Case History: T.C. is a 13 year old, 2 month old girl in the seventh grade. T.C. lives with her parents and she is the oldest of three children. T.C.’s prenatal and birth history was unremarkable. T.C. was normal developing until 18 months old. By 18 months old it was apparent that T.C. was delayed in speech. In addition, she walked on her toes, did not make eye contact with others, had a terrible fear of loud sounds, cried frequently, and was a poor sleeper. She was evaluated before her second birthday and was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome or related pervasion developmental disorders and has profound difficulty with social interaction. She has received speech therapy, with an emphasis on social skills training, intense therapeutic therapy, and occupational therapy. T.C. is in a regular seventh grade classroom with an aide to assist her throughout her day. Long term objectives: T.C will socialize and converse adequately with her peers, maintain a conversation, introduce topics for conversations, and be able to compliment others in 6 months appropriately 80% of the time. Short term objectives: T.C. will have good conversation skills while using the correct social context, asking questions and commenting, building on a conversation to keep the conversation going, when it is appropriate to compliment someone and phone skills over 10 sessions, twice weekly, approximately 90% of the time. Observations: T.C. is a 13 year old girl in the 7th grade. T.C. is receiving therapy to enhance her social and pragmatic skills. Over the sessions observed, different techniques were taught. Session #1: The speech language pathologist (SLP) modeled and role-played different types of voice tone. According to Jed Baker (2003), when demonstrat... ... middle of paper ... ...kills, it is pivotal for the SLP to work in a collaborative effort with the students’ teachers to endure an open line of communication to address any concerns and/or progress. Works Cited Baker, J. (2003). Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communcation Problems. Shawnee Mission: Autism Asperger Publishing Company. Cummings, T. H. (2008). Social Skills Instruction for Adolescents with Emotional Disabilities: A Technology-Based Intervention . Journal of Special Education Technology, 19-33. DeGaetano, J. G. (2013). Developing Logical Reasoning. Wrightsville Beach: Great Ideas for Teachers. Meadan, H. M.-A. (2008). Collaboration to Promote Social Competance for Studnets with Mild Disabilities in the General Classroom: A Structure for Providing Social Support. Intervention in School and Clinic, 158-167.
Development of social skills is very important for children that are diagnosed with autism because of ...
Seikel, J. A., King, D. W., & Drumright, D. G. (2010). 12. Anatomy & physiology for speech,
The cause of AS is still very much unknown.Children with Asperger syndrome start to show signs as early as one to two years old; however a diagnosis is rarely given until later, usually around the ages of th...
Special education is evolving, evolving in form and substance. Education of the special needs population in the United States lacks uniformity of purpose and deed. In many school districts within the United States, special education creates a financial burden that subjugates the traditional programs (Higbee, Katz, & Shultz, 2010). The lack of consistency to approach and positive results has created academic chaos for methods and strategies in working with the special needs population. The difficulty in educating special needs children to develop their academic and social skills has created many strategies for supposed benefit, and in fairness, some work for some children. Too many instances exist where not all children benefit (p. 8). The problem is developing a strategy and curriculum that provides for the needs of all children whether they are involved in an inclusive, mainstreaming, or self-contained classroom. This is particularly significant with a particular segment of the special needs population, Asperger’s autism. Asperger’s autism is a controversial diagnosis, a diagnosis that creates a schism of psychiatric thought. Some psychiatrists classify this as a pervasive developmental disorder, while other psychiatrists see this as a form of personality disorder that has many traits associated with schizophrenia (Odom, Buysee, & Soukakou, 2011). The Asperger’s child lacks emotional development normally associated with their age group. An example that illustrates the emotional development issue concerns age appropriate demonstrations of concern or awareness in their environment. Many of the Asperger’s children are not able to tell whether someone is making fun of them and will join in making fun of themselves as unsuspecting ...
Pervasive Developmental Disorders are characterized by “severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development” (Tsai, 1998). In the 1994 edition of the Diagnostic Statistic Manuel version IV, three new categories were introduced under Pervasive Developmental Disorders. These include: Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger's Disorder, and Rett's Syndrome (Volkmar, 2005). All these disorders occur in early childhood and are often not noticed by a parent or primary caregiver until it is noticed that the child is not achieving normal developmental milestones.
On the website autism speaks, “Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders.” They also said that “Asperger’s syndrome is a developmental disorder that makes it very hard to interact with other people.” Your toddler may notice that it is a challenge to make acquaintances because he or she is socially gawky. Many citizens with Asperger’s Syndrome may possess some traits of autism. Asperger’s syndrome is an enduring condition, but symptoms do seem to get better over time. Asperger’s syndrome and autism both...
Many people across the world are unfamiliar with disorders associated with autism. Some people do not even know what autism actually is. Asperger’s Syndrome is one perplexing disorder, of countless, that needs to be acknowledged. Although it is one of the more well-known disorders, an understanding of Asperger’s is far from common knowledge. There is an abundance of misconceptions and people unaware of what Asperger Syndrome actually is. Being uncertain about the characteristics of a person with Asperger’s allows people to go through life not understanding the disorder itself and people who have it.
Social interaction is considered a core deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Due to impairments in social interactions, children with ASD fail to develop peer relationships and share enjoyment and interests (Ashbaugh, Bradshaw, K.Koegel, & L. Koegel, 2014). Difficulty engaging with others may persist throughout the lifespan; therefore it is crucial to identify these underdeveloped social behaviors and to target early intervention. In regard to intervention strategies, Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) has been proved to be an effective, efficacious and naturalistic intervention for communication and social functioning of children with ASD derived from applied behavioral analysis (ABA). An important component of PRT is motivational strategies which emphasizes natural reinforcement. Reinforcers that are logically related to the outcome of a behavior have been shown to be more effective than unrelated reinforcers in teaching tasks. For example, a child opening the lid of a container with an edible reinforcer inside (i.e. cookie) is more effective than a child opening the lid of a container then receiving an edible reinforcer after. By implementing PRT, children with autism will strengthen the response-reinforcer relationship thus encourages their social communication.
Amazingly, one percent of new births will have some type of autism (Autism Society of America, 2010). Asperger’s disorder is one type of Autism, and is at the high end of these disorders. This “disorder, which is also called Asperger's syndrome (AS) or autistic psychopathy, belongs to a group of childhood disorders known as pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) or autistic spectrum disorders”(Exkorn, 2006). A characteristic of this disorder is harsh and strict disruption of a certain type of brain development. The most affected areas of Asperger's disorder is difficulty in social understanding and in behavior or activities that are limited or recurring (Frey, 2003). Students with Asperser’s have different levels of seriousness, which makes it difficult to make the proper diagnosis, but each student will have some trouble with “interpersonal, motor, and language characteristics” (Safran, 2002). There is a significant amount of misinformation about this disorder in the public, not just the general public, but also the medical and educational professional. A significant amount of this misinformation claims children with this disorder will never achieve the basic level of competence necessary to function in school. Current literature shows that this is false. This paper accepts the current position that these students can function in an educational and social environment, and will show that further progress can be made. Specifically, this paper will show that a student with Asperger’s will be better able to function in school with early diagnosis, assistance of educators and the support of the family.
Students with learning disabilities can learn; each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on the strengths of each student and building on them, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying the weakness is at the core of getting a student help with their learning disability, but after this initial identification and placement, the focus should shift to the strengths and adjusting the student’s schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For instance, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his or her hands, the students' reading tasks should then be shifted to reflect these st...
As Early Childcare Professionals it is important to have the knowledge and understanding of how children develop in order to provide the best curriculum for all children, including children with special needs. The objective of this paper is to discuss Asperger Syndrome (AS). This paper will delve into the history of AS, the general characteristics and the causes; as well as the effects on development in each domain. It will also discuss the learning challenges and how an Early Childhood Educator could create an inclusive and responsive environment for both the child with AS and the other students in the class.
These behaviors with time can be modified with therapy, teaching and medication. Over time children/adults with Asperger’s can learn to better interact with their peers more productively. We also need to educate ourselves about Asperger’s so that we can help to alleviate the feelings of aloneness that occurs with Asperger’s. In other words we need to become more understanding and compassionate towards others. Jayden has come so far with his therapy. He has many friends at his current school; although he prefers talking to his teachers. He is a shining example of what proper intervention, compassion and understanding can accomplish. I am blessed to have him in my life, he always causes me to look at things in ways I might not have. I hope you have found this paper not only informative, but in lighting.
As a Life Skills Mentor through Lane County, I instructed students diagnosed with Autism, implementing interventions prescribed by individual treatment plans. This involved teaching students social skills, focusing on nonverbal cues and maintaining conversations through modeling or role-playing. In addition, I assisted students in developing self-awareness, identifying sensory and emotional needs. Additional targeted objectives included: developing and maintaining relationships, navigating school, basic money management and utilizing public transportation.
Also known as Asperger Disorder, Asperger Syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder characterized by difficulties in non-verbal communication, and social interaction. It is known as a spectrum disorder because of its conditions that affects patients in various ways and degrees. The disorder is named after an Austrian pediatrician named Hans Asperger. Asperger syndrome is a life long form of disability that affects how people process information, how they view the world, and how they relate to the people around them. In addition, Asperger syndrome is always a hidden disability, whereby, one cannot tell that someone has the disorder from the outside. Asperger syndrome prevalence is unknown, since only a few people suffer from this condition, and the number is unknown. Nonetheless, it is more prevalent in males than in females, and in children aged between 2-6 years.
Kamps, D. et.al. (2002). Peer Training to Facilitate Social Interaction for Elementary Students with Autism and Their Peers. Exceptional Children, 68 (2), 173-187.