Autism In Schools

Having a child given a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a very stressful event for parents. It is imperative to understand that there is much that can be done for both parent and the child. From the current literature we know that parents of children diagnosed with autism worry about many things like lifetime dependency to family dissonance. We know that these parents are distressed and angry, the parents of children with more unusual behaviors feel a lot more stressed than the parents of children with fewer unusual behaviors. However, having a strategy to approach it correctly and to get the best possible help for your child is probably the most important step, one can take to relieve stress and to aid the child’s development.

Over the years, more people are becoming aware of Autism Spectrum Disorder, ASD. The growing number of individuals who are affected by ASD have been increasing over the years. This could be do to the new DSM development of what is considered ASD or simply more children are being born with ASD. Either way, ASD is more predominate in our society today. ASD is defined in the DSM 5 as having abnormal social aspects, lack of social skills, non-verbal communications skills, deficits in development, lack of understanding of relationships, and self-stimulation through repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Although these are not all of the symptoms caused by ASD

The emotional rollercoaster never stops with raising an ASD child. Proper health, sleep, nutrition are not a concern, even if something is present. A parents focus is on their ASD child. (American Psychological Association, pp. 732-742) Two consistent themes were found in a small study of 9 mothers, grief and resiliency. (Pipenbring, 2015) Research is interesting as data is compared. ASD in a child really is ASD in a family. It’s a family

This research tried demystifying claims that individuals who have autism are affected throughout their life course and that parents of children with this condition have elevated stress level compared to those with development disabilities. The researchers used two types of stress; relatively infrequent ones such as death of a family member or marital separation which have long term effect on lifestyle changes. The second approach concentrated on quotidian stressors which include unexpected deadlines or arguments with family members (Barker, Hartley, Seltzer, Floyd, Greenberg & Orsmond,

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2017), ASD is a group of developmental disorders that impacts 1 in 68 children and includes “a spectrum” of symptoms, skills, and levels of disability. Individuals with ASD may face challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, language and communication, and learn differently than

Autism is known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) this is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by reduced social interaction, verbal, and non-verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behavior. (Langone, 2002, p. 3). ASD can also be linked with many other symptoms such as intellectual disability, difficulties in motor coordination, attention, and physical health issues. Sleep and gastrointestinal disturbances, are known as the physical health issues (Langone, 2002, p. 4). Autism appears to develop and show signs in the early stages of the brain development, specifically between the ages of 2 and 3 years old.

High levels of stress were also indicated in the family groups in the study. The hope is that the results can now be used in therapeutic and educational practices in order to benefit both the families involved and the individuals diagnosed with ASD.

The Autism Screening Instrument for Educational Planning -Third Edition (ASIEP–3) is used to evaluate autism spectrum disorders and to assist in developing educational programs for individuals who are on the spectrum. The ASIEP-3 consists of five subtests which include the Autism Behavior Checklist, the Sample of Vocal Behavior, the Interaction Assessment, the Educational Assessment, and the Prognosis of Learning Rate.

Parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) should define their parenting technique more so than parents of neurotypical children. Children with ASD have many different needs. For example, an ASD child has great difficulties with their social skills; this deficiency causes them not to have meaningful social interactions. Their interests are narrow, and it dominates the child's life (Volkmar & Klin, 2000, as cited in Sansosti & Powell-Smith, 2006).

Having a child given a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a very stressful event for parents. It is imperative to understand that there is much that can be done for both parent and child. From the current literature we know that parents of children diagnosed with autism worry about many things like lifetime dependency to family dissonance. We know that these parents are distressed and angry, the parents of children with more unusual behaviors feel a lot more stressed than the parents of children with fewer unusual behaviors. However, having a strategy to approach it correctly and to get the best possible help for your child is probably the most important step, one can take to relieve stress and to aid the child’s development.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication together with demonstration of restricted, repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behavior and interests (American Psychiatric Association; APA, 1994). Delay in numerous different skills such as cognition, social, motor, play and adaptation are prevalent among many children with ASD. (reference)

Participants were 493 parents of children with ASD, at ages3 to 21 years old. Most parents ranged in age from 22 to 72 years. Using a qualitative content analysis, 15 negative themes and 9 positive themes were identified. Five main themes were identified: Stress;

“Stop thinking about normal… You don’t have a big enough imagination for what your child can become,” a quote by Johnny Seitz, autistic tightrope artist in the movie Loving Lamposts. It seems that Johnny Seitz has the right point of view about Autism. Many parents of a child with ASD may not be able to understand what is yet to come. A diagnosis can affect every family member in a different way. Much of the family’s resources like money will be focused on providing help and interventions for the child. The earlier the interventions are started the least intensive the disability will be in the future. There are many ways Autism can change a family including; affecting marriages, job responsibilities, commitments, therapy, and free time (“Family Issues”).

The continuity and effectiveness of treatments and services are difficult to maintain at a high level as the child with ASD transitions through school. According to Kelly Farley, a teacher in the public school system, “The school district’s experience has revealed that, by sixth grade, the gaps are too large in both math and language arts resulting in students with autism being placed in the special education classrooms for those classes.” Parents and therapists, desperate for a dramatic breakthrough in education or treatment for this disorder, will try new approaches and speculative theories which are not backed by experience or proven to work. The treatments that are available have pros and cons to consider as well as the adult outcomes. Because no single treatment is useful for all children with ASD, compounded with the variable symptoms of each child, program strategies need to be designed for each individual child. The symptoms can change without notice. “Unfortunately,

Conversely, it is similarly used to mollify a child with ASD. Allen & Shane (2014) report-ed that being a caregiver/parent of a child diagnosed with ASD can be stressful and cause prob-lematic situations, such as, divorce, financial problems, and chronic stress. In addition they re-ported that caregivers of a child diagnosed with ASD were four times more likely to experience these stressors, when compared to caregivers