Helping Students to Understand and Accept Individuals with Autism

By Laurie O’Donnell

SSP-ASD Consultant

Kinark Child and Family Services

Chances are, if you haven’t encountered a student diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum in your classroom yet, it is likely that you will soon.

Autism is a pervasive development disorder that affects 1 in 150-160 Canadian individuals (Health Canada 2010).  While diverse in its presentation in individuals, autism is characterized by differences in three main areas, termed the Triad of Features.  All individuals diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder will have needs related to Communication, Patterns of Behaviour and Social Interaction.

While all 3 areas are equally important for the development and programming of students on the spectrum,  the “presence of social impairment may portend the development of more detrimental outcomes, such as social failure and peer rejection, possibly leading to anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other forms of psychopathology” (Bellini, 2004; La Greca & Lopez, 1998; Tantam, 2000).  In fact, “according to Cohen (2004), the presence of a social support system may prevent or even eliminate the stress associated with peer failure by promoting the ability to cope with stress.  Cohen has also found that participation in positive social relationships promotes positive psychological states, such as self-worth, self-efficacy, and positive affect (i.e. general happiness)” (Bellini, 2006).

“Social difficulties are defined as both a skill deficit for the student with a social disability and a problem of acceptance of that student by peers.Thus, intervention must also focus on teaching typical peers how to be more accepting.” (Baker, 2003)

It is important that peers understand and accept diversity in their fellow classmates.  it may be difficult for peers to understand and relate to kids with autism. As a result, they may avoid fostering friendships with peers they don’t understand. 

Here are some quick and easy activities that can help educators  increase their students’ awareness of autism and encourage acceptance of those with differences.

Camping Trip

Goal:

Students understand what it feels like to misunderstand the social rules in the environment, similar to a student with autism.

Strategy:

The activity involves listing items that you bring on a camping trip while the rest of the group tries to understand the rule of the activity.

The facilitator begins by saying, “I’m going on a camping trip and I am going to bring ________.” The object that the facilitator announces has a “rule” or “pattern” attached to it. For example, the objects may all begin with the same letter .

One at a time, students begin to guess and uncover the pattern as it develops. They repeat, “I’m going on a camping trip, and I’m going to bring ________.”

If they follow the pattern, tell them they can come camping, if they do not uncover the pattern, tell them they cannot come camping.

Continue until a number of students understand the pattern.

Reveal the pattern for those who do not understand the rule and discuss how it felt to not understand something that seemed easy for others.

Draw It

Goal:
Students with an ASD often have difficulties processing information receptively.  This activity helps students understand what it feels like to struggle to attend to auditory information (receptive language)

Strategy:

Students are arranged in two lines.  Each line is given a task to accomplish.  The task should involve drawing a picture that includes 5-6 details (i.e. draw an elephant that is wearing a red hat on his head, has purple boots on his feet, a pink bow time on his ear, three earrings in his left ear and an orange scarf around his neck).  Only the first student in each line is given these instructions on paper. 

Students have a chance to read it and then, by memory, must whisper as much information as they can remember to the next person in line.  This continues until all people in the line have had the information whispered to them.  The last person in the line must then draw the picture based on the details they have. 

Students cannot ask for clarification and only the last student can draw the picture without help from his peers. 

Compare pictures between the two groups with the original instructions.

Discuss how information and detail got lost through the line and the implications for this within the context of everyday life.

Tell Me All About It

Goal:

Students with an ASD often have difficulties reliably communicating their wants, needs and thoughts expressively. This activity helps students understand what it feels like to have difficulties communicating their thoughts to others.

Strategy:

Students are arranged in pairs. Students are asked to share what they did over the summer holidays with their partner, but they are not allowed to use words containing the letters A, R, S or B. 

Discuss how difficult it was to communicate information with one another with these limitations in place.

Sensory overload

Goal:

Students with an ASD often have difficulties integrating sensory information. This activity helps students understand what it feels like to be overwhelmed by sensory stimuli.

Strategy:

Students are arranged in groups of 3. Students are asked to complete a very simple word search or worksheet.  The trick is that they must complete the simple worksheet while:
wearing goggles
wearing oven mitts on their hands
one of their group members is knocking or tapping on the table next to them
The other group member is reciting the alphabet in their ear

Discuss how difficult it was to focus on even the simplest of tasks when your senses were overloaded.

Keep the communication going!

“Disability awareness can not be taught in just one lesson. It must  continue over time and be instilled in the classroom culture if students are to be empowered and become advocates”. (Student Awareness Manual, Thames Valley Children’s Centre)

Keep an open dialogue with your students about differences and encourage peers to be accepting of one another.

Maintain and generalize acceptance skills throughout the school day through:

Lunch and peer buddy programs: peers volunteer to assist other students with lunch, recess and during class times.

Class-wide and school-wide incentive programs- acknowledge and reward students for being helpful and kind to one another.
(Baker 2003)

References:

Baker, Jed.  Social Skills Training for Children and Adolescents with Asperger Syndrome and Social-Communication Problems. Autism Aspergers Publishing Company, Shawnee Mission, Kansas, 2003

Bellini, Scott.  Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other Social Difficulties.  Autism Aspergers Publishing Company, Shawnee Mission, Kansas, 2006

Health Canada.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/dc-ma/autism-eng.php

Thames Valley Children’s Centre. Student Awareness Manual, accessed from the Provincial Resource Development website

www.surreyplace.on.ca