Frea, W. (2010). Preparing adolescents with autism for
successful futures. Exceptional Parent,
40(4), 26-29.
This
article describes the difficulties that teenagers with autism encounter during
the ever changing time of adolescence from physical changes to friend changes
and social expectation changes. Children
with autism are at risk for acting out and displaying symptoms of depression,
loneliness, and confusion. They have
difficulty expressing their feelings of fear as well. Some repress to interests that they had when
they were younger or spend time in repetitive behaviors as ways to cope. The author offers suggestions for caregivers
and teachers to help these adolescents cope with their struggles that they
encounter today and for the rest of their lives.
This article
was in line with the book’s description of adolescence as a difficult time for
teenagers, especially for those compounded with disabilities. It followed the idea that relationships and
social interactions become more complicated and that teenagers are more than
ever influenced by their peers. I found
that the following suggestions would be beneficial in a classroom setting for
students with autism: giving a visual schedule of activities, modeling new
skills with videos, and breaking down any social interaction into simple steps. The overall goals of students with ASD are to
observe and control their own behavior and become better at monitoring, recording,
and rewarding their own behavior.
Another suggestion is to set short term goals for developing
relationships and independent adult living.
It followed the same idea in the book of developing a transition plan as
early as possible. I found the suggestions
of teaching students to identify appropriate sources of support like doctors
and finding meaningful replacement behaviors for difficult conversations to be
especially useful. The author explained
that it is necessary to teach skills like presenting a new topic or excusing
oneself from a conversation in order for adolescents to lead a successful life.
I think
that this article was good at providing a brief overview of what to expect
during adolescence for students with autism.
However, it fell short in providing many concrete examples of how to
properly address the needs of the students in a classroom and home
environment. They were more of general
thoughts and suggestions. It was one of
the few times, though, that I have read about contacting a BCBA to help address
any behavior concerns that parents might have for their children. I am sure that this will be more of an
emerging strategy as more individuals become certified behavior analysts.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI teach students with Autism and I can attest to the fact that giving a visual schedule of activities, modeling new skills with videos, and breaking down any social interaction into simple steps is extremely beneficial. Throughout the day, my students have transition cards that their staff will give to them when it is time to check their schedule. They will then deposit their card into an envelope next to their schedule and pull off the Velcro picture icon associated with the next activity. Most of my social interactions with my students are broken down into a specific schedules or greeting choice boards to ensure that my students understand what I am trying to communicate and feel less anxiety. My team's BCBA is often consulted for a variety of behavior concerns or even just to answer a basic questions about behavior. I think the article you researched provided a variety of helpful tools to implement when working with children with Autism.
Lauren
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIt sounded like you picked a good article to start with as far as good strategies for working with students with autism. I liked that Lauren supported the strategies you read about and shared her personal stories for what works in her classroom. Sometimes it's hard to just trust the research, but it helps to talk to people who have tried and true experiences to guide us moving forward as educators. You did a nice job connecting the article to what we are learning about in class and explaining how the article, in your opinion, fell short. It was a good synopsis of the article and I learned some additional strategies that work in the classroom. Thank you for your good summary.
Kristin
Lisa
ReplyDeleteIts so true that adolescence is such a difficult time for children with out disabilities that adding the stress of Autism would be great. I think having a plan in place of these of kids would be so beneficial to them. I do agree that helping these students find the resources that they will need would be of great help to them in the future of their lives.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your article. I am sure it is very difficult for all of these teenagers going through changes in their lives especially with Autism. I have a niece with Aspergers Syndrome who just turned 12. She is a very visual learner and responds well to charts and having a schedule. I thought the teaching strategies you provided for the autistic students would be very beneficial. I agree with setting short term goals. This works well for many people, with or without ID or Autism. When reaching a goal the student will feel successful and have a positive attitude hopefully in and out of school.
I really enjoyed this article you decided on. I teach a student with Autism and I 100% agree that visuals are the best route to take with assisting or supplementing teaching. In my personal experience, I use the SMART board and she is instantly excited to be my vollunteer to go up and assist me with moving things around and/or pointing to things on the screen. She absolutely loves technology and being able to express her thoughts and feelings with it. Our team has definitely seen an improvement since bringing in visuals. There were a lot of useful tips that I will implement in my teaching.
ReplyDeleteThis article sparked a lot of interest, nice choice! This sounds like a fitting article as we talk about transition planning for students with high incidence disabilities in the coming weeks. I appreciate your well-written summary that highlighted both the strengths and weaknesses of the paper. Excellent work.
ReplyDelete