Autism Spectrum Disorder 

NEWSLETTER 
October 22, 2019 

Understanding Autism Spectrum 

Disorder.  
By Jennifer Rogers 

Definition 
“According to IDEA, autism is defined as follows:  

1. Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal 

communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely 
affects a child’s educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism 
are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to 
environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory 
experiences.  
2. Autism does not apply if a child’s educational performance is adversely affected primarily 
because the child has an emotional disturbance.  

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3. A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age three could be diagnosed as 
having autism if the criteria in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section are satisfied. (IDEA 20 U.S.C. 
§1401 [2004], 20 C.F.R. §300.8[c][1][i-iii])”  

Subgroups: 
1. ​ iological Factors​ is where they focus on the genetics which researchers speculate the DNA is 
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most likely responsible for causing the dysfunction within the brain.  
2. Spectrum Disorder and the Brain ​is where the brain has an imbalance where there are fewer 
cells or have higher cell density which can cause their brain development to be atypical.  
3. Environmental Factors​ is where the environment that the children grows up in affects them 
on how the disorder occurs. 
4. Autism and Immunizations​ is where parents and professionals tend to assume that 
vaccinations are linked to autism even though there is no evidence to support this claim 

Characteristics: 
1. Cognitive and Academic: ​are irregular patterns that affects their rote memory, theory of 
mind, and problem solving.  
a. Rote memory is a strength within people with autism. It is when the child can not 
understand the thing but easily remember it.  
b. Theory of mind is where the children have difficulty understanding that other people 
have their own opinions and point of view on topics 
c. Problem solving is where children use only one way to solve the problem even if it is 
successful or not. 
2. Social and Emotional: ​are others needs like language disorders, other language problems, 
immaturity and communicative intent which directly relate to social and emotional 
characteristics.  
a. Language disorders can occur as early as their first birthday and affects the distance 
between people during a conversation.  
b. Other language problems is when they can not comprehend ideas such as metaphors, 
allegories and rhetorical questions. 
c. Immaturity is communication with poor social skills and understanding the social cues 
of other people 
d. Communicative intent is when they often do not communicate for attention or social 
purposes. 
3. Behavior: ​are where the child have difficulty in self-stimulatory behaviors, generalization 
difficulties, and sensory issues.  
a. Self-stimulatory behaviors are behavior patterns like hand flapping, or rocking, which 
creates an interference with the social acceptance.  

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b. Generalization difficulties is when children can not accomplish a task given from one 
classroom to another classroom so it is the teachers that guide them through their 
strategies.  
c. Sensory issues is where they receive occupational therapy to help them work on their 
difficulties. 

Recommended Educational Practices: 

1. Environmental supports:​ are the changes in the student’s surroundings which are important 
to the instructional programming like visual supports or home base. 
a. Visual support is where the classroom has the students schedule or task card visually 
presented to help the student.  
b. Home base is a safe place that is open for them to calm down and prevent a 
meltdown.  
2. Assistive Technology:​ has a video based intervention that help children understand the 
social, self-help or academic skills.  
3. Instructional Practices: ​are proven to be beneficial and has three parts. 
a. Priming is a preview of the lesson before class by a parent or someone trusted to help 
reduce stress by the familiarity of the lesson by the student. 
b. Discrete Trial Interventions is the easiest to implement due to the various approaches 
that require specialized training and time commitment.  
c. Prompting is effective by rewarding the students achievements which allows more 
students to perform a specific behavior wanted by the teacher. 
4. Social Skills Supports​: is to assist in the creation of positive behavior which gives more social 
interaction and the opportunity to build new friendships. 
a. Instruction: is where the students needs to be specifically told the social skills used 
daily.  
b. Social Stories is a video or text which describes that social situation like their feeling or 
reaction from the students perspective.  
c. SOCCSS means Situation, Options, Consequences, Choices, Strategies, Simulation. It 
can be use interpretive or individual strategies depending on the needs of the child. 

Additional Resources 
Very Anxious Mommy: ​https://www.veryanxiousmommy.com/9-tips-for-surviving-autism-meltdowns/   

This blog is a great blog in general! It is written by a mother with autism who has two children 
with autism. She is not a health care professional but has amazing tips that she’s learned and used to 
help with her children and herself! This specific blog post includes tips for handling autism 
meltdowns. It explains what they are, how they differ from tantrums, and how to handle them in the 
most effective way.  

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Global Autism Project ​https://www.globalautismproject.org/about-autism/   

This website is very informational about autism and what it is. Through the signs of autism, 
there are descriptions of how the autism presents itself throughout their lifespan. It also mentions the 
autism spectrum and how everyone with autism is at a different place of the spectrum. For a parents 
of someone with autism, this website will be beneficial for them to read since it explains it simply and 
easily. It mentions the Applied Behavior Analysis is a wonderful therapy that can help the individual 
live meaningful lives within their community. It gives the parents a sense of guidance and hope that 
their child can have a happy life in society.   

References

Friend, M. (2018). Special education: Contemporary perspective for school professionals (5th ed.).

Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 

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