Running head: STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 1

Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Student’s Name
Tutor’s Name
Course
Institution
Date of Submission
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 2

Table of Contents

Content Page Number

Title page…………………………………………………………………………………….1

Table of Contents…………………………………………………………………………….2

Abstract………………………………………………………………………………………3

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………….4

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder…………………………………………………...4-7

Characteristic of children with autism…………………………………………………….7-9

Prevalence of autism………………………………………………………………………..9-11

Challenges facing schools with autistic students………………………………………….11-13

Bridging Social and Academic Deficits……………………………………………………13-15

Comorbidities Leading To Student Factors………………………………………………15-16

Importance of Understanding and Addressing the

Needs of Students with Autism…………………………………………………………….16-17

Reference…………………………………………………………………………………….18-20
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 3

Abstract

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental syndrome that impacts the

communication of both children and adults. There are several symptoms of ASD which include

poor social abilities and unusual behaviors such as monotonous patterns of behaviors and

interests. In recent years, the prevalence of ASD has gradually risen. CDC reported that about 1

in 59 children is diagnosed with ASD. There are unique challenges that students with ASD

present to schools. This paper will discuss the importance of understanding and addressing the

necessities of students with ASD. Schools are obliged to meet the needs of such learners by

ensuring there are inclusive school programs. Areas of interest include the prevalence and

symptoms of ASD, characteristics of children with ASD, challenges faced by students with

autism, strategies to bridge social and academic deficits, and comorbidities contributing to

student factors.
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 4

Introduction
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting the

behaviors and communication of children and adults as well (Christensen et. Al., 2018). ASD

can be identified at any time of life. However, it is referred to as a "developmental disorder" as

its signs mainly appear during the first two years of human life. Various research has concluded

that people who have ASD have difficulty communicating with other individuals, restricted

interests and monotonous behaviors. Autism is a spectrum disorder as the severity of the

condition differs from one person to the other. Autism has no known cure. However, there are

treatment measures that can be taken to improve an individual's ability to function. This paper

will discuss; the main characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, the prevalence of ASD,

challenges faced by students who have ASD, ways to bridge social and academic deficits, and

comorbidities leading to student factors. The significance of understanding and addressing the

necessities of students who have autism will also be discussed.

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

This disorder is characterized by several symptoms like having poor social skills and

unusual behaviors. It is listed as a DSM-5 disorder with peculiar diagnostics divided into two

spheres: first, social communications and interactions and secondly confined, monotonous

patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities (Stepanova et al., 2017). For children to be

diagnosed with autism disorder, they must have symptoms in both spheres, and one with

symptoms from only one sphere cannot be diagnosed with it. These symptoms should be present

at an early age and not for the first time later in life and appear in a variety of frameworks.

Autism cannot be specifically defined because of the diversity of symptoms in different people.
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 5

Several doctors who’ve been studying this condition have concluded that autism looks different

in every person.

Recent research was done to two autistic kids Bill and Mark, in the same semi-urban

neighborhood. Mark had moderate-functioning autism while Bill had a low-functioning autism.

Due to the vast differences between them, people didn’t realize the autism in Mark but typically

clearly identified it in Bill. Bill had a problem in making eye contact with everyone, his

language skills were poor, had echolalia (the tendency of repeating words and phrases), and was

socially disjoined. Moderate-functioning kids are diagnosed later because they are often caught

in the middle and forgotten than high or low-functioning ones. The earliest stage a child is

diagnosed with autism disorder is between 12 and 18 months, but a final decision is made in the

kindergarten period or later. Moderate-range autistic kids like mark are diagnosed later maybe

while six years old. Low-functioning autistic personnel like Bill have the typical condition

which people know like being highly intellect and high functioning like the western legend,

“Raymond Babbitt” of the rain man. These different types of autism were referred to as separate

disorders, but research has corrected this mistake.

Formerly, autism was broken into independent divisions like Autistic disorders, Pervasive

developmental disorder, and Asperger’s disorder, not differently stated (PDD-NOS). These

corrections came with the changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5 (Pierce et al., 2016). Despite these

disorders being under the blanket of the term autism spectrum disorder, there are three rigor

layers of autism were low, moderate and high functioning autism comes from. These acerbity

layers help in guiding the types of arrangements and assistance required to help the family and

the child. Level 1 need backing, level 2 extraordinary support, while level 3 requires very steady

support; Raymond Babbitt would be considered level 1 since he was high functioning and Bill
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 6

would be regarded as level 3 autistic because he is low functioning and requires a lot of support

to meet his day-to-day life activities. These levels are not to determine the services; however,

they are essential to custodians, school management, and therapists, to decide how to assist the

child. Although there are several layers of austerity, the core defalcations of autism spectrum

disorder are generally across the board.

Kids with ASD are usually either over sensitive or under sensitive to light, noise,

temperature or clothing. Their senses: hearing, smell, light, and taste either take a lot or little

information about the environment around them. Some children are hypersensitive to sensory

experiences that usually outgrow them. These children may cover their ears when there are loud

noises, or eat specific textured food only. Some are under sensitive to the environment which

they are in: some might, for instance, remain in heavy clothes on hot days, or regularly rub their

legs and arms against things around them (piersce,2016). Research has shown that autistic people

have different components of the eye from those of non-autistic children due to a chemical

imbalance or neural deficiencies (Lever & Geurts, 2016). This result in them having higher

sensitivity to color differentiation than ordinary people; thus exquisite differences in color hues

profoundly affects them. Some react positively to bright colors while others aren’t affected.

Those sensory problems affect the whole family, for example, oversensitivity to noise limits

them from doing family activities that are done in noise and still affect the color themes of

houses and clothes bought.

Teenagers with autism spectrum disorder have social communication and interaction

defalcations and monotonous and restricted behaviors and interests. A misinterpretation is that

children with autism do not want any social relationships or interactions. However, many autistic

children do want friends and wish to retain social relations, but they find it very challenging to
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 7

do so. Children with autism find it cumbersome to read facial expressions, body language or

social signs (Stepanova et al., 2017). They, therefore, have a difficult situation because they lack

proper social skills for effective social interactions. Apart from having poor skills in reading

social signs, they lack understanding of pragmatics, the language use in social context. Small

talk is one of the troublesome conversations for autistic children; therefore they have a problem

in providing quality details and information during discussions. Because of this, these children

have a variety of ways to communicate.

Characteristics of children with ASD

They can communicate through electronic devices, objects, or art. Custodians and parents

should understand that all children express differently if autistic or not and should try to accept

and understand the method of communication that they use. Some create art to communicate

instead of touching or hugging someone. There are also technological devices that some use to

chat while they are maybe at school. Children who have few verbal skills communicate via AAC

(augmentative and substitute communications) systems, sign language, or through written

language and their abilities to communicate through these alternative methods should be

included in this appraisal of language skills (Pierce et al., 2016). School counselors should be

aware of these alternative methods of communication while working with children who

communicate in different ways. Autistic children may bring objects they need to work with

instead of verbally asking for permission. For example, an autistic child may bring a jacket when

they want to go outside, and a custodian should be able to read and interpret these signs. These

children may have not only communication shortfalls but also confined monotonous interests and

behaviors.
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 8

Confined and monotonous behaviors are part of the distinguishing criteria for autism

spectrum disorder. Autistic children may line up toys, insist on the same route they used before,

concuss their bodies, apron their hands, or show an unusual interest in anomalous things. There

are two sub-categories of confined and monotonous behaviors; first, monotonous sensory and

motor behaviors and secondly, persistence on monotony behaviors. Confined sensory and motor

behaviors include concussing, hands flapping, pencil spinning-repetitive objects use, etc.

persistence on monotonous things like driving on the same route daily, having a same daily

routine, being stubborn to changes, and having certain formalities (Stepanova et al., 2017). Most

of these behaviors are typically dependent on the age of the child. Under the age of four, the

typical behaviors include stubbornness on behavior and compulsive reactions which are standard

in this developmental stage. However, around the age of four, maturation causes a decrease in

these monotonous behaviors (Lever & Geurts, 2016).

Mark, who was used in a research as earlier stated, had a few monotonous behaviors such

as listening to the same songs over-and-over again at home, if in a car the radio has to be tuned

to a specific station only, picks at his fingers and collects odd things. In his pockets he always

had things because he thought that he needed to do so and sometimes when items were found in

his pockets, he would take them away and take them to his pillow or any other place which he

thought that they were safer. He had a special attachment with his things.

Research has shown that monotonous behaviors are seen in children who have poor

verbal communication and adaptive skills. It has also demonstrated that these monotonous

behaviors lessen as the autistic child matures up (Pierce et al., 2016). The cause of these

monotonous behaviors is unknown, but some theories have been developed to explain this: for

example, when children flap their hands, it may be a sign of being excited. Also, children being
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 9

self-stimulating maybe because the child suspires stimulation and self-stimulation serves to

amaze the nervous system. More research is being done on monotonous behaviors and the

various changes with time in autistic children.

After the analysis has been done and a child has shown confined, monotonous patterns of

behaviors, and shortfalls in social communication, many regimens are put in place. Admitting

that there is no cure for autism, a wide range of treatments are available to help the person to live

a happy and prosperous life still. Due to each autistic person being different from the other, the

response to treatment is still different between people. Some of the procedures include changes

in the diet, vitamins, blankets, and weighted vests, certain forms of therapy and sensory

integration. Whatever kind of treatment is chosen should be tailored to fulfill the needs of the

child, and of the kinfolk, thus a child’s full potential is reached. One of the most used treatment

forms to autistic children is applied behavior analysis (ABA) (Stepanova et al., 2017). Applied

behavior analysis helps to increase acceptable behaviors and eliminate inconvenient behaviors

through the assistance of character psychiatrist. Sessions with an ABA psychiatrist are mostly

done in the environment of the child. Research done on the effectiveness of this ABA method

done have shown it is successful in many instances, but there are many criticisms on this therapy

though. Children with autism and undergoes ABA sessions are found to be very successful, but

there are still criticisms on the long term effects. The ABA therapist visits the house of the client

and twice a week on the home environment and also at school at least twice a week to keep the

school environment without interfering learning experiences. With this, the parents have skills to

handle the autistic kid with better care. The crucial part about autism treatment is that the

treatment plan is only explicitly done for a specific child.

Prevalence of Autism
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 10

ASD is often diagnosed at the ages between 2 and 3 years. This early diagnosis is

significant for interventions which may lead to positive outcomes. In every 59 children in

America, one has ASD. ASD also has a likelihood of about 5 times to happen in male children

than female children. The occurrence of this condition is reported to be on the rise. Every year,

about a 10% rise in the number of children diagnosed with ASD is reported (CDC Report). Such

an increment is attributed to the environmental factors and other factors that are yet to be

established.

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) a 15 point rating scale is used in the diagnosis of

autism and its severity in children. Apart from CARS, the Autism Treatment Evaluation

Checklist (ATEC) is another method used to diagnose autism (Geier et. Al., 2013). Autism

occurs in all groups of people; racial, ethnic, and social economic groups. Currently, in a group

of 59 children, 1 is identified with autism (Christensen et. Al., 2018). In between 2006 and 2008,

1 in 6 children has a developmental problem which has currently translated into disabilities such

as speech impairment, intellectual disabilities, and cerebral palsy. Studies show that if one child

among identical twins has ASD, then there is a probability of about 36-95% that the other child

will be affected (CDC Report). On the other hand, there is only a 0-31% likelihood of one child

being affected by ASD if the other one is suffering from the condition among non-identical twins

(CDC Report).

Parents having a child with ASD have a chance of about 2-8% of giving birth to another

affected child (CDC Report). ASD has been diagnosed to happen often in people having

hereditary or other chromosomal conditions. Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome may also

happen to about 10% of children who have autism. According to CDC Report, children born to

old parents have a higher likelihood of having ASD than those born to younger parents. Besides,
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 11

a trivial fraction of kids born prematurely or with low birth mass may be affected by ASD.

Autism has been reported to happen alongside other psychiatric, developmental, chromosomal,

and neurologic conditions. This co-occurrence of other developmental diagnoses alongside ASD

holds a probability of 83% while the occurrence of psychiatric diagnoses is 10% (CDC Report).

Challenges facing schools with autistic students

Mainstream schools should be reasonably adjusted to fulfill the unique needs of children

with ASD to enable them to explore their whole school life: this is because autistic children

usually have a particular field of specialization or a talent that they excel on without difficulties.

Theory of inclusion is a theory which was developed recently where autistic children are

included in the ordinary classes, to have better accomplishments, better self-notions, and social

abilities than those obtained in a class full of children with special needs (Stepanova et al., 2017).

Sometimes to reach up an autistic student's problem becomes a real problem because they aren't

that open in regular conversations due to poor social and communication skills. Some schools

have come up with policies where students write all their things in diaries and then submit them

to teachers and counselors weekly. This has worked pretty well in solving students' problems and

identifying their strongholds and shortfalls.

Research has shown that autistic children are higher impressionable to hectoring at

school. Additionally, children with autism are more feasible to be banished from schools more

than other children with special needs: because they tend to fight off stereotypes or those who

mistreat them regularly. Nearly all students have been reported to be bullied at different

frequencies or severities, and these autistic children are not exceptional only that it turns out

more frequently than anticipated, from pretty name calling to physical violence, which can lead

to an unfortunate case of social exclusion (Pierce et al., 2016). This leads to a serious problem
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 12

where an autistic child negatively impacts on the schooling setting of another child, such as

irritating behaviors like constant talking which interrupts the learning environment which creates

avoidable tension to teachers thus the inclusion technique probably faces a higher risk o failing.

There are various challenges that autistic children face in the classroom: each child with

unique behaviors and needs asking for different attention from the other. First, some have delays

in processing verbal or written language in a neurological basis (Lever & Geurts, 2016). In

regular classrooms where questions are asked that need an immediate response, these children

process a lot of delays that can present a professedly absurd barricade with both learning and

human emanations. If the teacher is untrained on how to handle such student, it may cause a lot

of stress to the student, but institutions have tried to help overcome this problem. For lingual

lectures, students are allowed to use recording devices or given handouts afterward. Another

problem that they face is sensory consciousness issues due to poor sensual balance and lack of

depth perception: some have a problem in some tastes, textures, colors or some types of sounds.

Some might be affected by the scratching of a pencil and squeaking of a piece of chalk on a

board. In this case, students are urged to speak openly to teachers so that the teachers and

administrators can learn to appreciate and alleviate problems that hamper the student's ability to

learn.

Some children with autism are usually made the odd one out due to social skill deficits

which cause them to be always lagged. In this case, a conscientious teacher can do very much

though it would be difficult: by encouraging the child to be involved with others to become

socially fluid, be able to learn how to interpret emotions. Though schools have tried to call

consultants and occupational therapists to help children with ASD to curb butterfly effects, it has

sometimes seemed not to work, and the only option is the teachers to try to understand and
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 13

accommodate them despite their uniqueness (Pierce et al., 2016). Behavioral consultants and

therapists have been hired to help set up classrooms in such a way that it accommodates children

with various challenges, teachers have encountered more problems than anticipated, but its smart

for all to take care of those that can be anticipated.

Bridging Social and Academic Deficits

Instruction on various social skills is vital for students who have autism. Instructing them

on social skills will assist them in establishing relationships with their peers, increase their life

quality, and also enhance their academic success. Development of social skills is also crucial as

it enables students who have ASD to overcome anxiety and depression. There are various means

of bridging the social skills of these students by utilizing the compensation mode which teaches

the children who have ASD how to understand and interpret social cues to understand social

information. Some of the ways of improving the social skills of ASD students include self-

monitoring, incidental teaching, and role-plays (Ducharme, et. Al., 2011).

Self-monitoring assists children with autism in keeping a record of their progress in the

course of proper social skills utilization (Holifield et. Al., 2010). These children typically learn

such skills through a direct instruction of a skill. In self-monitoring, various set of social abilities

are tracked. This sets of social abilities include the level of social interaction (how many times

has the peer approached another) and improvement of appropriate social behavior (how many

times did the person ask a question during a conversation). When a peer with ASD can trace their

success in utilizing social skills, there is a higher chance that their interaction in a social situation

will increase. People with ASD can learn self-monitoring through primary education on

identification and coping with emotions.

STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 14

On the other hand is incidental teaching. Incidental teaching involves discussing social

problems as they arise from a social setting to give opinions and feedback that is then used to

tackle such social situations (Ducharme, et. Al., 2011). For instance, a teacher may discuss a

situation in which a teen with ASD had an interest for a couple of minutes. In doing so, the

teacher can point out on how to start a conversation on various topics that people may get

interested in. This method also focuses on the recognition of a discussion that bores other people.

Role-plays can also assist individuals with ASD to improve their social skills. This

method helps individuals with ASD to practice skills from observing other people practice it. In

role-playing, direct instructions are given through a social story or script. The individuals with

ASD then practice the skills as instructed. "An example of a role-play is how to ask a friend for a

hike during the weekend." Role-plays typically provide a foundation in which a person with

ASD bases their social skill practice (Ducharme, et. Al., 2011). For this intervention to be

effective, it is encouraged that role-play be practiced in different social settings.

Apart from social skills, the academic deficits of people with ASD need to be bridged.

One way of doing so is to have a behavioral plan as a teacher. A teacher should understand that

children with ASD get overwhelmed quickly due to sensory overload (sensory stimulation

experienced by people with autism). Therefore, a teacher may need to learn the early signs of

sensory overload and design a blueprint of where the student may go in case of a meltdown

(Boyer et. Al., 2001). The student can rejoin the class later when they are ready. Undertaking

such a measure reassures the individual as they feel safe which ensures a smooth function of the

class.

Connecting with the parents of a child with ASD is a vital move for teachers (Boyer et.

Al., 2001). Teachers need to assure parents that they want to help uplift the condition of children
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 15

with ASD. Teachers should also make a move to access the assessments that a child has

undergone. By doing this, a teacher gets a better understanding of the child and thus can care for

that child. Observing the strengths of the child is also important. Encouraging them to use these

strengths may make them succeed academically as they have something to contribute in the

classroom.

Comorbidities Leading To Student Factors

Depression is reported to be prevalent in people with ASD. Such depression may bring

about family conflicts which farther increases depression in people with ASD. Apart from

depression, affective disorders have also been diagnosed in people with autism. The factors that

lead to psychiatric disorders in people with ASD is currently unknown. However, some

generalizations can be made from various reports. These include accounts of first degree

depression relatives and environmental settings, sex, age, and social support among other factors

(Romero et,al., 2016).

Research has shown that children with ASD who experience depression are more likely

to come from families with a history of depression. The chance of a child with ASD who is born

to a family with a history of depression to suffer from depression is 77% while that of a child

from a family with no history of depression is 30% (CDC Report). Also, depression is prevalent

among teenagers and grownups with ASD. This is because they are obviously conscious of their

handicap and differences from other people. This explains why depression is high among

adolescents and adults than in children with ASD. Children with higher intelligent quotient have

a greater chance of experiencing depressions as they age up than those with a lower intelligence

quotient. Vickerstaff report (2007) indicates that "there exists a direct correlation with the fact

that those who are older have a greater subjective perception of difficulties in social
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 16

competency." Alongside a family history of depression and age, social support also determines

the occurrence of depression among people with ASD. Children and adolescents who have poor

social relationships and friendships are significantly exposed to the risk of loneliness which may

contribute to depression. The negative feeling in the minds of children and adolescents with ASD

is attributed to social disabilities.

Various studies argue for the acceptance of comorbidities as a cause of depression rather

than only autism as it was perceived in the past. Typically, people with ASD are diagnosed with

other disorders such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood alterations,

and anxiety disorders among others. Comorbidities may cause severe impairments due to the

accumulation of more than one disorder. Therefore, there is a need for diagnosis of people with

ASD to identify symptoms of any comorbidity which can be used in the caring of such people.

Some of these symptoms may include behavior difficulties and eating problems.

Importance of Understanding and Addressing the Needs of Students with Autism

Attending to the needs of students with autism is significant for the smooth running of

educators in a school setting. Teachers' awareness of the challenges and skills and strengths

portrayed by students with ASD is vital in addressing the needs of such students. Students with

autism usually suffer from exclusion which disadvantages their learning process and social needs

as their needs are often not understood or supported.

Teachers' aid is of high impact in ensuring success at school. Therefore, the social and

emotional needs of students with autism should be prioritized to ensure their success

(Christensen et. Al., 2018). Such students should thus be included in small group studies,
STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 17

exposed to calming activities, and taught on social behaviors. Such processes may prove to be of

importance especially in academic activities.

Attending to the needs of students with ASD benefits not only the students but also the

teachers as well. For instance, when teachers strive to meet the needs of students with autism,

they are forced to reflect on their teaching practices especially their literacy instructions

(Schreibman, 2000). The teachers can look at the different ways in which the students learn.

Therefore, the teachers emphasize better note keeping while looking out for the students which

makes them practice better analyzing of notes. The notes analyzing process focuses on the

students' learning process rather than testing data.

It is important to mention that students with autism can learn in general education

classrooms without calling for the change of the classrooms' culture. The classes should be

inclusive by ensuring that students with autism are offered a seat in the classrooms and allowed

to make choices on different study materials. The interaction between such students with other

peers should be enhanced. Doing so creates trust in them a reassures them of safety. Therefore,

the inclusion of students with autism in the learning community has a significant impact on the

literacy development of each member in the learning setting.

STUDENTS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 18

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