Collection of Experiences 3- (Autism Spectrum Disorders)

Jenna Vanderstelt

Introduction:

In the year 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data on the

prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders, stating that 1 in 68 children are born with ASD. With

Autism on such a rise, it is very crucial to understand what the disorder is, how to help those

with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and how to build awareness for this disorder. Autism includes

many different characteristics, but some hallmark ones are difficulty with communication, social

skills, and repetitive behavior. I aspire to be a behavior analyst as my future career, working with

children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and giving them the therapy they need in order to be

more successful or even independent. I will be telling stories of my experiences at my field

placement this semester at The Shoreline Center. The Shoreline Center is a clinic that administers

behavioral therapy for children with ASD, therefore, being exactly what I hope to do in my

future career, I learned a great deal from this field placement, and have encountered many very

inspiring stories of changes in the children due to the therapy during the course of my semester at

The Shoreline Center.

Definition:

Often Autism can be difficult to define because it often does look different for each

student. A few of the most common and evident characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders is

a difficulty with communication, social skills, and repetitive behavior. Along with these three

characteristics, they often have unusual sensory responses, as well as difficulty making eye

contact, recognizing faces and understanding emotions. Although they do struggle with these

things, students with ASD do exhibit average to above-average intelligence. This proves that
students with ASD are smart and can learn, but only if the teacher knows the ways to adequately

teach them. ASD is often also referred to as Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). This is

the same as Autism, but delays are first recognizable during the developmental period from ages

2 to 4. Often children with ASD are characterized as either high-functioning or low-functioning.

Students who are high functioning do often exhibit the characteristics of ASD, but the student

still has to ability to participate in regular activities. Students who are low-functioning are often

non-verbal, as well as have below-average intellectual functioning. Autism Spectrum Disorders

are formally defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM-5), as

well as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The DSM-5, used by psychologists to

diagnose ASD, characterizes labels of autistic disorder, Aspergers disorder, PDD-NOS, and

CDD all under the umbrella term ASD. The DSM-5 also separates Autism into 3 different levels

based on the childs challenges with communication, social skills, and repetitive behaviors. In

order to diagnose students and allow them to receive special education services, IDEA defines

ASD as a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal

communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects

educational performance. (IDEA 2004) IDEA also states the additional characteristics of Autism

including engaging in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to

environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory

experiences. (IDEA 2004) If a student with ASD is granted special education services, they

would have a psychologist as their MET rep.

Experiences:

Throughout my time at The Shoreline Center, I have had the opportunity to see the

progress in many different children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but a few in particular have
really stood out among the rest. To the left of the page I have included a photo of The Shoreline

Centers logo. Due to HIPAA laws, I am unable to write their names, but I can refer to them as

their name and their ages. The first case that has really stood out to me throughout my time at

The Shoreline Center is with a boy with ASD who is 4 years old. When I first started at The

Shoreline Center, this boy was just beginning his treatment. He was unable to speak, and all he

did was flap his hands and scream and make noises. It was clear from my first day that this was

something that he would be working on throughout the course of his therapy. Each week I saw

him improve substantially. He began with simple sounds like mm ba etc. The therapist

working with him would use different reinforcers in order to get him to speak sounds. A couple

weeks ago, he was able to look at a picture of his mother and say mama as well as a photo of

his father and say dada. I am sure this was very awesome for his parents to hear when they

were able to! His Ipad serves as a very strong reinforcer for him, and the past couple of weeks,

he has been able to say I Paaa when he wants the Ipad. Last week he came in with a balloon

and was actually able to say balloon! He significantly improved in his verbal ability and I hope

he will continue to do so throughout the rest of my time at The Shoreline Center. Another child

that has really stood out to me during my field placement was a boy the age of 4. The main

reason this boy stood out so much is just because of how funny he is! I really have learned a lot

from watching his therapy sessions because he uses a token economy as reinforcement, and you

can really tell how happy he gets when he completely fills his token board and is able to partake

in his preferred activity. To the right of the page I have included an example photo of what a

token board would look like. You can see from the photo that is includes the specific reinforcer

the child is working for, which can be an item or activity. This is very similar to the board many

children at the Shoreline Center use. One specific activity this boy really enjoys working for is
 what the therapist calls photo-

booth. She gets out a laptop,

The Shoreline Centers Logo

turns the webcam on, and the boy does

silly faces and listens to himself talk into

the camera. He really enjoys this, and it is A token economy board.

so funny to watch him re-act to seeing his silly faces in the camera. Another reinforcing activity

he really enjoys is making popcorn in the popcorn machine. Whenever he earns the ability to

make popcorn, he asks the therapist if he can ask another student to make it with him. Of course

she says yes, and he goes and asks another student to join him! A third child with ASD who has

really stood out is a 7 year old boy that I am able to see every time I go to the Shoreline Center.

A few things that really stand out about this particular boy is just how sweet he is. He always

wants hugs, even during therapy, which can often get him off task. The main thing he has been

working on in his therapy sessions, and has significantly improved upon is the difference

between you and I/Me. He often confuses the two and when referring to himself, he says

you rather than me or I. This is very cute and funny when he makes this mistake because

lately he has been able to catch himself, corrects himself right away, and giggles. This particular

boy also really loves the sensory room, particularly getting squished by a giant pillow. This is

actually one of his target behaviors because he takes his turn getting squished, and then he is

expected to give the therapist a turn to get squished. This is something he has significantly

improved upon throughout my time at the Shoreline Center. He now gives the therapist a turn

every single time and is very consistent! I have really enjoyed my time at the Shoreline Center so

far, and really look forward to the continuing weeks, as well as my future career in this field.
Reactions and Questions:

My experience at the Shoreline Center so far has made me 100% more confident

regarding my future career field. It has been so rewarding and amazing to see the very large

improvements all these children have made through ABA therapy. Most of these improvements

are improvements that unfortunately would not have happened if it were not for this therapy.

Using reinforcement is extremely beneficial, and many of the significant strides I have seen these

children make have happened out of the use of reinforcers. The first child I talked about, who

started out his treatment only screaming and being completely unable to speak, is now able to

say mama, dada, Ipad, and balloon, and I am sure he will continue to improve upon his

speech in the weeks to come. This is a very great thing that he is able to get the attention of his

mother or father and request what he wants. In the past I learned that he would simply scream for

what he wanted, and his parents became very frustrated because they never knew what he

needed. This therapy has been very beneficial for him, as well as his family. The second child I

talked about is very awesome to watch because he seems so happy when he is able to completely

fill out his token board and gain access to his preferred item or activity. It is very rewarding to

see him feel so accomplished and proud of himself when he puts his tokens on his board.

Another thing that is really cool to see is the fact that this boy always wants to invite other

children to make popcorn with him. This is very huge and significant because often children with

Autism struggle with social skills, so not only does this help this child improve, but other

children as well. The third child I spoke about is so awesome to watch because he is so sweet. It

has been so cool to see him improve throughout my time at the Shoreline Center. He really has

significantly improved upon knowing the difference between you and I/me. He now knows

when to correct himself, and this is really funny to watch because it is clear that he knows he was
wrong, and he usually giggles and corrects himself. A question I would really like to ask would

be to the parents of the children who are receiving the therapy, and that would be how much has

ABA therapy improved your childs life and as a result, your own life? Another question I would

like to ask is to the therapists I have had to chance to shadow, and that would be, do you ever get

attached to the students, and if so how do you handle when you are no longer working with

them? I think these would be really great questions and would allow insight both on the parental

side as well as the therapist side. My time at the Shoreline Center so far as been extremely

rewarding so far, and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go there every week!

Impact on my Career:

My time at the Shoreline Center has had a very significant impact on my future career.

First of all, it has completely allowed me to feel 100% confident that this is the field in which I

am meant to go into. It allows me to work with children with special needs, which is something I

have always wanted to do, but it also allows me to work one on one with the children and aide

them in all aspects of their development. The therapists at the Shoreline Center have been

extremely helpful in teaching me different core principles of ABA as they are administering the

therapy to the children. They have even let me take part in the therapy at times. I will always

remember skills all the different therapists have taught me because it was my first experience in

ABA, and I feel much more confident with it now than I did before. I hope that when I start in

this field that I am able to be as good of a therapist as the therapists I have shadowed every week

at The Shoreline Center. This experience has also directly had an impact on my future career

because they have actually offered me a job there as well! They are in need of people in the

summer, and I am extremely excited to begin my career early than I had anticipated!

Assistive Technologies
 Technology can be extremely beneficial for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and

is used extensively at the Shoreline Center. One assistive technology that is extremely helpful for

students with ASD, particularly nonverbal students is an application called Autismate. This is a

communication app that uses real life photos of objects in the students life, and states the name

for the student, so they are able to click on that thing that they recognize and the app says what it

is if the child is unable. This application also videotapes children doing things, and puts words to

it. This is a really great app, and can be very beneficial for students because it uses real life

photos and videos of the students environment, and as a result it includes what they already

know into their communication app. This can be beneficial in school because teachers can use

this application in order to teacher students how to adequately communicate. To the left of the

page I have included a screenshot of the application. As you can see it includes photos of the

students actual home as well people in their life in order to help then navigate their home and

learn the names of each room and each person in their life. Another really beneficial piece of

assistive technology for students with ASD is a timer. Because children with ASD are very

resistant to changes in their daily schedules, a timer keeps them calm because they know how

long they are going to be doing something, and how long until they are able to gain access to

their preferred item or activity. For this reason, a timer can actually serve as a reinforcer for a

child with ASD. The last beneficial piece of assistive technology is a first, then visual

schedule. Very similar to the timer, the first then schedule allows children to see what they need

to do first, before they gain reinforcement. This can be used by therapists or teachers when

working on something in order to keep the child on task, and to remind him or her what they

need to do first because they gain a more preferred item or activity. To the right of the page I

have included a photo of a first, then visual schedule. This one is very similar to the ones the
Shoreline Center uses. As you can see, what the child needs to do first is displayed, as well as

what they will do then.

Conclusion

Due to the increased prevalence of Autism

Spectrum Disorders, it is very important for teachers

and other professionals to know how to adequately

serve this population. It can often be difficult for

children with Autism to learn because of behaviors. It

Example of a first, then visual schedule
is extremely

important to remember that children with Autism are not

learning disabled, but rather are teaching impaired. If we use

the correct strategies in order to teach them, they will be

successful. I am extremely excited for my future career, and

Autismate application screenshot after seeing the significant strides by children I have had the

opportunity to watch and get to know at the Shoreline Center, I am really confident that this is

the field in which I am called to enter.

Bibliography

Powell, S. R., & Driver, M. K. (2013). Working with Exceptional Students: An Introduction to
Special Education. Bridegepoint Education.
Chapter 9: Student with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Pandaspeech. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2017, from
http://www.pandaspeechtherapy.com/single-post/2016/08/18/3-Reasons-To-Use-Visual-Session-
Schedules-In-Speech-more-FREE-SCHEDULE

Autism Speaks. (2012, July 24). Retrieved March 29, 2017, from
https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/prevalence

Our Services. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2017, from http://theshorelinecenter.com/

AutisMate: Therapy App With Easy, Endless Customization. (2013, October 27). Retrieved
March 29, 2017, from http://www.autismpluggedin.com/2012/08/autismate-autism-app-
review.html