Running Head: AUTISM 1

Autism
Michelle Tavenner
BYU-Idaho
AUTISM 2

When I was on my mission, I taught a family who had a daughter that was

mentally handicapped. The grandparents blamed the disability of the little girl on their

daughter who got pregnant out of wedlock. An early researcher name Leo Kanner had a

similar idea for children who have autism (The Atlantic, 2015). One of his theories on

children with autism was if a child had a disability it was due to bad parenting. What is

great about science is that over many years of research it has been proven that parents and

the way they raise their children doesnt affect whether that child will be autistic or not,

rather there could be other factors that play into why a child might be born with autism.

The word autism is interesting because in the Greek language it means self.

People who are born with autism usually struggle with being around others and are often

times in their own world by themselves (The Atlantic, 2015). I was able to take care of a

few children with autism and it was common to find one of the little boys in a corner

while all of the other kids were playing with each other. When I would approach him

about playing with the other children, he would strongly oppose the idea. Learning more

about the different levels of autism and the behaviors that are associated with this

disability has helped me to understand more of why children with autism act the way they

do.

There is a wide range of symptoms for people who have autism. In the Atlantic

magazine it says, Autistic people can be mildly impaired by their symptoms, while

others are severely disabled(2016). There is an autism spectrum that defines the

boundaries of people with different types of autism. The first criteria for diagnosing

someone for autism is called criterion A. This deals with people who have a hard time in

social situations with communicating and interacting with others. When someone
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normally talks to another person, they usually display eye contact and their conversation

deals with sharing and listening. People with autism struggle to give eye contact when

talking to others and often times the conversation will be one-sided. Criterion B states

that a person who is autistic is usually involved in performing a behavior repeatedly. The

behavior is usually what interests them or calms them down. An example would be

watching the same movie over and over again. The child might throw a fit if the parent

wont put in the same movie.

The last criterias are lumped together as C, D, and E. The symptoms of autism

will start early in the childs life. Not only will they struggle socially, they will have

problems with other functions. They may feel detached from others and speaking can be

difficult. Also, most children will have self-stimulating behaviors. One of the boys I took

care of would always put his hand in his month and rock back and forth. Another boy

would usually bang his hands on his ears. The DSM, under autism spectrum disorder

states, Autism spectrum disorder are persistent deficits in reciprocal social

communication, in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, and in

developing, managing, and understanding relationships, and restricted, repetitive patters

of behavior, interests, or activities(Autism Spectrum Disorder).

As a parent it can be troubling to have a child who has autism and wonder what

you could have done wrong. As mentioned earlier about the story with the little girl, how

the parents raise their children does not affect whether their child with have a disability or

not. There are many different myths about what causes autism. One of the biggest myths

has been vaccination given to young children. Over time science has found that autism

comes from biological factors. In a case study done, more than half of the participants
AUTISM 4

with autisms had gene-disabling mutation (Autism Speaks, 2015). There was an article

on a web site for a national organization called Autism Speaks and I felt like it explained

some of the reasons for autism really well. The brain structure is so detailed. The

thalamus is a crucial part of the brain structure because it processes incoming

informations. It picks up vision, hearing, and movement. Once the thalamus has received

this information, it will send the sensory information to certain regions in the brain. This

information goes to the brains outer layer-cerebral cortex. Here is where the cerebral

cortex will process the information and than send feedback to the thalamus. This is a

development in the brain of a 2-way communication. Children with autism do not have a

normal development of this 2-way communication. In the childs brains their is formed an

over-connectivity in the regions of the brain that deal with memory, sensory functions,

and auditory processing. This over connectivity could be a reason why children are so

gifted in certain areas. Most people with autism can remember numbers really well and

process information quickly. With an over connection in part of the brain, there is also an

under-connection between the thalamus and the area of the brain that deals with

emotions, impulses, and processing of social information. This could explain why

children struggle with controlling their emotions and being apart of social groups (Autism

Speaks, 2016).

The long-term expectation for young adults with autism is not as positive as I

would have thought. There was a case study done on people with autism who were born

with in the years of 1974-1984 and the type of life style they were now living in as adults.

The results showed that 56% lived with their parents and 35% lived in-group homes.

From this case study they also found that job opportunities were very limited. Most
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worked part time or less than part time jobs. The transition from high school can be very

hard and there has been an increase in depression and anxiety for adults. One of the

hardest things is to have a new routine in life. Autistic people do best when they have a

consistent daily schedule. They also do well when they have a good support group. At

the end of the case study parents were asked what helps out their young adult children the

most; the parents responded that people make the difference (Eves, 2006).

In connecting with this talk, Temple Grandid had some very good insights on

what has been helpful to her while she has had dealt with autism for her life. Temple

Grandid appeared on a Ted Talk show and shared that people with autism have a different

mindset. They are very detailed oriented and specialize in one thing. I think that it would

be beneficial if young adult with autism were placed in jobs that allowed them to use

their strengths. If you have someone who is very detailed with math and understands that

concept at a deeper level than most people, it would be helpful to that company they are

working for and help that adult with autism feel of value. Temple Grandid also

mentioned that people should have ambition for autistic adults. Dont feel sorry for them

but see what good they can do (TED, 2010).

As mentioned earlier in this article, people with autism struggle with social

situations. Another big challenge that affects their life as well as those around them is

their behavior. The behavior of acting inappropriately more frequently in young children

is a common thing. Often times meltdowns, biting, running away, screaming, head

banging and many other physical actions result in a child acting out. There could be

several different reasons for children to act out. I think one of the common ones could be

a change in routine. If something in their schedule happens un-expectedly, it can cause

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trouble in the child. The lunchroom at school or on the playground is facilities for lots of

noise and stimulations. An increase in noise and activity could cause some behavioral

challenges. As a parent or a teacher of an autistic child, being aware of these different

behaviors is important to know. Keeping track of when the behaviors occur can help

parents and teacher prevent them from happening in the future. Another reason for some

of these behaviors could be the childs inability to communicate verbally, thus requiring

them to communicate through actions.

All humans are born with 5 senses: sight, smell, and hearing, tasting and feeling.

Senses help us to determine if something will be good or dangerous. In a way it is a

defense mechanism. For me, using the sense of hearing is one of the senses I am grateful

for. I love hearing music and it really helps to relax me. People with autism are often

hypersensitive to things that other people might not notice. Usually the sounds of a clock

ticking back and forth or the A/C unit running are sounds that we tune out. A person with

autism is not able to tune out those sounds. In fact, they hear them at a deeper level.

Often time one of the first warning signs in autism is how children respond to

sensations. Children with autism are very aware of different textures. Often times they

will behave in a negative way if there is a texture that bothers them. This could be food

textures or clothing textures. Foods could be too mushy or soft. The child might want to

eat the same foods daily. The different types of fabric of clothing that children wear could

be a major annoyance. Some of these factors of sensitivity could also explain why a

person might display inappropriate behavior.

As a teacher or a parent it can be helpful to understand more of what the child is

going through in order to help them cope with their sensory issues. When it comes to
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eating certain foods, having a gradual change to implement different food can be helpful

in introducing the child to new foods. The reason why the implementing of foods should

be gradual is because children who have autism really struggle with change. Something

small changes like changing a meal from chicken nuggets to meat loaf can cause the child

to react in a negative way. Having the child be apart of the food preparation could be

helpful in sparking excitement in the child for trying different foods that they have helped

to make. With clothes it would be helpful to find the fabric they like the most and stick to

having the person wear the same fabric texture (Volkmar, 2009).

Another challenge that children with autism have is going to school. There are many

challenges that are associated with school, but it can also be beneficial because it can

push the child to do harder thing. School provides a place for socializing with peers, it

holds students more responsibility, it creates a set schedule that is vital in helping the

child maintain a stable behavior and to feel comfortable learning. However, putting a

child with 20 other students where there are different noises and energy in the room can

be hard as well. There are different interventions for the school curriculum and other

interventions of helping the child function in a general education classroom. Depending

on how high functioning the child with autism is can determine whether there will need

to be accommodations like technology devices, visual schedules, extended dates on

assignments, or modifications which include modifying the curriculum more to the

students ability of learning the material.

One really good tool that can be used to help out children in the classroom is using

visual schedules. Visual schedules support individuals who have disabilities to get into a

routine of things that go on in life. A visual schedule is a step-by-step routine that the
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student can refer to often. It is similar to a planner in a way because it lists what needs to

be accomplished. Sometimes, children who have autism thrive more for images because

it is the only things that they understand. So having a schedule with pictures on it is

helpful because the child can see the picture and feel confident in what will happen that

day. There are different types of components to the visual schedules and they can all vary

depending on what will be most helpful to the student. They can tell what activities will

occur that day and in what order they will occur. People who have autism probably feel

little control in their lives. It would be scary to wake up everyday with not knowing what

the day will bring and feelings of insecurity can be present when the child doesnt know

what will be required of them that day. I personally have to have a consistent schedule for

each day. I need to know what will be required of me (Pierce, 2013).

Another assistive technology device that can me helpful is AAC or Augmentative and

Alternative communication. AAC is usually some form of technology or it could be

strategies to help children who have problems with speech. Children who struggle

speaking are considered on the lower end of the spectrum. There are different

technologies that can speak for the child. This way the child has a way of sharing their

needs, thoughts, desires, feelings, and much more that they would like to share but cant

do without help from another outside source like therapy or different devices. (AAC and

Autism)

It is interesting to see how many children struggle with speech. 10-25% of

children who have autism do not have the speech necessary for normal, daily

communication skills. AAC are supports designed to compensate for temporary or

permanent impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions of persons with

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severe disorder of speech-language production and comprehensions. They are limited in

their understanding of communication from others and two others.

(Autism Spectrum Disorder)

In class we talked about how a typically developing child will be able to start

recognizing words around 12 months in comparison to a child who has autism. They will

learn how to speak when they are about 38 months old. By 18 months a child with out

autism will start entering into the word explosion age when they pick up a lot of words. A

child with autism will have decreases in words when they hit age 3.

As mentioned earlier, AAC is used for people who have some form of speech but

dont know how to use it. Alternative methods are used to replace speech because those

students do not know how to speak. Even though they cant speak, they still have that

desire to learn. There are many different devices that can be used effectively to help with

speaking. Having a shared purpose makes communication possible. If the students have

a set routine and they have the same purpose as a teacher or a parent, they are more likely

to be successful in that purpose.

We all have different habits that help us stay focused. I am always twitching my

foot when I am sitting in class. I struggle with anxiety and when I feel my anxiety

increasing, my leg will move even quicker. When this happens I tend to really struggle to

pay attention in class. Research has found that more than of people who have autism

struggle with SOR or sensory overesponsitivity. There are many different stimulis in the

environment that cause this sensory problem including noisy environment, different

fabrics of clothing, different types of touch. It is really easy for children with Autism to

become overwhelmed quickly by different stimulis. SOR is related to hyperactivity in

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brain areas involving in primary sensory processing, emotional regulation, and response

to threat (Green, 2015).

Children with autism are more easily triggered by sensory stimuli than other children.

They take a much longer time at connecting with certain environments. With all of the

problems of senses being over stimulated, there are different tools that can be used with

sensory hyperactivity. Weighted vest are popular tools. In a way they feel like a blanket.

Putting them on adds weight to the child and helps them feel more in control instead of

bouncing off of the walls. It provides a sense of stability and also helps them to feel

grounded. There are different fidget tools that can be used to help the students stay

focused.

As a teacher, having different fidgets tools or weighted vests can help to keep order in

the classroom and provided the needs for all students. How a teacher creates the physical

structure on a classroom environment can be vital in helping to enhance better behavior

in the class and can create a more conducive environment for learning. There is not one

perfect classroom. In fact many changes will probably need to happen frequently but

when designing a classroom it could be helpful to get feedback from parents and students

as to what would be most beneficial to the student.

The families with the children who have autism are probably the greatest source to go

to in helping out the student. Teachers should not only receive information on what they

can do better to help out their student, but they should try and be aware of the family

structure at home and provide aid to the family when needed. Having children in general

is a difficult and a challenging task. Have a child who has autism can be a heart

wrenching challenge. Tara Derricott and her husband have three children. Two of which
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have been diagnosed with autism. Her oldest son Jacob was three when they found out

he had autism. He stopped talking and would hurt himself. Also, he was always sick. For

a parent to find out their child has any form of illness can be a struggle. To find out there

is no way to fix the illness can create a lot of fear. It is as if you have lost your child in a

way. Parents can feel lost on how they are going to handle the child. Your whole life is

now a mystery. It can be hard to not know what will happen from day to day and what the

future holds for your child. Most likely the child will live with their parents the rest of

their lives. Tara mentioned that what helped out her children during the school year was

when the teacher really put an extra effort to reaching out to her sons and working with

them (Derricott, 2016).

Parents who have children with autism will experience high stress in their lives. Most

of their time will be spend devoted to helping the child. Going places as a family can be a

battle. Financial struggles can arise when one parent has to quit their job to stay home

and take care of this child. It is common to lose touch with friends and sometimes the

social support can be really slim. With that being said, many positive things can come

from having a perfect spirit in an imperfect body. Families can make new friend through

different support groups. The relationship with extended families can increase when the

extended family reaches out to offer support. One of the greatest blessings that were

mentioned in a reading was a couple saying that they would not have come closer to one

another if they had not experienced a child who had autism. Their appreciation for life

has increased. They are more able to extend compassion and provided empathy to others

who are struggling like them. Probably the greatest blessing has been able to get to know
AUTISM 12

more about themselves and grow as a family (Altiere, M. J., & von Kluge, S.

2009).

It would be hard for us to imagine that we would be born with a weakness that

could never be overcome in this life. Autism is a lifelong weakness and disorder that will

never go away. Even though it cant be overcome completely, there are different methods

that can help to strengthen individuals who have autism. There are different interventions

that can aid in overcoming different challenges that are associated with autism. Some of

the different programs are best when they are implemented at a young age in the childs

life. One program is called a mind reading program. As mentioned earlier, understanding

facial and vocal cues can be hard for people who have autism to pick up on. This program

is designed to help others to study emotions and pick up different meanings from peoples

facial expressions and the way the tone of their voice is expressed. Some effective ways

that could be a little controversial would be ABA or applied behavior and analysis.

The purpose of ABA is to change autistic behavior through a series of behavior

methods. It is a system that is based on rewards and consequences. The best results come

from using rewards that the child loves. ABA uses high levels of behavior and responses.

It is structured on the methods that will be used to help with an undesirable behavior.

Most of the time a professional will come into the childs home and spend around 30-40

hours a week to provide one-on-one intervention. A big factor in making sure ABA is

successful is the person working with the child needs to be persistent in helping the child

to be obedient. There needs to be brief but persistent one-on-one teaching either with a

schoolteacher, parent, or therapist. The person working with the child will start by cueing

a certain behavior, than they use the most appropriate response and than provide
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reinforcement to the child. There are two different types of reinforcement and they are

positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement. The positive reinforcement has been

proved to provide the best help to people. It deals with increasing how often the child

with autism will use a desired behavior. It allows more stimuluses to be applied in the

individuals lives (Report, 2010).

Another model for helping out children is called the TEACCH Model. Its purpose is

to Create and cultivate the development of exemplary community-based services,

training, programs, and research to enhance the quality of life for individuals with ASD

and for their families (Edelson, Stephen). The TEACCH model follows a framework to

help support achievement of educational and every day goals. This frames work is:

1. Physical organization

2. Individual schedules

3. Work systems

4. Visual structure of materials in tasks and activities that determine what supports are

needed for adults with autism (Edelson, Stephen).

Children with autism struggle with receptive and expressive language, handling

changes in their environment, and sequential memory. Having a physical structure that is

organized more specifically to the persons needs is one effective way to help the child to

display positive behavior and also help them to be successful at achieving their goals.

Everyday schedules in school or at home should be modified to the individuals needs.

Having a set routine is one of the most fundamental skills in helping the individual with

autism. Work systems are what are expected of the individual. It is important to teach the

person to work independently. The final framework for the TEACCH model is visual
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structures. They can help with organization, clarification, and instruction to help assist the

person in understanding what is expected of him or her. To summarize the main ideas of

the TEACCH model, it is to help individuals who have autism. It helps the individuals to

achieve their academic goals and lifestyle goals because it creates structure, it helps

people know what they need to do, how much they should do, and when they are going to

be finished with an assignment. The visual schedules helps to create independence and

keeps the student on tasks. The final thing it does is makes sure there is a designated area

where certain activities are performed (TEACCH Autism Program).

Another effective method for promoting positive behavior is PBS or positive

behavioral supports. Its focus is on what can be changed in the environment of the

individual instead of trying to change the individual. Changing the environment can

reduce challenging behavior or the likeliness of the behavior to occur. There are different

reinforcements-meaning methods to help strengthen and encourage an individual to have

positive behavior. These different types of reinforcements are noncontingent, differential,

and extinction. A noncontingent reinforcement doesnt require the student to do

something. It will only reduce the levels of the behavior; it wont completely stop the

behavior. Differential reinforcement focuses on increasing the desired behaviors by

reinforcing the positive behavior or it replace an undesired behavior with one that is more

acceptable. The final reinforcement is called extinction because it is withholding

something when the behavior occurs in order to reduce future occurrences. Extinction

usually creates a temporary increase in behavior.

In order to help stop behavior that is not desired it is imperative to understand the

motivation behind the negative behavior. Often times children who act out are either
AUTISM 15

trying to get attention or receive access to something, they might be trying to avoid

having to do something or they are experiencing some kind of pain. A childs

misbehavior usually provides feedback about the environment they are involved in. It is

the environment that needs to be managed, not the student. Some other effective ways to

help with promoting positive behavior is varying up different tasks so that they child

doesnt get board. Offering praise when they do something will help them desire to keep

doing positive behavior. Also having the student keep record of their behaviors will help

them to be more aware of how they are acting out. Whenever misbehavior occurs, the

student should be encouraged to perform the replacement behavior. Teach the student

reliable communication to help them cope in the environment (Heflin, 2007).

For younger children who are struggling with appropriate social behavior, there are

stories called social stories that help teach the child appropriate social cues and responses.

These stories are homemade and have been proven to be more effective when they are

made specifically about the child themselves. The children learn more when it is written

from their point of view with his or her name and picture throughout the book. These

social stories really help children learn different social skills.

Social skills are focused on how to communicate and interact with others in

effective ways. Is involves expressing language through eye contact, words, and body

language. An effective list to go through when teaching social skills to a child with

autism is to:

1. Set a goal

2. Teach-explain behavior and importance

3. Model desired behavior

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4. Prom the behavior through gestures

5. Reinforcement

6. Generalize- encourages practice outside of a normal setting

(Swaggart,1995).

In conclusion, people with autism have so much potential. They are gifted in

certain areas and should have many opportunities to use their gifts to help out others.

Being a parent of an autistic child can be very draining. It is important that parents have a

good support team that can help them create accommodations to help with their child. It

is also helpful if parents understand to what degree their child has autism. This allows the

parent to understand more in depth some of the challenges the child may face.

Schoolteachers also can provide a lot of information or help parents to find resources that

are available to helping out children with autism. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-

day Saints is a religion that focuses on strengthens the family. In one of the churches

articles it states, Learning how to raise a child with a disability is a process, not an

event ( Family with disabilities, 2016). Children with autism have the capability of

progressing and learn to deal with their weaknesses. It is a process that takes study, time,

and effort. Not only can autistic childrens lives be changed with proper support, the

family lives can also be blessed and changed. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day

Saints has a great website that gives information to parents, siblings, and community

leaders who may be involved in the life of a precious son or daughter of God who has

autism. President Packer, a well-known leader of the church, gave an address in 1991 to

families who have children with disabilities. He states:

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You parents and you families whose lives must be reordered because of a

handicapped one, whose resources and time must be devoted to them, are special

heroes. You are manifesting the works of God with every thought, with every

gesture of tenderness and care you extend to the handicapped loved one. Never

mind the tears nor the hours of regret and discouragement; never mind the times

when you feel you cannot stand another day of what is required. You are living

the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in exceptional purity. And you perfect

yourselves in the process.

Children who have autism are special spirits sent to earth that are given imperfect

bodies. Even though they can be a challenge at times and can cause many heartaches and

tears, they still can teach many valuable lessons to us who dont struggle with a disability

like autism. There are many supports out there that when understood and used properly,

can be a way of helping out the individuals with autism. If we try to open our eyes and

notice the good in every child, we will start to see them as a blessing instead of a burden.

We will fulfill what President Packer said by being able to perfect ourselves in the

process of helping out these valiant children.

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Work Cited

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while raising a child with autism. Journal Of Intellectual & Developmental
Disability, 34(2), 142-152.

Autism Spectrum Disorder, Diagnostic and Student Manual, 5th Edition ( DSM-V)

Autism Speaks (2015) Study: Half of All Cases Trace to Rare Gene-disabiling Mutation.

Retrieved: 05-17-2016 from https://www.autismspeaks.org/science/science-

news/study-half-all-autism-cases-trace-rare-gene-disabling-mutations

Autism Speaks (2016) Wired Differently: Exploring Brain Connectivity in Autism.

Retrieved 05-12-16https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2016/04/19/wired-

differently-exploring-brain-connectivity-autism

Derricott, Tara( 2016), Interview May 16, 2016

Eaves, L. & Helana, H. (2006) Young Adult Outcome of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Edelson, Stephen. "Structured TeachingThe TEACCH Method | Autism Research

Institute." Structured TeachingThe TEACCH Method | Autism Research Institute.

Autism Research Institute, n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.

Families with Disabilities- Parents of Children with Disabilities. Retrieved 05-18-2016

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Heflin, Juane, and Donna Fiorino. Alaimo (2007). Students with Autism Spectrum

Disorders: Effective Instructional Practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall

Packer, Boyd K. (1991) The Moving of the Water - Ensign May 1991 - Ensign. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints 1991

Pierce, J.M., Spriggs, A.D.,Gast, D.L.,&Lusecre,D.(2013) Effect of Visual Activity

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Swaggart, B. L., & Gagnon, E. (1995). Using social stories to teach social and behavioral
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"TEACCH Autism Program." Autism Speaks. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2016.

TED( 2010, Feb 24) Temple Grandin: The World needs all kinds of Minds. Retrieved

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn_9f5x0f1Q

The Atlantic (2015) Rewriting Autism History Retrieved: 05-12-201

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/08/autism-history-aspergers-

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Sons
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