Autism
The Autism Society of America estimates that 600,000 adults are living with autism in the United States. That number will most likely soar, given the CDC's disclosed an increase in the numbers of children with autism. The newest numbers suggest that one in every 150 children has autism. Autism is generally understood as a group of related disorders, where people diagnosed with the condition experience its symptoms to a greater or lesser extent. At the severe end of the spectrum is low-functioning autism, which can cause extensive impairments in all areas of development. Usually, low functioning autistic children have little or no language, some degree of mental retardation, little awareness of other people and expectations. Stereotypical features such as gestures, rituals and many other odd behaviors are visibly apparent in lower functioning children. Self injurious behavior is much more common in low-functioning autistics than in their high-functioning peers.
Research has been inclined to focus on people at the "milder" end of the scale - with "high functioning" autism. Consequently, this has led to a comparable neglect of the language impairment and academic disabilities experienced by people with more severe forms of the condition. Researchers from Warwick University have tested their theory that, for a child with "low functioning autism", an inability to link words such as "spoon" and "chair" with what they know about spoons and chairs in general is related to severe memory impairment. They also unpredictably found that children with 'high functioning' autism have a similar memory problem, but in a milder form. The results should initiate further discussion about the causes of language and learning impairment in low functioning autism. Sometimes a child who seemed to be low-functioning in childhood eventually gains language and some awareness of the world and social norms and will move towards the high functioning end of the spectrum. So there is hope as determining a child's IQ under the age of 3 years is very difficult.
Severe Cognitive Impairment
Generally, those who are labeled as having a severe cognitive impairment are individuals who have greater difficulty with social skills, and academic performance. They often have few readily known and/or socially appropriate means for communicating with others. It should not be surprising then, that these individuals may easily exhibit challenging behaviors, such as self-injury and aggression. This may be because they simply have not learned a better way of reacting or coping with the demands of daily stressors, or may have no better means for communicating with others.
These children may also engage in more sensory-related activities such as hand flapping, spinning, or rocking. They do not speak, often do not understand receptive language, do not care nor do they wish to engage in conversation unless it is absolutely necessary and it is extremely limited due to the lack of speech, do not respond well to behavioral therapy, and do not show a great deal of improvement. Retardation is common, epilepsy is common, and other disorders may be present as well. They do not express emotions (except anger) and whether they experience those emotions is unknown due to their inability to communicate.
Low Functioning vs. High Functioning
Autism presents in a wide degree, from those who are nearly socially impaired and apparently mentally handicapped to those whose symptoms are mild or improved enough to appear ordinarily ("normal") to the general public. In terms of both classification and therapy, autistic individuals are often divided into those with an IQ<80 referred to as having "low-functioning autism" (LFA), while those with IQ>80 are referred to as having "high-functioning autism" (HFA). Low and high functioning are more commonly applied to how well an individual can accomplish activities of daily living, rather than to IQ. The terms low and high functioning are controversial and not all people living with autism accept these labels. The number of people diagnosed with LFA is not rising quite as sharply as HFA, indicating that at least part of the explanation for the apparent rise is probably better diagnostics.
Children with low-functioning autism are more likely to display mental retardation, epilepsy, and extremely limited receptive/expressive language skills. On the other hand, students with the label of severe disabilities can possess exceptional talents. In other words, students labeled as high-functioning may be severely disabled by their autism. And those who are labeled as low- functioning may be less affected by the characteristics associated with autism. People can be said to have "low-functioning autism" or "high-functioning autism," depending upon the severity of their symptoms and the results of an IQ (intelligence) test. Even though classification of individuals by IQ test scores have endured 20 years of criticism, educators still tend to further classify students into the following categories:
1. Educable (IQ 70 - 55)
2. Trainable (IQ 55 - 40)
3. Severe (IQ 40 - 25)
4. Profound (IQ below 25)
Classification of mental retardation by measured IQ score has four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and profound. Educators use these categories for the intention of curriculum development, classroom placement, and teacher certification. These terms are mainly stereotypical and unfavorable.
More Common Traits in Low Functioning Autism
• Hand-wringing
• Appearance of poorly coordinated manner of walking / stepping
• Severely impaired expressive and receptive language development
• Lack of or infrequent initiation
• Lack of usual nonverbal gestures (i.e., pointing, head shake, nod)
• Unable to control improper behavior
• Avoids or uses eye contact in odd ways
• Prefers to be alone
• Inability to imitate (body movement, vocal, motor)
• Engages in rhythmic body movements such as rocking, pacing, hand flapping, toe walking, spinning
• Over- and under-sensitivity to sound, smell, touch, visual stimulus and pain
• May not be seek physical comfort from parents/caregiver
• Unusual display of emotion, for example, giggling or weeping for no apparent reason
• Impulsive
• Unwillingness
• Aggressive behavior
• Self-injurious behavior
Education for Low Functioning Autism
Limited grammar and an impulsive sensitivity to stimulus are often thought to be typical of low-functioning autism, as is a strong visual processing preference. When designing educational programs for students with autism labeled as severely disabled, professionals and family members are advised to consider that programs for a particular student is to be specifically determined through the individualized education program (IEP) process. There is no IEP for people who are low-functioning versus people who are high-functioning. There are only IEPs for each individual student. Individualized programs must explain approaches for providing the student with acceptable and understandable ways of communication, teaching situation-appropriate social behaviors, and providing experiences that satisfy sensory needs by promoting desensitization or reducing
sensory overload in specific settings and situations.
If a child has greater difficulty learning, then the crucial school years should be spent teaching him/her to participate in beneficial activities. A functional living curriculum is various activities the person will need in order to live, work, and participate in his/her community. Life skills such as balancing a check book, recreating at the neighborhood YMCA, eating at a restaurant, maintaining a job, and shopping are vital goals. Parents of those children who are perceived as low functioning must advocate the need for such living activities in the child’s IEP. Many children are grouped in programs relating on the level of functioning and disabilities instead of their abilities. There is no set label or curriculum which fits all students with autism; no precise placement. What your child learns in school should express their diversity of preferences.
Behavior & emotional problems - Students with retardation are more likely to exhibit behavior and emotional problems than their peers. Rejection often results from peers' perception of the inappropriate nature of explicit behavior rather than academic incompetence. Therefore, the teachers should emphasize integration efforts and focus on the need for instruction in social skills and social competence. Cooperative learning strategies can be very effective.
Concrete concepts - Students with mild mental retardation work better with physical concepts rather than with thinking, have difficulty with short-term memory and in organizing information for later recall, and find it difficult to simplify to a variety of situations.
Achievement - Academically, low functioning children lag behind in achievement for their age expectations. Typically, students with mental retardation are three to four years behind their peers without disabilities and may manage from a second- to a sixth-grade level of achievement upon completion of formal education.
Locus of control theory - is a concept in between psychology and sociology, related to where individuals approach responsibility, choice, and control for events in their lives. It distinguishes between two common paths which place the actual control either internal or external to the person themselves. This decision, which is not usually within conscious awareness, strongly influences motivation and a sense of self direction and psychological integrity on the one hand (if seen as something outside the control of the person themselves), and supports notions of helplessness, blame, and lack of psychological potency. Train the student to be aware of the importance of attention and to learn how to actively monitor its occurrence in his or her own learning efforts. The concept of attention can be broken down into attention span (length of time on task); focus (to restrain from distracting or unforeseen stimuli); and selective attention (the discrimination of important stimulus characteristics).
Physical problems - Physically, some children with mild mental disabilities are below average in height, weight, and skeletal maturity. Many of these children display coinciding physical problems.
Functional skills - Students with mild mental retardation can reach academic goals, even though it may take them longer than other students to do so. These children can acquire basic communication skills, both oral and written. The teacher should emphasize functional achievement (adaptive skills) that will help students become financially and socially independent adults. Frequent practice and reinforcement can help students acquire appropriate social response acquisition.
Mediation processes – The use of the mediation processes can help students in problem solving, retention, or recall. Such processes or strategies are: verbal. Children with low-functioning autism do not control their behavior while out in public. They can be violent and for no apparent reason, to the rest of us, attack someone and then passive again a few minutes later. These individuals do not acquire the communication necessary for holding a conversation with strangers, and the skills therapists provide is very limited. There has been surprisingly little research investigating the causes for the language and learning difficulties in low functioning autism. About half of all autistic children are mute, and those who speak often only repeat what they have heard. It is estimated that fifty percent of individuals with autism develop purposeful communicative language.
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