does one need to understand these thoroughly, you must be able to assist each student in their implementation throughout the lessons that you teach, in order to achieve maximum success in the students’ overall development.

These are clearly defined extensively in this chapter through multiple explanations, methods, definitions, and visual examples, so that they can be easily understood and continually referenced as necessary. The Elements outlined are: Line, Shape, Form, Space, Texture, Color, and Value. The Principles covered are: Repetition, Pattern, Balance, Emphasis, Contrast, and Unity. All of these must be intertwined when taught in order to facilitate the concept of real art education.

Part 7: Building an Art Cabinet is a detailed overview of the vast array of types of mediums and supplies. This includes descriptions, techniques, and vocabulary associated with each necessary for the creation of the projects in this book. When building an art program these impact and enrich the students’ art experience generating new ideas and opportunities on multiple levels through their introduction. This expands any teacher’s repertoire and should be viewed as a continual reference as part of the ongoing process of curriculum development.

It is imperative that you stock your classroom with essential equipment and a variety of consumable supplies when making art, other than crayons and markers. Thus, this chapter also provides recommendations and suggestions in order to do so effectively.

Part 8: Planning an Art Curriculum contains all of the components to begin writing an art curriculum. This includes a step-by-step starting point, preparing the classroom, and imputing classroom rules and safety procedures.

Part 9: Individual Developmental Concernsprovides information that is both content and student-centered. The overall aim in creating an art curriculum for teachers of those with autism is to have each individual discover the impact of the extent of the value of art on this population.

In order to cater your program to do so you must first understand every students’ strengths and weaknesses by getting to know them. This includes their schematic development level, possible sensitivities to supplies, their IEP, multiple learning styles, and individual style preferences. For example, this chapter is a reference to this important pertinent information.

Part 10: Designing a Curriculum can improve student disabilities through art if the program is designed and facilitated by the instructor in accordance with individual student needs. Using the aforementioned components, this chapter provides a foundation on which to begin to do so.

It also focuses on core requirements that should be taught, implemented, and incorporated within the curriculum design. Mastering basic motor skills, core subject areas, reviewing and reiterating subject matter taught daily, and an introduction to effective teaching strategies are included.

Part 11: Effective Teaching Strategies contains practical suggestions for helping students’. This soup-to-nuts approachincludes multiple strategies in order to maximize productivity within the classroom. These tips include: student participation, accessing support staff, incorporating technology, using visual aides and techniques, promoting independent thinking, making project examples, and the documentation and displaying of student work.

Part 12: Behavior Management Techniquesand remediation helps children at school and at home. It is a proven fact that the arts consistently improve student behavior and achievement overall, regardless of special needs. However, student behavior modifications may still need to be put into place on an on needed basis.

The information provided here encourages awareness of this necessity when teaching those with ASD. Formal support plan suggestions, appropriate interventions, reward systems, and mediating control ideas over impulse behavior are all addressed.

Part 13: Implementing a Curriculum includes deciding on projects to teach and goal setting, both long and short term, that must be considered prior to curriculum implementation. This book has a tremendous amount of lessons with many ideas and possibilities so that each program devised will be successful.

Much of the direction that the activities will take remains in the hands of the teacher. The presentation of the activities merely sets the stage for a variety of interpretations and should only be regarded in this way. In fact, the 100 lessons provided allow for over a 1000 combinations to teach the information depending on the specific concepts that the instructor chooses to emphasize.

Thus lesson selection ideas, as well as unit construction examples are provided. The curriculum you devise is to be built upon over time, becoming a learning process for both the student and instructor. The art process itself must be geared toward specific goals and objectives to be taught concentrating on each individual’s needs and learning environment. Therefore, a goals and objectives form is included, along with easy to understand directions to fill it out.

Part 14: Evaluation Procedures should be invoked by more than one means of assessment. A good system uses multiple types of evaluation which then provides a wealth of information covering a variety of formats.

Included in this chapter are forums for increased communication through personal evaluation, group critiques, and portfolio review. Other means of evaluating student work throughout the creative process are also included, while providing higher level thinking techniques. Various tools and procedures, including a rubric scoring guide with directions, in order to help identify and track student benchmarks and achievements are also included.

Part 15: Instructor and Parental Participation contains a collection of additional information. Many tidbits are shared with fellow art teachers, special education teachers, and parents in order to help facilitate a more effective art program.

Part 16: Final Thoughts and Conclusions derived are presented.

Part 17: Lessons include one hundred ready-to-use plans with pictorial references. This includes diagrams necessary to easily complete all projects, as well as examplesof each. Every reproducible lesson contains: one-step directions, all supplies needed, design Elements and Principles to emphasize, and life skill implementation ideas. This hands-on instructional format was designed so that creativity focusing on improving student disabilities, while enhancing student self expression and problem solving abilities, and new learning opportunity concepts remains the goal within all of the art activities. These lessons provide a forum for the culmination of implementing all of the information provided.

Part 18: Appendices feature a list of pattern resources and other additional materials which support particular lessons.

The Complete Guide to Teaching Art to Those with Autism is an unparalleled up-to-date reference packed with valuable information and materials that might otherwise take years and much effort to acquire; making this an invaluable resource to aide anyone teaching those with ASD.

Part 1:

Basic Facts About Autism

Spectrum Disorder

The Prevalence of Autism

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has reached what could be considered epidemic proportions over the last decade. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has become an urgent public health concern.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders outlines the required criteria for the diagnosis of autism. Introduced in 1994, the criteria have not changed in any way, but it is difficult to accurately estimate the number of children who have ASD.

Estimates are becoming better and more consistent though. This is due to the fact that ASD research and means of assessment has increased a great deal in recent years, and multiple interest groups have formed organizations to determine current statistics. The CDC for example funds the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM), which is a group of programs that determine the number of people with autism in the United States, making the current statistics more accurate as to how many people have been effected.

Research has shown that a diagnosis of autism at age two can be reliable, valid, and stable. But despite evidence that ASD can often be identified at around 18 months, many children do not receive final diagnosis until they are much older. The median age of earliest ASD diagnosis is between 4.5 and 5.5 years, but for 51-91 percent of children with an ASD developmental concern, it has been recorded before three years of age (CDC, 2011).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act now requires that comprehensive annual reports be published and presented to the United States Congress each year. The statistics reveal that the number of children with ASD has more than doubled in six years, with 37 states now reporting increases of more than one hundred percent. This could be viewed as a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.

The CDC has revealed the most current statistic and estimates of those affected with ASD in the United States as:

One in 80 in 240 with an average of one in 110 children in the United States. Thus if four million children are born in the United States every year, approximately 36,500 children will eventually be diagnosed with an ASD. Assuming the prevalence rate has been constant over the past two decades, we can estimate that 730,000 individuals between the ages of 0 to 21 have ASD (CDC, 2011).

We must engage in helping students who have already been diagnosed. Thus, there is an need for the type of program suggested in this book as it is an additional approach to increase independence and the quality of life for these people.

If implemented properly, it will have a great effect on this often misunderstood population. In order to do so, It is important for the many people who have not been exposed to the different types, or needs, of those with ASD to become familiar with these prior to working with them.

What Is Autism?

Like the color spectrum, the types of autism reflect a continuum from genius to those who are extremely handicapped. People from any ethnicity, race, creed, or socioeconomic background are affected. It is a puzzling disorder without a cure, with a wide range of intelligence and communication abilities, as well as the strengths and difficulties in-between.

The faces of autism are diverse. Some have successful careers, living independently, while others sit in a corner and rock all day, requiring constant care. Some are unable to speak; others are very articulate but unable to decipher facial expressions and body language (Fast, 2010).

Many have cognitive impairments, while others are savants who possess extraordinary talent in fields such as music, art, or mathematics.

Autism, also known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a developmental disability that comes from a neurological disorder affecting the normal function of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication or reciprocal social interaction, social skills, and reasoning.

Individuals on the autism spectrum often go through life trying to fit into a world that refuses to accept them. They have trouble relating to their peers, making light conversation, reading facial expressions, or sustaining eye contact. They may seem oblivious and may have unusual reactions to sensory stimulisuch as sudden noises (Fast, 2010).

It is referred to as a spectrum disorder because the symptoms vary widely in severity, across a wide range of conditions, much like the colors of a rainbow.

Autism is not a form of mental retardation. Although many autistic people appear to function similarly to those diagnosed with mental retardation, they are not. However, there is a large segment of the autistic population who have some form of mental retardation.

Many also have exceptional abilities that are often not addressed because the major focus by others is their disabilities. These amazing students have the ability to demonstrate well-developed spatial and visual memory skills, especially when making art. They can often produce detailed spontaneous drawings in perspective from various vantage points. For instance, some can create a complex drawing of a building after seeing it once, or memorize a subway map after one glance and recreate it on paper.

There are also those on the far right of the spectrum who possess exceptional speech and language skills. Others have both verbal and non-verbal communication problems. Some never develop spoken language skills and remain mute. An autistic person is almost always late to speak, and usually displays abnormalities or peculiarities, including, volume, pitch, and tone of voice. After hearing others speak they might immediately imitate what they just heard through an involuntary repetition of words or phrases. This is known as echolalia and is common among those with this disorder.

The autistic person also may have severe difficulties in understanding what is said to them. They can remember and repeat entire conversations but are incapable of explaining any of the content. They take things literally, as in the case of the child who was given a five dollar bill and told to share it with a sibling. The autistic child ripped it in half, giving the other half to the sibling.

Autistic people tend to be hypersensitive to sensory information such as sound, sight, and touch. These experiences may involve a particular sense being too sensitive or less sensitive than normal. For example, the lights in a classroom may be too bright for a student, the ocean too loud, or they may touch something which might overwhelm them. They have sensory experience based on real experience, like normally developed people, but it may feel or sound different and the autistic person may have difficulty interpreting the experience. No two autistic people appear to have the exact same pattern of sensory problems.

It is important to acknowledge that there are five different disorders under the ASD umbrella. These include:

Pervasive Developmental Disorder

The term Pervasive Developmental Disorder, also called PDD, refers to a condition that involves delays in the development of many basic skills; most notably the