This inclusion of substantially different disorders, with wildly different challenges, in one "spectrum" of disorders implies that the very serious challenges of persons with Autistic Disorder who lack a fundamental understanding of the world, who have very limited abstract thought and who have very little in the way of communication skills are somehow fundamentally similar to persons with good to excellent facilities in all these crucial areas of life.
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iPods & iPads are Innovative Tech Tools for Special Education - 0 views
Building Executive Functioning Skills - 1 views
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shared by Tero Toivanen on 12 May 09
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Facing Autism in New Brunswick: Autism Diagnoses: DSM V Should Separate Autistic Disord... - 0 views
autisminnb.blogspot.com/...ses-dsm-v-should-separate.html
autism diagnoses DSM V HFA Asperger Syndrome
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Research is resulting in more and more people describing autism in the plural as autism disorders with different causes and different possible treatments.
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It is time to merge High Functioning autism disorders with Aspergers Disorder and separate them from Autistic Disorder.
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It is time for the DSM to recognize the importance of levels of ability to function in and understand the world and to reflect those levels in their classification of development disorders.
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shared by Tero Toivanen on 01 Apr 11
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Sensory Friendly Classrooms with Dr. Roya Ostovar - The SPD Blogger Network - 3 views
www.spdbloggernetwork.com/...lassrooms-with-dr-roya-ostovar
classrooms sensory friendly accommodations school SPD special education special needs SPED classroom autism
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Having sensory friendly settings is common sense and it benefits everyone, all students and learners as well as teachers and staff. Changing the classroom also teaches all students how to find practical and adaptive ways of making their setting work for them to allow for optimal learning and functioning, a skill that is beneficial to everyone. It also makes more sense to change the environment to fit the child’s needs and not the other way around. Changing the classroom helps the child with SPD blend in with other students, and it is not isolating, or stigmatizing.
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A sensory friendly classroom improves attention, concentration, ability to focus for longer periods of time, learning, social functioning, and it also reduces the overall level of stress
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For more specific and multiple examples of the accommodations that can be made, a book I authored titled “The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Processing Disorder” offers a comprehensive guide.
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Vision: Reduce/ eliminate clutter and visual distractions; modify assignments to be shorter; use a highlighter
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Auditory: Reduce/eliminate distracting noise; play Mozart or calming music in the background when possible
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Olfactory: Use scented markers to wake kids up; have lavender lotion or soap; and avoid noxious odors in the classroom
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Vestibular: Allow movement and breaks; offer therapy balls to sit on; Movin-Sit cushions benefit the whole classroom; stretch breaks, start class with movement activities
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Properioception: Movement, Movin-Sit cushions, Brain Gym, Yoga, Chair push ups (i.e. sitting on hands and pushing up); chairs and tables at right height and positioned correctly
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A sensory friendly classroom gets the kids with SPD and ASD ready to learn; improves the overall functioning of the child including learning, attention, concentration, social functioning, and behavioral presentation; and lowers their stress and anxiety levels
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Two quick suggestions: 1) Simplify the classroom: Less is more. Take a minimalistic approach to setting up the room and; 2) Support all learning styles: Some kids learn through auditory channels, some visual, and some through kinesthetic and hands on activities. By the same token, incorporate activities that support the sensory channel and each child’s sensory profile
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shared by Tero Toivanen on 30 Mar 09
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Autistic Aphorisms: Intelligence, Genius, and Autism - 0 views
autisticaphorisms.blogspot.com/...ligence-genius-and-autism.html
aphorisms intelligence autism genius Pythagoras Plato Aristotle Archimedes Newton Gauss Einstein
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Professor James Flynn has incorporated an interesting sidebar into his book What is Intelligence? In it he lists his seven choices for Western civilization’s greatest minds: Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Newton, Gauss, and Einstein.
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Hundreds of research teams, maybe even thousands by now, have so convinced themselves that intelligence must originate from inside our skulls, have so convinced themselves that only within networks of cranial neurons can be found the secrets to humanity’s growing mental capacity, that all have managed to overlook completely the far more plausible alternative—the one existing right before our very eyes.
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It is time to reconsider that conventional wisdom, time to regard genius with a different set of eyes; for genius is not a function of greater intelligence, genius is the description of how intelligence grows.
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Look at the content of any intelligence test—language, arithmetic, patterns, designs. What we measure with the aid of those I.Q. booklets are not the abilities we inherited from out our animal past, but instead their exact counterpart; we measure only those skills the species has been adding throughout all its history since. In some sense, an intelligence test measures the modernness of an individual; an intelligence test measures an individual’s ability to appropriate for himself the same set of skills the species has been appropriating as a whole—skills that do not find their origin in our biological nature, but instead owe their existence to the strange, brewing mixture of non-biological pattern, structure and form that has been rapidly taking shape all around us.
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The unusual characteristics of humanity’s transformational individuals are not the result of their genius, they are genius’s prerequisite
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But counter to prevailing wisdom, there are many autistic individuals—most likely a majority—who do make substantial progress by means of an alternative perceptual course, a course that allows them not only to navigate meaningfully their surrounding world, but also to assimilate, if somewhat awkwardly and belatedly, to the human species itself (and thereby explaining how autism, estimated to be present in nearly one percent of the human population, could go entirely unrecognized until as recently as sixty-five years ago).
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all autistic individuals must crystallize their existence by means of this alternative perceptual course—it becomes, in essence, autism’s most salient feature.
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The unusual behaviors and interests of autistic children—lining up toys, staring at ceiling fans, twirling, flapping hands repeatedly, fascination with knobs, buttons, switches, letters, shapes and digits, watching the same video again and again, singing the same song over and over—these activities betray a form of perception completely unlike that of most other children, a perception noticeably absent in social and biological focus, but also noticeably drawn to symmetry, repetition and pattern.
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The unusual routines of autistic children are the natural, indeed the expected, mode of expression for a form of perception engaged primarily by the structural aspects of the non-social, non-biological world.
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Autistic individuals would have been the first to notice the inherent structure contained in the natural world—the geometry of plants, the isomorphisms of natural objects, the logic of the celestial seasons—only they would have had motivation to embrace such form, only they would have had the need to perceive nature’s symmetry, repetition and pattern in order to form their cognitive grounding.
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We know only bits and pieces about the four Greeks on Professor Flynn’s list, but filling in with the traits from the list’s more modern members, we can reasonably summarize all the unifying characteristics: late- or strange-talking, socially awkward, irascible, obsessed with structure, compelled by form, unusually—not necessarily greatly—intelligent.
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The continuing medicalization of autism, the insistent demonization of autism’s spontaneous effect—these carry the danger of an unforeseen consequence. For the cure of autism will not be the end of a tragic brain disorder; autism’s eradication will not see the passing of a troubling mental disease. The removal of autism from the entire human species will produce only an ironic solution to the mystery of our expanding human intelligence, it will produce the ignoble end to the Flynn effect.
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When confronted by data that runs counter to our accustomed way of seeing things, we as humans have but two choices: we can try to explain the results away, or we can adjust our perception of the experienced world. The former choice paves the all-too-common road of modern academic science; the latter, as described above, walks the more promising path of genius.
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Autism is not a mental illness, not a brain disorder, it is instead the source of humanity’s changing perception of its experienced world; it is, with care and understanding, genius’s fertile soil.
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shared by Tero Toivanen on 30 Dec 10
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12 Tips to Setting up an Autism Classroom « Principal Kendrick - 6 views
kendrik2.wordpress.com/...setting-up-an-autism-classroom
autism special education special needs students SPED ASD:teaching classroom ASD:educators tips
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In a world that’s ever changing, routine and structure provide great comfort to a child on the autism spectrum. Define routines clearly.
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Make sure children know what to do if they finish ahead of time. Typically, children with autism do not use free time productively; therefore strive to have as little downtime between activities as possible.
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Remember to keep explanations simple and short about each picture or concentration will wane. Give written instructions instead of verbal whenever you can. Highlight or underline any text for emphasis.
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People with autism like order and detail. They feel in control and secure when they know what to expect
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Make sure you have this schedule in a very visible place in your classroom and direct the students’ attention to it frequently, particularly a few minutes before you begin the next activity.
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Written schedules are very effective for good readers. These can also be typed up and placed on a student’s desk.
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Many people with autism find it difficult to filter out background noise and visual information. Children with autism pay attention to detail. Wall charts and posters can be very distracting.
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Always keep your language simple and concrete. Get your point across in as few words as possible.
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Give very clear choices and try not to leave choices open ended. You’re bound to get a better result by asking “Do you want to read or draw?” than by asking “What do you want to do now?”
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Children with autism are not rude. They simply don’t understand social rules or how they’re supposed to behave.
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Despite the lack of reaction they sometimes present, hearing you speak about them in a negative way will crush their self esteem.
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Children on the autism spectrum feel secure when things are constant. Changing an activity provides a fear of the unknown. This elevates stress which produces anxiety
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Using schedules helps with transitions too as students have time to “psyche themselves up” for the changes ahead.
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Making decisions is equally important and this begins by teaching students to make a choice. Offer two choices.
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When giving a directive or asking a question, make sure you allow for extra processing time before offering guidance. Self help skills are essential to learn
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Avoid this temptation and make sure you allow ample time before you abandon an idea. Remember that consistency is a key component of success. If you’re teaching a student to control aggression, the same plan should be implemented in all settings, at school and at home.
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We all love being rewarded and people with autism are no different. Rewards and positive reinforcement are a wonderful way to increase desired behavior
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There are many reward systems which include negative responses and typically, these do not work as well.
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Focusing on negative aspects can often lead to poor results and a de-motivated student. When used correctly, rewards are very powerful and irresistible
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Every reward should be showered in praise. Even though people on the spectrum might not respond typically when praised, they enjoy it just as much as you!
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People on the autism spectrum respond well to order and lists are no exception. Almost anything can be taught in a list format.
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While typical people often think in very abstract format, people on the spectrum have a very organized way of thought. Finding ways to work within these parameters can escalate the learning curve.
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It helps to be creative when you’re teaching students with autism. People on the spectrum think out of the box and if you do too, you will get great results.
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Often, people with autism have very specific interests. Use these interests as motivators.
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Another great strategy to use is called “Teaching with questions”. This method keeps students involved, focused and ensures understanding.
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Don’t demand eye contact if a student has trouble processing visual and auditory information simultaneously.
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By correcting every action a person does, you’re sending a message that they’re not good enough the way they are. When making a decision about what to correct, always ask yourself first, “Will correcting this action help this person lead a productive and happy life?”
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Interview with Robert Koegel | Pivotal Response Treatments for Autism Author on ABC's S... - 1 views
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The NLP became synonymous with motivation and motivation is pivotal in teaching children with autism to respond to multiple questions.
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Children often hate having to perform drill practices involved with other autism treatments, they feel like they are being forced to do something they don't enjoy and they react to this by causing a scene to get out of treatment.
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PRT is effective in all of the child’s environments and versatile enough to use at home, in clinical settings, in an inclusive classroom, and in the community, and parents can easily start folding PRT strategies into the child's established routine right away.
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1988 was the first time the word pivotal was used to describe this method. It was referred to previously as the NLP. It is considered a behavior intervention with similarities to the Lovaas method/ABA.
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"areas that are central to wide areas of functioning such that improvements occur across a large number of behaviors."
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Once they understand the connection between using their own words and getting something they want, they will start to use words spontaneously to communicate their needs. Mastering this one pivotal behavior, motivating the child to understand the connection between their own efforts to communicate with the outcomes of their efforts, will have an enormous ripple effect on other skills.
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It works because there is a motivator that makes the child want to work to accomplish the task at hand, the reward for accomplishing the task has a direct connection to it.
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PRT was named by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences in 2001 as one of the top 10 state-of-the-art treatments for autism in the United States.
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A child who is highly motivated to communicate and is having fun doing it will learn much more rapidly than a child who is not motivated and not enjoying what they are learning.
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What Do New Genetic Findings Mean to Families with Autism? - 0 views
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The variant we detected at the 5p14 locus (common variant) has been present for a long time in the genome (most likely since man moved out of Africa) and this region is highly conserved between species which means that it is regulating gene expression and gene function (the CHD10 gene being the most critical one).
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We know that the association is strongest in those individual who have the greatest abnormalities in social skills/interactions and those that show least interest in interactions; we have not detected any other characteristics yet, but we keep working on it.
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Once we learn about this difference, we can then look for medications that block the consequences of the variant and once we make sure they are safe, we can then start testing these new medications in children who are at risk of developing autism, with the objective of preventing autism (i.e., avoid breakdown in connections between nerves and abnormality in brain connectivity).
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Response: Yes, all of them could be tested in utero; we have identified 10 new variations (9 rare and 1 common) and we have replicated (and confired) four other once that were previously published (neurexin 1, contactin 4, 15q11 and 22q11). However, we do not have a yes or no answer as to whether the fetus will be autistic -- but if we are testing a fetus in an autistic family the value of the test is much higher.
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shared by Tero Toivanen on 01 Jul 09
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Research Unearths New Treatments for Autism - 2 views
www.apa.org/...pi4.html
autism research TEACCH Young Autism Project Lovaas DIR ABA PRT Pivotal Response Training social engagement system middle ear music intensity
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The Utah researchers found that children receiving a combination of the two treatments (Lovaas-type training at school and TEACCH methods at home) showed three to four times greater progress on all outcome tests than did children who received only the school-based treatment. That study was reported in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Vol. 28, No. 1, p. 2532).
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Researchers in Washington, D.C., are comparing a discrete trial training approach with a "developmental, individual-difference, relationship based" (DIR) approach, says child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan, MD, professor of psychiatry at George Washington University Medical School.
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Psychologist Robert Koegel, PhD, at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his colleagues are attempting to tailor a standard treatment to the specific needs of an autistic child and family. The standard treatment is called pivotal response training
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An initial retrospective study is comparing two groups of 20 children initially diagnosed with autism who were functioning well after two or more years of treatment, either with a discrete trial training approach or the DIR approach. The study aims to determine if treatment differences lead to subtle differences in outcome, for example, in terms of flexibility, emotional range, creativity and richness of the child's inner life. Investigators are planning to follow this research with a prospective, randomized, more rigorous study of the two approaches.
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"In our previous studies we found out that it looks like you can't just deliver a standard treatment to autistic kids, that there's so much variability among the children that what works for one child doesn't work for another child," he says. "Our hypothesis is that...unless you individualize treatment, you're not going to get the best effect."
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Researchers at the University of Maryland are testing an intervention to trigger children's "social engagement system," which includes behaviors such as listening, looking, facial expressions and vocalizations that support social interaction, says psychologist Stephen Porges, PhD. The treatment is designed to improve autistic children's ability to interact with others, thereby making them more receptive to traditional therapies.
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The intervention is based on the theory that tensing the middle ear muscles enables people to pick out the human voice from lower frequency sounds in the environment, Porges says. Treatment involves exercising middle ear muscles by playing music that has been altered to include only frequencies associated with the human voice, which improves one's ability to listen to human voices. This, in turn, stimulates the entire social engagement system, Porges says. About 80 percent of 50 children with autism or other behavioral problems receiving this treatment via five 45-minute sessions in a double blind, randomized controlled study showed marked improvements in listening, language and other communication skills.
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In a report last year in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (Vol. 28, No. 1, p. 15-23) evaluating an intensive home-based discrete trial training intervention, Stephen Sheinkopf, PhD, of the University of Miami and Bryna Siegel, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, noted that children receiving an average of only 21 hours per week of treatment showed gains in IQ comparable to those achieved by children receiving 32 hours per week. The intensity question remains an issue of importance for the autism community. "If we need 40 hours a week, fine," says psychologist Geraldine Dawson, PhD, of the University of Washington. "But if you only need 25, you have to realize that 40 hours is a tremendous burden not only financially, but on families and on the child."