Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism is a complex neurobehavioral disorder that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors.
General Characteristics:

• Little to no eye contact
• Peer play is rarely observed
• Emotions are rarely displayed
• Utterances are stereotypic and repetitive 
• Conversations are not maintained
• Many fail to use words 
• Marked distress is typically experienced over trivial or minor changes in the environment
• Daily routines can become ritualized
• Obsessive and compulsive behavior is frequently displayed 
• Rocking, hand-flapping are repeated in cycles difficult to stop
• Aggression towards others
• Self-injurious behavior
• Loud sounds can result in fearful reactions

Strengths:

• Rote memory
• Remember information for long periods of time
• Visual learning and thinking style
• Concrete and literal activities
• Ability to learn in detail and in 'chunks'

Abilities:

• Use visual information meaningfully
• Pay attention to small details and keep up attention, when motivated
• Learn language in chunks (echolalia) by echoing and mimicking words or phrases

Needs: (found on pages 420-422)

• Focusing on the discrete elements of the task being taught
• Guided practice and reinforcing each step of a skill
• Providing opportunities to interact with peers and rewarding when they do so
• A schedule for their day
• Structure and routine - avoid surprises
• Direct statements
• Feedback about the appropriateness of responses
• Tasks that the individual can perform
• Verbal communication with illustrations or pictures

Examples of Assistive Technology:

1. iPads (here is a post about some Apps that children with Autism can use to help them throughout the day)
2. Picture schedules (click here to read my post!)

Resources:

• http://www.calgaryautism.com/characteristics.htm
• http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/autism_spectrum_disorder_learning_strengths.html/context/1037 

Gifted and Talented

Gifted or talented describes individuals with high levels of intelligence, creativity, outstanding abilities, and capacity for high performance.
General Characteristics: (pg. 468)

• Intellectual ability
• Specific academic apitude
• Creative or productive thinking
• Leadership ability
• Visual and performing arts

Strengths:

• Excels in certain areas of subject matter
• Talented in the arts 
• Excellent memory
• Large vocabulary

Abilities:

• Retains information quickly
• Intrinsic motivation
• High energy and alertness
• Creative
• Seeks to organize
• Seeks cause and effect

Needs:

• Accommodations through technology.
• Access to enriched curriculum in education.
• Accommodations on tests.
• Opportunities to interact with other peers.
• Curriculum that incorporates the theory of multiple intelligences. 
• Opportunities for students to talk about stress and emotional difficulties. 
• Role models and mentors who are also gifted and have learning disabilities.

Examples of Assistive Technology:

1. Massive open online courses ( MOOC’s ) such as edX can allow students to begin experimenting with and engaging in college level coursework while still in high school.
2.  Virtual thematic unit are great to integrate abstract complex ideas into the curriculum. (atozteacherstuff.com/themes)

Resources:

• http://www.trinitypride.org/webpages/gifted/strengths.cfm 
• http://classroomtechintegration.weebly.com/adaptiveassistive-technology.html
• http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ756553.pdf
  

Intellectual Disabilities

Intellectual disability is a disability characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills.
General Characteristics: *characteristics are unique to each individual*

• Problems with cognition
• Problems with adaptive behavior
• A need for supports to sustain independence

Strengths & Abilities:
Each individual has unique strengths and abilities and cannot be generalized.
Needs:

• Natural supports - individuals own resources, family, friends, and neighbors.
• Nonpaid supports - ordinary neighborhood and community (ex. clubs, recreational leagues)
• Generic supports - services as public transportation and states' human services systems.
• Specialized supports - disability-specific, such as human services delivered to families.

Examples of Assistive Technology:

1. Screen magnification (you can read my post here) 
2. Eye tracking software to allow expressive communication 

Resources:

• http://do2learn.com/disabilities/CharacteristicsAndStrategies/IntellectualDisability_Characteristics.html
• https://www.disability.gov/resource/assistive-technology-individuals-intellectual-developmental-disabilities/
• http://www.tamcec.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/AT-Supports-IDD.pdf 

Emotional Behavioral Disorders

 IDEA defines emotional disturbance as follows:
“…a condition exhibiting one or more of the following characteristics over a long period of time and to a marked degree that adversely affects a child’s educational performance:
     (A) An inability to learn that cannot be explained by intellectual, sensory, or health factors.
     (B) An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers.
     (C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under normal circumstances.
     (D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression.
     (E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems.”
General Characteristics:

• Hyperactivity (short attention span, impulsiveness);
• Aggression or self-injurious behavior (acting out, fighting);
• Withdrawal (not interacting socially with others, excessive fear or anxiety);
• Immaturity (inappropriate crying, temper tantrums, poor coping skills); and
• Learning difficulties (academically performing below grade level).
• Those with more serious emotion disturbances may exhibit distorted thinking, excessive anxiety, bizarre motor acts, and abnormal mood swings.  

Strengths & Abilities:
They differ from individual since many cases of EBD are very different from one another. 
Needs:

• Provide students with a high rate of opportunities to respond. 
• Incorporate choice that allows students a chance to choose which task to complete first.
• Having students complete a series of quick tasks that they are likely to complete without a struggle.
• Maintain close proximity to students as your presence will help keep them engaged and control their behaviors.
• Provide high rate of positive feedback and behavior-specific praise for correct responding.

Examples of Assistive Technology:

1.  The Talklight- its light flashes according to the noise in the room. This helps self-monitoring of noise levels and positive reinforcements. 
   
2.  Music players - iPods, mp3 players, and other devices can be used to help the child stay calm. 

Resources:

• http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/emotionaldisturbance/ 
•  https://prezi.com/ptlrwxm4zqgk/assistive-technology-for-emotional-and-behavioral-disorders/
  

ADHD

 The National Institute of Mental Health defines ADHD as, a brain disorder marked by an ongoing pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.

General Characteristics:

• inattention
• doesn't pay attention to detail
• careless mistakes
• trouble focusing
• appears to not be listening when spoken to
• trouble staying organized
• gets bored before a task is completed
• hyperactivity 
• constantly fidgets and squirms
• moves around constantly 
• often leaves seat in situations where sitting is expected
• talks excessively 
• may have a quick temper 
• impulsivity
• acts without thinking
• blurts out answers
• often interrupts others
• guesses rather than taking time to solve a problem

Strengths & Abilities:

• Creativity
• Flexibility
• Enthusiasm and spontaneity
• Energy and drive 
• Quick thinking

Needs:  (Found in Chapter 6 on page 215 of text)

• Extended time for completion of assignments. 
• Break instructional sequences or academic tasks into smaller segments to help maintain attention. 
• Frequent, yet shorter, study periods.
• Timers for specific tasks to help student focus.
• Read directions to students to help them refocus.
• Use computer word processing programs to assist with writing activities. 
• Pointers and tracking devices to help students track text on a page. 
• Extended time for test taking.

Examples of Assistive Technology:

1. Electronic touch tablet (click here for my blog post)
2. Portable word processor (click here for my blog post)

Resources:

• http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml
• http://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/attention-deficit-disorder-adhd-in-children.htm 

Specific Learning Disabilities

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) includes a definition of “specific learning disability” —as follows:

(10) Specific learning disability —(i) General.  Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

General Characteristics: *Not all students will exhibit these characteristics*

• academic problems
• disorders of attention
• poor motor abilities
• psychological process deficits and information-processing problems
• lack of cognitive strategies needed for efficient learning
• oral language difficulties
• reading difficulties 
• written language problems
• mathematical disorders 
• social skill deficits 

Strengths and Abilities:
Learning disabilities are heterogeneous group which means they are a diverse group of individual. These children exhibit potential difficulties in many different areas. One child could have difficulty in reading but do very well in math, while another child could be the complete opposite. It's hard to write down strength and abilities because they greatly vary from individual to individual.

Needs: (Found in Chapter 5 page 180 of text)

• Help students develop organization skills.
• Establish set of rules for academic and social activities and tasks.
• Individualize instruction; be sure the reading level is appropriate. 
• Begin lessons with advance organizers.
• Supplement oral and written assignments with learning aids (computers).
• E-textbooks
• Modify tests, allowing the student to take more time or complete the test in a different way (listen to a tape of the test).
• Etc. 

2 Examples of Assistive Technoloy:

1. Abbreviation Expanders - use with word processing, these software programs allow a user to create, store, and re-use abbreviations for frequently-used words or phrases. This can save the user keystrokes and ensure proper spelling of words and phrases he has coded as abbreviations.
2. Audio books - Recorded books allow users to listen to text and are available in a variety of formats, such as audiocassettes, CDs, and MP3 downloads. Special playback units allow users to and search and bookmark pages and chapters. Subscription services offer extensive electronic library collections. (I actually have a whole blog post dedicated to audio books which you can find here)

 

Resources:

• http://www.helpguide.org/articles/learning-disabilities/helping-children-with-learning-disabilities.htm 
• http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview
• https://www.noodle.com/articles/strengths-of-people-with-learning-disabilities 

Hello EDG 505!

Welcome to my blog! On this blog I will be talking about many different disabilities and discussing their characteristics, strengths, abilities, and needs. I will also be providing examples of assistive technology that would support the needs of students with the particular disabilitiy. I hope you find my blog posts informative and can maybe use some of the examples of AT in your own classroom!