Final Exam (Lecture 24 - Autism Spectrum Disorder)

Question 1

Autism is the _______ _______ _____________ disability

Answer 1

fastest growing developmental

Question 2

The reading starts off with a description of…

Answer 2

The perspective of an instructor trying to teach a PE class with a student with ASD, and then the perspective of the student who is overwhelmed

Question 3

Will I, as a physical instructor, teach someone with ASD?

Answer 3

Statistically, yes.

Question 4

Some conflicts in a PE setting between what an instructor will do, and how a student with ASD may respond

Answer 4

• Incorporating cooperative and partner activities/Demonstrate absence or minimal cooperative play
• Consistently change things up (class organization, tasks, equipment)/Desires sameness
• Uses verbal instruction and feedback/Difficulty understanding verbal instruction, may have minimal speech or nonverbal
• Environment with lots of sensory stimulants (buzzing fluorescent light, excessive noise due to acoustics of the gym)/Display hypersensitivity to sounds and light, which can cause self-stimulatory and disruptive behaviours

Question 5

Instruction preferrences

Answer 5

Visual over verbal! (Processed differently)
May be nonverbal or minimally verbal
Not just one type of visual support

Question 6

How do visual supports help?

Answer 6

Help increase social interactions
Improve skill development
Increase on-task behaviours
Provides students with clear expectations, predictable schedule (indicate changes throughout the day)
Predictability, order, and consistency
Promote independent transitions
BUT depends on needs of the student

Question 7

Types of visual supports

Answer 7

Pictures, line drawings, visual activity schedules, spots and patterns on the floor, timers (BUT may be distracting/unprofessional if on the phone), written schedules, specific boundaries

Question 8

PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) Cards

Answer 8

Cards with a brief, corresponding description of the task
PE teachers should wear it on a lanyard and have commands like sit, stand, throw, etc.
Can use velcro for the student to take cards off the wall, like checking something off a list
Be aware when making these that ASD kids may have trouble screening out irrelevant info, so boil it down

Question 9

What are visual warning devices, and why are they important?

Answer 9

It is a visual cue (routine-developed) that an activity is ending, and can be a timer or a stop watch
Important because individuals with ASD have trouble understanding spoken language, systems, orderly relationships, and time within a constantly changing environment

Question 10

What are boundaries and why are they important?

Answer 10

It designates the exact area the activity/task is going to be performed
Encourages independence
Can be cones, floor tape, or higher boundaries that minimize view of other distractions
Helps students remember and identify activities better, and reduces displays of stereotypical behaviours

Question 11

What did Leo Kanner do?

Answer 11

Published the first paper identifying 11 children with (severe) autism
Said the kids are unable to connect with people in a normative way, and said it was a disability (just like other kids with other physical and intellectual disabilities)
Autism = escape from reality

Question 12

What did Hans Asperger do?

Answer 12

Described 4 kids with some similar characteristics as with Kanner (higher intellectual ability)
This description was the basis of Asperger’s Syndrome
(But we don’t say Asperger’s anymore, just part of AS)

Question 13

Years ago, what did people think the cause was and how did they try to ‘fix’ it?

Answer 13

People blamed mother’s, thought she must be cold and un-nurturing
Both mother and child would go to psychotherapy or child would be removed from the home because they thought it was a bad environment for the kid

Question 14

Current perspective of autism, what is it?

Answer 14

• Complex developmental disability (neurological disorder)
• Usually appears during first 3 years
• Affects development of social interaction and communication skills
• Both kids and adults typically show difficulties in communication (verbal or non), social interactions, leisure and play
• It’s a SPECTRUM so depends on the individual

Question 15

“What I Saw” main takeaways

Answer 15

Not trying to be “bad” or defiant, just trying to communicate something (tolerance, openness, and patience)
Look at environment as a whole and use behaviour as a cue

Question 16

Why is early diagnosis so important?

Answer 16

Because child can benefit from intervention programs ASAP

Question 17

Who is more frequently identified as having ASD, men or women?

Answer 17

Men
4x more
1 in 42 males
1 in 165 females

Question 18

How many children got their diagnoses by ages 6 and 12 (respectively)?

Answer 18

56%
90%

Question 19

By what age are kids usually diagnosed?

Answer 19

By 3 yrs old

Question 20

Which race has highest incident rates?

Answer 20

No preference based on race

Question 21

Is there a genetic link?

Answer 21

Maybe, but not usually predictable
In identical twins, if one has it the other probably does too
In fraternal twins, 0-22% chance of the other one having it

Question 22

Benefits of PA, sport preferences

Answer 22

Usually prefer individual sports (less social + communication demands)
Closed, predictable environments
Repetitive motions (running, swimming, cycling, etc.)
Tends to focus on ‘decreasing troubling/disruptive behaviour’, but that’s rehab area
VARIES BETWEEN PERSON

Question 23

Temporal (time) supports

Answer 23

For helping understand the passage of time
Providing structure, less unpredictable
Avoid “soon”, “later”, “not yet”, and “wait” because it’s abstract
Use a timer or stopwatch

Question 24

Rule supports

Answer 24

Includes schedule rules, game rules, social rules, safety rules
Try to explain cause->effect relationships
ex. If this, then this

Question 25

Procedural supports

Answer 25

Used to clarify components of a task or activity
Student might know WHAT they need to do, but not HOW to do it or steps
Use sequence supports or visual/activity schedules

Question 26

Sequence supports or visual/activity schedules

Answer 26

Used to order sequence of activities in order
Use real objects, photographs, picture symbols, or words to represent activities/environments
Very useful to prevent problem behaviour during transitions between environments and/or activities

Question 27

Visual supports

Answer 27

Can be used to as supplementary input (may help replace the input the individual is not picking up on naturally)
 Sequence supports aka “visual schedules”
 Procedural supports
 Rule supports
 Temporal supports

Question 28

Purpose of support

Answer 28

• Increase understanding of activity requirements
• Facilitate communication
• Reduce unpredictability
• Help with activity/environment transitions
• Provide structure
• Increase understanding of social requirements
  Basically trying to make implicit explicit

Question 29

Autism diagnosis (DSM-V) needs to have:

Answer 29

• All 3 personal deficits in social communication + interaction in all contexts (deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, non-verbal communicative behaviours, relationships)
• 2-4 from restricted + repetitive behaviour, interests, or activities in all contexts (stereotyped/repetitive motor movt’s, insistence on sameness/routines, fixated interests, hyper/hyporeactivity to to sensory input)
• Symptoms must be present in early development (but might not be noticeable until demands exceed capacities or may learn to mask deficits)
• Symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other areas
• Symptoms aren’t better explained by intellectual disability (but may be both)