More restricted definitions: .7-2.3 per 10,000 individuals being identified with autism

Less restrictive: 7-14 per 10,000 individuals

As of 2006, 1.5 million Americans identified as having autism (1 in 166 births)

An increase of 10-17% per year w/ as many as 4 mil affected by 2015.

Ave. annual expenditure for students w/ ASD= $18,790 (1999-2000)

1. Greater awareness of the condition

2. Gen. overall population increase

3.  Definitional changes

4. Influx of children from out-of state

5.  Prior misdiagnosis (ex: MR)

6.  Vaccinations

(none of the above have been confirmed)

-->Also "diagnostic substitutions" and "epidemic proportions"

• Ltd. social interaction
• Persistent preoccupation w/ parts of things
• Sig. impairment in soc., occupational, and other functioning areas
• No significant delay in lang., self-help, adaptive behavior (other than social), and cognition

1. Behavioral deficits: inability to relate to others, lack of functional language, sensory processing deficits, cognitive deficits
2. Behavioral excesses: self-stimulation, resistance to change, bixarre and challenging behaviors, self-injurous behaviors.

***AS= Thought to be socially stiff, awkward, emotionally blunted, self-centered, deficient in understanding nonverbal social cues, and inflexible; aware enough to know they are diff from their other peers.  Self-esteem and self-concept difficulties are common

1. Letter-Word Identification- 49% of children w/ autism fall into the bottom 20% of students in the gen. population, 19% are in the upper 40%
2. Passage Comprehension- 66% w/ autism fall into lower 20%, only 8% in the upper 40%
3. Calculation- 49% w/ autism fall into the lower 20%, 18% in the upper 40%
4. Applied Problems- 65% w/ autism fall into the lowest 20% of gen. pop., only 12% are within upper 40%

**Some children w/ autism present pos. characteristics.  They also sometimes have "hyperlexia" where an advance of at least one standard deviation in the reading over the verbal IQ level. 

1. Calendar abilities
2. Ability to count visual things quickly
3. Artistic ability
4. Musical ability

**Those w/ AS: strength in oral expression and reading recognition, while difficulties including oral comprehension, written expression, and math (prob. solving).  Also strenghts in grammar, vocab, rote memory, absorbing facts, and honesty.

----->LOOK AT TABLE 9.1

• 83% of children 6-12 were male
• ages 13-17, 84.8%
• .64% Native Americans
• 4.9% Asians
• 16.5% African Americans
• 10.1% Hispanic
• 67.5% Euro-Americans

• Present in 1 in 10,000-15,000 female births (representing a genetic disorder on the X chromosome)
• 4 Dev. Stages Associated w/ Rett Syndrome:

1. Early Onset: 6-18 mo.; < eye contact and interest in toys; hand-wringing
2. Rapid Destructive: age 1-4 (can last weeks or months); hand skills and spoken lang. may be lost; initiating motor movement difficult
3. Plateau: age 2-10 and can last for years; motor probs and seizures are prominent; behavior may improve along w/ communication and attn span
4. Late Motor Deterioration: can last for decades; reduced mobility, muscle weakness, rigidity; generally no decline in cognition or communication

**Key intervention foci= symptomatic treatment assoc. w/ key characteristics discussed above

• 24.5% of preschoolers (2-5) served in an early childhood setting, 49.5% served in early childhood special-ed setting, 2.1 % recieved services at home-based program, 15.2% 50-50 btw. early childhood and special-ed, .5% residential facility, 5.9% served in seperate school, 1.2% Intinerant services outside of the home, 1.6% in reverse mainstreaming program

For students age 6-21:

• 24.7% served in reg. class for 79%+ of the day
• 17.8% outside of the classroom btw 21-60% of the time
• 45.5% served outside reg. class for 60%+ of the day
• 5.8% served in public facilities and 4.6% in priv. facilities
• 1.1% served in pub. or priv. residential facilties
• .4% served w/in the home or in hospital environ.

• Develop basic language and social skills
• Provide academic instruction consistent w/ cognitive level
• Teach fund. skills for postschool success
• Tie instruction to parental ed.

**Another goal is to implement effective early intervention programs

1. Individualized services and supports for both family and child
2. Systemic instruction of meaningful skills
3. Reliance on data-based decision making in ed. programs
4. Creation of structured learning environments
5. Implementation of specialized curriculum for language and social skills
6. Application of a functional approach to understanding prob. behavior

1. Well-established: adult directed intervention
2. Emerging and effective: peer-mediated interventions, visual supports, self-monitoring, involving families
3. Probably efficacious: positive behavior supports; videotaped modeling of apt behaviors, moderating task characteristics

• The use of social stories is a recent intervention strategy
• They identify steps in social situations and facilitate learning bc students w/ ASD have diff. reading environmental, societal, and behavioral cues.
• They typically:

1. Target a specific problematic social situation
2. Identify salient features of context and setting
3. Share this infor w/ child and others

• based on teaching kids how to exchange pic. symbols to make varied social requests
• Similar concept as communication board for those with severe disabilities

• Graduated w/ a standard diploma: increase from 33.7% in 1994- 51.1% in 2002.
• Students w/ autism dropping out: decrease from 25.9% in 1994- 17.6% in 2002

• Aggression that has moved beyond what can be tolerated or has become significantly less manageable
• Self-injurious behavior that poses a threat to her/his health and safety and/or significantly interferes w/ the activities of daily living
• Obsessions/compulsions that significantly interfere w/ the child's participation in the activities of daily living or safety
• Ongoing, unsafe impulsivity that may including running, climbing, mouthing, or eating inappropriate objects

• Facilitated Communication (FC)- process where a facilitator helps the person w/ autism to type or use a keyboard for communication purposes; provides an apt illustration of "miracle cures" that have been too common in this field
• Controversial: evidence often showed that the facilitator influences the autistic person although the facilitator may be unaware of it

1. Social skills
2. Expressive verbal lang, receptive lang, non-verbal comm skills
3. Functional symbolic comm system, engagement and flexibility in developmentally appropriate tasks and play
4. Fine and gross motor skills
5. Cog. skills (symbolic play and academic skills)
6. Conventionalc/appropriate behaviors
7. Independent org. skills and skills for successes in a reg. classroom

1. Carefully structure seating arrangements and group work
2. Provide a safe haven
3. Save the student from him/herself
4. Prepare for changes in routine
5. Use available resources/make needed accommodations
6. Connect w/ each other, parents, Internet support groups, and other groups
7. Promotoe positive peer interactions
8. Capitalize on special interests
9. Don' t take it personally
10. Help your classroom become a caring community