Autism

Question 1

What is autism spectrum disorder?

Answer 1

developmental disability in which an individual struggles with verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction

Question 2

True or False: A child is guaranteed services in their school upon being diagnosed with autism.

Answer 2

False; a child only gets services if being autistic (or a person with autism) makes it difficult for them to participate in school

Question 3

What are features associated with autism?

Answer 3

doing repetitive activities; doing repetitve and fixed muscle movements that serve no purpose (e.g., hand flapping or finger wriggling); unusual response to sensory experiences

Question 4

Which disorders are considered disorders on the autism spectrum?

Answer 4

Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, Rhett’s syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder

Question 5

According to the DSM-V, what are the 5 main criteria of ASD?

Answer 5

Trouble with social communication and interaction; confined and repetitive movements, interests, and activities; symptoms cannot be explained by an intellectual disability or a global delay; symptoms negatively impact the person’s life; the child exhibits these symptoms at an early age (2 to 5 years old)

Question 6

What are signs of difficulties with social communication and interaction that children with autism exhibit?

Answer 6

cannot adjust their behavior according to a social context; lack of facial expressions; tend to not share interests, emotions, or responses; do not show interest in their peers; cannot engage in back and forth conversation; do not want to play imaginary games with their peers; weird eye contact and body language; struggle to understand gestures; fail to start social interactions or be responsive in them

Question 7

What are at least two restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities that children with autism exhibit?

Answer 7

perform the same motor movements, use the same objects, or say the same phrases repeatedly (e.g., echolalia, idiosyncractic phrases, lining up objects in a certain way; motor stereotypes); desire to keep their routine the same (e.g., eating at the same time and having rigid thinking patterns); obsessed with certain objects or activities to the point where they exclude other objects or activities; overly sensitive or insensitive to sensory input (e.g., smell or touch things too much or really sensitive to bright lights)

Question 8

What are signs of a child with a Level 3 severity of Autism?

Answer 8

Little to no speech so they do not initiate conversations and social interactions and they tend to struggle to respond to comments and questiosn directed at them; they are very resistant to change and are very distressed when change occurs. They struggle to change the way they think.

Question 9

What are signs of a child with a Level 2 severity of Autism?

Answer 9

Production of simple sentences and noticeable deficits in verbal and nonverbal communication; struggle with social interaction even with supports in place; odd nonverbal communication and often exhibit behaviors that prevent them from functioning. They struggle with change as well.

Question 10

What are signs of a child with a Level 1 severity of Autism?

Answer 10

Struggle to respond to questions and comments from other people; difficulty with organization and planning; struggle to initiate conversation without support; some difficulty with change and with changing their behaviors to match the circumstances. They may not be interested in initiating social interactions.

Question 11

Why is it important to identify and treat ASD early?

Answer 11

It helps to improve the child’s health, youth, development, and functioning long-term

Question 12

What combination of factors increase the risk of a child being autistic?

Answer 12

genetics; older aged parents; having pregnancies that are 1 to 2 years apart; having identical twins; complications during pregnancy; having one child that already has ASD

Question 13

What can decrease the risk of having a child with autism?

Answer 13

taking prenatal vitamins that have folic acid before, during, and after pregnancy

Question 14

One reason children wtih ASD struggle with social communication is because

Answer 14

they lack theory of mind (able to feel and think what the other person is thinking and feeling)

Question 15

What are some signs that a toddler is autistic?

Answer 15

Does not talk; wants to be alone; cannot change their pitch; echolalia; no babbling; does not make gestures; does not respond to their name; sounds robotic or singy-songy

Question 16

What techniques can SLPs use to work with children with ASD to help them communicate?

Answer 16

Teach them to use PECS, to sign, or to type; use electronic talkers; train pragmatic skills; introduce sounds or sensory stimuli that the child initially is insensitive to or overly sensitive too

Question 17

At what age are children typically diagnosed with autism?

Answer 17

After age 4 but as early as age 2.

Question 18

What are the most noticeable aspects of ASD?

Answer 18

A lack of social skills (e.g., reading facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice) and communication abilities (e.g., echolalia, sounding robotic or singy-songy)

Question 19

Which factors usually contribute to children with ASD lacking friendships?

Answer 19

Lack of eye contact and lack of social interaction

Question 20

What verbal communication issues indicate that a child has ASD?

Answer 20

does not babble or use meaningful gestures by age 1; does not combine words by age 2; echolalia; robotic or singy-songy voice; does not smile; does not respond to their name; uses odd behavior (instead of words or gestures) to communicate.

Question 21

What behaviors do children with ASD exhibit?

Answer 21

Stick to routines, one interest, one toy, and display repetitive physical behaviors such as flapping of hands or lining up toys in only one particular way; they will react negatively if their routine or way of doing things changes

Question 22

What sensory problems are associated with children with ASD?

Answer 22

Too sensitive or not sensitive enough to sensory input such as sound, light, tastes, and textures; may be able to focus on one sense at a time; may not like to be hugged or like to wear clothes because they do not like texture on their skin.

Question 23

What are behavioral characteristics of ASD?

Answer 23

repetitive behaviors, motor movements, and use of an object or speech; unusual reaction to sensory input; hypo- or hyper- sensitivity to sensory input; intense focus on one activity and one interest; want things to be the same; inflexible adherence to routines and rituals

Question 24

What is important to do when interacting with children with ASD?

Answer 24

Modeling

Question 25

In the classroom, what do students with ASD struggle with?

Answer 25

using fine motor skills to write; reading comprehension; expressing themselves through language; organizing their thoughts; inferences from text

Question 26

What is the best way to teach a student with ASD?

Answer 26

visual communication; breaking down multi-step processes using illustrations; using hands-on activities; physical movement; singing

Question 27

What are the goals when teaching children wtih ASD?

Answer 27

to teach communication, emotional understanding, and relationship-building

Question 28

How should children with ASD be instructed?

Answer 28

Simple and positive instructions using direct and specific language to express the behavior you want to see. Specific verbal encouragement and a clear and visual schedule and visuals of classroom expectations should be used too;

Question 29

Regarding social dynamics, how should a child with ASD be instructed?

Answer 29

they should be encouraged to interact socially during small group work and recess; they should be put in groups with students who model good behavior and attitudes

Question 30

What are ways to best prepare for instruction with a child with autism?

Answer 30

Prepare classroom material in advance; tell the child in advance if there are going to be changes in the routine; provide study guides in advance of tests; review the important characters, setting, and plot before reading a new book with them. Introduce new words and concepts that are important to the lesson; use a social narrative and visuals to describe field trips and assemblies and plays

Question 31

When working with students with ASD, how should a classroom be set up?

Answer 31

Use visuals; have a play center, an area for children with ASD to go to when they feel unsafe; have a texture center; use soft and neutral colors; incorporate exercise; set up classroom to match the activity; use soft furniture; limit sugary drinks; use soft foods and keep a consistent schedule and routine

Question 32

Which system is widely used to treat students with ASD?

Answer 32

Applied Behavior Analysis (analyze what happens before a behavior and seek to limit behaviors that are inappropriate and increase behaviors that are appropriate)

Question 33

What can ABA be used for?

Answer 33

social understanding; play; academics and communication

Question 34

What are the basics of ABA?

Answer 34

Exploit a child's interests; establish a consistent routine and schedule; break down processes into simple steps; use structured and engaging activities when working with the child; reinforce behavior; record data

Question 35

How is a behavior broken down in ABA?

Answer 35

Antecedent (what happened before the behavior or the trigger); Behavior (what occured); Consequence (what followed after the behavior)

Question 36

What is a reinforcement?

Answer 36

Anything that motivates behavior (toys; food; candy; token economy; an activity a child enjoys; praise)

Question 37

When do reinforcement work best?

Answer 37

when you see the target behavior; when you do not give too much of the reward; when you don't give them a reward every time so that they become unmotivated; when it is given immediately following the behavior

Question 38

What is negative reinforcement?

Answer 38

removing something that the child does not want so that they can perform a specific behavior (e.g., If you throw out the trash, then you do not have to clean the dishes).

Question 39

What is punishment?

Answer 39

taking away something the child does want; less rewarding than positive and negative reinforcement

Question 40

What is behavior chaining?

Answer 40

An ABA technique in which a multi-step action is broken down into small steps

Question 41

What is discrete trial instruction?

Answer 41

An ABA technique in which a teacher works one on one with a student in a setting that is free of distractions; the teacher provides an instruction or a direction, provides a prompt or a cue to the correct response, and then fades the prompt over time

Question 42

What is pivotal response training?

Answer 42

An ABA technique that is similar to the discrete trial instruction method but it is more child-directed and uses the child's natural interests

Question 43

What is incidental teaching?

Answer 43

a technique in which a teacher responds incidentally to a child's comments using questions or comments that encourage the child to continue to respond

Question 44

What is errorless teaching?

Answer 44

An ABA technique designed to prevent errors or incorrect responses by providing prompts that allow an individual to engage in targeted behavior

Question 45

What is script fading?

Answer 45

An ABA technique in which a child is taught to produce certain responses in certain social situations; it's effective in teaching verbal initiations to peers, social interactions, and conversation skills

Question 46

What is Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention?

Answer 46

An ABA technique in which an intense, individualized method is used and it involves 20-40 hours and it involves discrete trial instruction

Question 47

What is shaping?

Answer 47

An ABA technique in which successive approximations are used to help children say particular words

Question 48

What is extinction?

Answer 48

Withholding a desired outcome or item when it is not asked appropriately

Question 49

What is a behavior contract?

Answer 49

A written contract that indicates that a student gets a special reward if they perform a specific behavior

Question 50

What is positive behavioral intervention & support (PBIS)?

Answer 50

A method that aims to prevent inappropriate school behaviors by creating predictable environments, correcting behaviors, and teaching expected behavior.

Question 51

What is Tier 1 of PBIS?

Answer 51

primary level of intervention that focuses on reducing problem behaviors and increasing time for instructions. It applies to all students, staff, and settings

Question 52

What is Tier 2 of PBIS?

Answer 52

Secondary level of intervention that focuses on preventing certain students from demonstrating at-risk behavior

Question 53

What is Tier 3 of PBIS?

Answer 53

Tertiary level of intervention that focuses on reducing high-risk behavior exhibited by some individuals

Question 54

What is a functional behavioral assessment?

Answer 54

An assessment made to determine why an individual with ASD is exhibiting a certain behavior

Question 55

What are the six steps of the functional behavioral assessment?

Answer 55

create a team (teachers, related service personnel, parents, the student, paraprofessional) ---> identify the behavior --> collect baseline data---> develop a hypothesis---> test the hypothesis---> develop intervention

Question 56

How can providers support families who have kids with ASD?

Answer 56

Connect them with support groups and organizations, such as Parent to Parent NY State; remain optimistic; encourage them to speak to their kids and focus on the kid's interests; try new activities with their kid; help them set up networks where they can share their experiences and coordinate child care.

Question 57

What language problems do some children with ASD exhibit?

Answer 57

perseveration; echolalia; omission of grammatical features; lack of interest in human voices; issues with social communication; issues with comprehending and using figurative language; can learn concrete language faster than abstract language; reversal of pronouns; lack of understanding of relationships between words; struggle to establish joint reference; acquire speech sounds and language slowly; lack of response to speech