Autism (Part 1): An Overview for Educators
Assessment
Take some time now to answer the following questions. Please note that the IRIS Center does not collect your Assessment responses. If this is a course assignment, you should turn them in to your professor using whatever method he or she requires. If you have trouble answering any of the questions, go back and review the Perspectives & Resources pages in this module.
- Mr. Rickard is a first-year teacher who will have an autistic student named Ryan in his fifth-grade classroom. Mr. Rickard has not learned much about autism and is worried about his ability to support her.
- Briefly define autism for Mr. Rickard.
- List three facts about autism that would be essential for him to understand.
- Review the video of a mother interacting with her twins, Benjamin and Nathan (time: 1:20). After identifying the twin who demonstrates early signs of autism:
- List at least three characteristics of autism you observed for him.
- Compare his behavior to that of his brother.
In this video, an adult plays with each of a pair of identical twins. In the first segment, Benjamin, who is one year and seven months old, plays with a toy truck. The adult pushes the truck toward him, and Benjamin pushes it back. making engine sounds as he does so. When he accidentally pushes it off the small table, he acknowledges it and waits for the adult to reset the toy, at which point their play resumes as before.
In the second segment, Benjamin’s brother Nathan plays with the truck. However, this time, when the adult pushes the truck toward him, Nathan lifts it off the table and turns it upside down. Several times, he turns away from the adult or tries to leave his chair. His gaze wanders, and he seems uninterested in the play.
The third segment splits the screen and shows both twins playing at once, so that their styles of play and interaction with the adult can be more easily observed and compared.
- There are two methods for identifying autism: a medical diagnosis and special education eligibility.
- Compare and contrast these two methods.
- Explain the benefit of special education eligibility for a student who already has a medical diagnosis of autism.
- Mr. Rickard is working with Ryan’s multidisciplinary team to develop a plan to guide her services.
- Determine if Mr. Rickard would be a member of IFSP or IEP team for Ryan. Based on this, list the required members of the multidisciplinary team.
- List at least three ways Ryan’s family can contribute to the team’s educational decisions.
- Recommend at least two ways in which Mr. Rickard can offer support to Ryan’s family.
- Mr. Rickard is preparing for the first week of class and wants to make sure his classroom is supportive for every student, including Ryan. Ryan excels at reading and writing but finds mathematics boring and often dreads these assignments. Regardless of the subject, Ryan often loses homework and forgets to return classroom supplies. Fascinated by Greek mythology, Ryan loves to share her interest with others but tends to dominate conversations. Because of this, other students often avoid working with her during partner and group assignments, which can lead to feelings of isolation.
- Suggest at least two actions Mr. Rickard can take to create a learning environment that supports Ryan and his other students. Explain your suggestions.
- Identify three instructional practices you think will be most important for Mr. Rickard to implement to support Ryan. Explain your choices.
