Definition:Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills.
Federal Definition
According to IDEA, autism is defined as follows:
Symptoms:Most parents will notice early symptoms of autism at the age of 18 months and seek help by the time the child is 2 years old. Some of the early signs include struggles in pretend play, social interactions, and verbal and nonverbal communication.
Some children with autism appear normal before age 1 or 2 and then suddenly "regress" and lose language or social skills they had previously gained. This is called the regressive type of autism. People with autism may:
Communication problems may include:
Source for definition and symptoms: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/ Causes and Prevalence:
Sources for cause, prevalence, and teaching strategies: Evidence- Based Practices
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Demographics:"About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network."
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html Identification and Eligibility for Special Education:Autism Spectrum disorder is often diagnosed using the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual from the American Psychiatric Association.
However, because symptoms occur in so many different ways and with varying degrees of intensity, autism is a complex disorder to identify and diagnose. In all cases, a multidisciplinary team (including the parents) must participate in the assessment and eligibility determination process. The following are some common identification practices and procedures:
Eligibility Determination: After assessment data has been gathered, the decision-making process is guided by the multidisciplinary team (including educators, medical professionals, parents, and related service personnel). As with all cases regarding special education determination, the following questions must be addressed:
If the answer is "yes" to each of these questions, then the student is found eligible for special education under federal law (IDEA), and further decisions are made regarding placement and specific services for the student. Constant data collection, progress monitoring, and analysis through assessments and interventions are continued as long as the child continues to receive special education services. More information and treatments:Strategies for teaching students with autism:
Helpful sites for more teaching strategies:http://www.autism-world.com/index.php/2007/03/25/effective-strategies-for-teaching-children-with-autism-spectrum-disorders/
http://www.specialed.us/autism/05/strategies.htm http://voices.yahoo.com/teaching-strategies-autistic-children-732387.html |