TLA Strategies for Additional Needs

Learning Objectives

• Describe what Autism Spectrum Condition is and how it can affect learners and their learning
• Identify the characteristics of Autism and the strengths and difficulties that students can present with
• Locate and recognise possible support strategies for you to share with your learners and/or implement in your teaching.

DON'T FORGET TO WRITE THESE DOWN SO YOU CAN REFLECT ON YOUR ACHIEVEMENT AT THE END OF THE SESSION!

Autism Spectrum Condition:

Autism Spectrum Condition, or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition which affects people in different ways. Like all people, autistic members of society have their own strengths and weaknesses, but their autism tends to affect how they communicate and interact with the world.

Many autistic students do not disclose their condition to anyone, for a variety of reasons including not identifying as disabled, believing they are not entitled to support or wanting to fit in with their peers. A large number of students with an autism spectrum condition have not been diagnosed by the time they leave school.

Strengths of autism:

• People with autism often have exceptional memories, and can remember information they read weeks ago.
• Often outperform others in auditory and visual tasks, and also do better on non-verbal tests of interest
• Good verbal skills and rich vocabulary.
• Ability to absorb and retain large amounts of information, especially about topics of special interest.
• Ability to think in visual images.
• Be self-motivated, independent learners.
• Propensity to think outside the box and generate novel solutions to problems.
• Concentrate for long periods of time on reading, experimenting, writing,
• Avoid wasting time in some activities that appeal to neurotypical people.
• Some special interests can be channeled into productive hobbies or even careers, where the person may be creative or make new discoveries.
• Ability to notice small details of an idea, theory, number pattern, book, film, object or visual image.
• Ability to perform repetitive tasks where accuracy, rules  and routine are important.
• Strong work ethic; commitment to quality and accuracy of work.

The creator of  ; Satoshi Tajiri credits his autism for his success. Having obsessions like bug collecting and video games during his youth. The Art of Autism reported that:

“The latter captured so much of his time and attention that he actually cut classes and wound up flunking high school. His parents were concerned; they actually didn’t understand his obsession with games and thought he was a delinquent throwing his life away.”

People with Autism tend to experience difficulties with interpreting both verbal and non-verbal communication like hand gestures or tone of voice. As with the other neuro-diverse conditions we have explored, no two people are the same. Some autistic people may have limited speech while others have very good language skills but struggle to understand sarcasm or tone of voice. Other challenges may include:

• taking things literally and not understanding abstract concepts
• needing extra time to process information or answer questions
• repeating what others say to them (this is called echolalia)
  
  

Autistic people often have difficulty 'reading' other people - recognising or understanding others' feelings and intentions - and expressing their own emotions. This can make it very hard to navigate the social world. Autistic people may:

• at times may appear to be insensitive
• seek out time alone when overloaded by other people
• not seek comfort from other people
• appear to behave 'strangely' or in a way thought to be socially inappropriate
• find it hard to form friendships.

People with ASD often prefer to have routines so that they know what is going to happen. They may want to travel the same way to and from college, wear the same clothes or eat exactly the same food for breakfast. 

Autistic people may also repeat movements such as hand flapping, rocking or the repetitive use of an object such as twirling a pen or opening and closing a door. Autistic people often engage in these behaviours to help calm themselves when they are stressed or anxious, but many autistic people do it because they find it enjoyable. 

Change to routine can also be very distressing for autistic people and can make them very anxious. 

Autistic people may experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light, colours, temperatures or pain. For example, they may find certain background sounds like music in a restaurant, which other people ignore or block out, unbearably loud or distracting.

Anxiety is a real difficulty for many autistic adults, particularly in social situations or when facing change. It can affect a person psychologically and physically and impact quality of life for autistic people and their families.  

When everything becomes too much for an autistic person, they can go into meltdown or shutdown. These are very intense and exhausting experiences.

A meltdown happens when someone becomes completely overwhelmed by their current situation and temporarily loses behavioural control.  This loss of control can be verbal (eg shouting, screaming, crying) or physical (eg kicking, lashing out, biting) or both. Meltdowns in children are often mistaken for temper tantrums and parents and their autistic children often experience hurtful comments and judgmental stares from less understanding members of the public. 

A shutdown appears less intense to the outside world but can be equally debilitating. Shutdowns are also a response to being overwhelmed, but may appear more passive - eg an autistic person going quiet or 'switching off'. One autistic woman described having a shutdown as: 'just as frustrating as a meltdown, because of not being able to figure out how to react how I want to, or not being able to react at all; there isn’t any ‘figuring out’ because the mind feels like it is past a state of being able to interpret.'

TLA Strategies to Support Learners with Autism:

• Establish a supportive relationship with the student and ask them to share what you can do in the classroom that will support their learning
  
  
• Speak to Learner Support about information we have about this learner and how best they can be supported
  
  
• Differentiate your teaching and learning accordingly
  
  
• Focus on what the student can do rather than what he/she cannot do and build on his/her strengths using positive encouragement
  
  
  
  
• You may need to simplify language, repeat words and clarify meanings
  
  
• Ensure tasks have a clear meaning and purpose
  
  
• Use short sequential steps when teaching
  
  
• Consider a multi-sensory approach to spelling that provides opportunities for the student to follow the look, copy, trace, picture, cover, write and check sequence technique
  
  
• Utilise concept mapping to build on the student’s existing knowledge
  
  
• Give the student opportunities to generalise knowledge and skills
  
  
• Help the student to realise that making mistakes is part of the learning process
  
  
• Incorporate the student’s interests, aptitudes, experiences and skills into learning and teaching
  
  
• Utilise active learning, participation and collaboration with peers
  
  
• Use a wide range of learning resources (e.g. visual aids (charts/artefacts), concrete objects, computer software and accessible texts
  
  
• Provide handouts/worksheets that minimise the amount of writing required
  
  
  
  
• Provide immediate feedback and opportunities for self-assessment
  
  
• If using ICT, students may derive benefit from assistive technology (e.g. lowercase keyboards, keyboard overlays or recognition software)