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Top 10 School Concerns for Students on the Autism Spectrum

Thousands of kids face life with Asperger’s (AS) and High-Functioning Autism (HFA). These young people have (a) rigid behaviors that are often exhibited as an insistence on a specific order of events, a compulsion to complete what was started, an insistence on rules, a difficulty with transitions, or a fear that is based on a single experience; (b) obsessive interests that may be similar to the interests of other kids, but they are unlike other kids because their restricted interest is the only activity in which they participate; (c) difficulty predicting the future, insisting that things happen in a certain order; (d) an inability to recognize that there are times when rules can be renegotiated, bent, or broken; and (e) a restricted range of interests that can take unusual or eccentric forms (e.g., some may be interested in unusual things, such as washing machines, bus timetables, or subway maps).

In addition, many kids with AS and HFA have additional psychiatric diagnoses (e.g., ADHD) when they are young, and depression or anxiety when they are teenagers and young adults. Even though these children and teens often lack the emotional resources to cope with the demands of the classroom, they do not always demonstrate stress through their tone of voice or body posture. As a result, their inner turmoil may escalate to a point of crisis before parents or teachers recognize their discomfort.

Children with AS and HFA generally have average to above-average intelligence and frequently have good rote memory skills. But they may lack higher-level thinking and comprehension skills and have poor problem-solving skills. Because many can decode words well, their impressive vocabularies may give a false impression that they understand everything they say or read.



Here are 10 of the most common school concerns faced by these “special needs” students:
  1. very focused areas of interest and expertise
  2. problems with social interactions
  3. problems with sensory hyper- or hypo-sensitivity
  4. problems with ritualistic, repetitive, or rigid behavior
  5. problems with motor issues including written production
  6. problems with language
  7. problems with attention, organization, and other areas of executive functioning
  8. problems with anxiety, depression, and emotional regulation
  9. problems with abstract reasoning
  10. need for predictability

 ==> The Complete Guide to Teaching Students with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism

Teachers should be aware that changes in behavior (e.g., greater levels of disorganization, inattentiveness, isolation, etc.) may be indicative of anxiety or depression. Because these “special needs” kids typically have difficulty identifying their own emotions, they may not be able to acknowledge that they are sad or depressed. Teachers need to be aware of the signs of agitation to initiate interventions to avert an emotional crisis.

Here are 15 simple strategies to help students on the autism spectrum cope more effectively during the school day:
  1. Use humor to diffuse tension.
  2. Teach cause-and-effect concepts.
  3. Teach anger-control skills.
  4. Teach an appropriate replacement behavior when extinguishing an inappropriate behavior (e.g., teach the child to engage in such appropriate waiting behavior as counting slowly to 10 rather than screaming to gain the teacher’s attention).
  5. Shorten or modify their written assignments and consider allowing them to use a word processor or computer.
  6. Set up consistent routines with clear expectations throughout the day. 
  7. Warn the child of upcoming transitions and try to avoid surprises.
  8.  Provide visual schedules so they know what is happening throughout the school day.
  9. Provide a predictable and safe environment that avoids things that could trigger rage or a meltdown. Because other students can be a trigger for this behavior, it may be wise to limit interaction.
  10. Link their obsessive interest in a single subject to another subject that is being studied in class.
  11. Limit opportunities for obsessive talk about special interests by providing a specific time of day for this behavior. 
  12. Use the child’s fixations as a method to broaden his or her repertoire of interests.
  13. Create a safe place for the child to go when he or she feels a need to regain control. 
  14. Have a few “safe escapes” (e.g., sending the child on a simple errand that removes him or her from difficult situations in a non-punitive manner).
  15. Capitalize on their exceptional memory skills by providing them with opportunities to demonstrate their factual knowledge in class.

 ==> The Complete Guide to Teaching Students with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism
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Social Deficits in Team Sports and PE: Help for Kids on the Autism Spectrum

Most kids participate in physical activity with their peers, both within and outside the school setting. Social skills play an essential role in peer interactions.

Children with ASD or High-Functioning Autism (HFA) often have difficulty playing with peers, because they have difficulty handling reciprocal conversation, making eye contact, playing social games, sharing with others, taking turns, understanding social cues, and simply making friends.

Even though kids on the autism spectrum desire social interaction with others, they have a hard time finding and keeping friends due to their social difficulties that frequently stem from a lack of skill in initiating and responding to various situations.

Other areas of impairment that relate to social interactions in kids with HFA include:
  • problems with social distance (i.e., knowledge of personal space)
  • difficulty understanding unwritten rules, and when they do learn these rules, many apply them rigidly
  • interpreting things literally
  • difficulty adapting to the social demands placed on them in the school setting 
  • intense isolation is often a defining feature of their disorder

Many of these young people describe themselves as feeling depressed or anxious, and a major trigger for feelings of anxiety is having to initiate social interactions.

Researchers have identified other critical social skills that kids with HFA often do not acquire, including: understanding and using body language, learning strategies related to initiating and ending conversations, giving and receiving compliments, and empathizing with others. In addition, kids on the autism spectrum often experience difficulty accepting winning and losing - and handling criticism of performances.

Social settings that involve physical activity (e.g., basketball, physical education class, etc.) often heighten the anxiety levels of kids on the spectrum due to their gross and fine motor skills deficits. The physical ability of these young people is often lower than that of their same-aged peers.

As one teenager with ASD stated: 

“People tend to ask me how having autism affected me on a social level. A better question would be how it has not affected my life. Everything from my ability to make and keep friends, to interacting with peers, to playing sports, to understanding my emotions and feelings, to my ability to handle stress and anxiety are all affected. In short, it has affected me in almost every way possible. More specifically, in elementary school, I simply had no idea of what to do or say to my peers, so I kept my distance. In junior high, I hated PE, the teasing was worse and I didn't do well.”




Techniques that parents and teachers can use in the physical education setting and/or team sports include the following:

1.   Pairing children and allowing them to work with a partner in various activities is a successful method for increasing appropriate social interaction.

2.   Sensitive “peer-buddies” may encourage appropriate social interaction. In addition, they can help kids with HFA by clarifying questions or by giving them clues to help them follow instructions that the coach or physical educator gives.

3.   Monitor social interactions closely to ensure that kids on the autism spectrum stay on task and do not dominate the conversation - and to ensure that other children do not intentionally prevent kids with AS/HFA from interacting with the group.

4.   Reduce wait time. Children on the spectrum often display inappropriate behavior during unnecessary wait times. Keeping these young people active can increase physical activity and appropriate behavior.

5.   If a visual cue is not a sufficient adaptation, the physical educator or coach may consider role-playing to teach conversational interactions and other social skills. Many kids with HFA need direct instruction in such social skills as initiating conversation and taking turns.

6.   Role-playing activities also can help teachers and coaches instruct children in appropriate equipment use. Role-playing can simplify the often-complex skills of using equipment appropriately.

7.   “Social Stories” provide a framework for improving social interactions often found in team sports and the physical education setting. An example of an effective story is “how to successfully follow the rules of a game.”

8.   Use visual cues. When an HFA child dominates a conversation or takes control, he is often not aware of the occurrence. Developing a specific sign to share privately with the “special needs” child can serve as a cue to him to allow others to take part in the conversation. The use of nonverbal cues gives the youngster an opportunity to work on such skills as taking turns during conversation and during games and activities.


Resources for parents of children and teens on the autism spectrum:
 

==> Videos for Parents of Children and Teens with ASD
 
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