3 Common Behaviors of Kids With Autism
Posted by in Special Education on October 22, 2011
Children with autism vary greatly in their symptoms of the disorder, now more commonly known among the autism community as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD. Symptoms of ASD can range from very mild, such as a person with high functioning Asperger’s Syndrome, or very severe such as a child who is totally non-verbal and has very little ability to care for him or herself.
Here are three common behaviors in children with autism.
Behavior Number One: Children with autism have an extreme need for routine and structure. Despite the severity of a child’s autism, most have an extreme need for routine, order and structure in their daily lives. They do best when on a routine schedule, preferably one that is posted visually with words and/or pictures.
Children with autism frequently want to eat the same types of food and drinks, some becoming very picky eaters. Perhaps more common than a picky eater is that the children will come to expect a certain food associated with a certain event. For instance, if the class always has pizza on Mondays, and pizza is not offered on Monday, a child with autism might get upset at this change in routine.
In the same regard, children with ASD can become upset when people change, such as in the case of a substitute teacher, a change in seats, or even visual displays changing from one day to the next. An example would be that all year the eight basic colors have been displayed on a bulletin board in a classroom. Very little reference has been made to the bulletin board but one day the red one falls down as the custodian in cleaning. No one notices but when the child with autism walks into the room, he says, “Red!” Being unable to communicate what he is talking about, he gets upset until finally someone is able to figure out what he is talking about. Read the rest of this entry »
10 Reasons to Improve Your Negotiation Skills
Posted by in Special Education on October 22, 2011
You are in a conversation with the elementary school principal where you are trying to get him to agree to implement a new instructional accommodation for your special needs child. He is making all kinds of excuses why it can’t be done and you’ve made up your mind that you won’t leave his office until you have both come to a resolution…You are in the midst of a negotiation.
Negotiation is an important part of the advocacy process and parents need make sure that they have the skills to do it right.
Some things are NOT negotiable
Exceptional students may have special education needs in the following categories: academic, health, safety, physical, social, and/or emotional. Once the needs have been identified in each category, they MUST be met. However, the parent and the school may have different opinions as to how to meet them. So we don’t negotiate about which needs should be met (although priorities can be set), but rather HOW to meet them. Read the rest of this entry »