Behavioral Therapy in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Ziyan (not real name) 7 years old is a boy who studies in Aminiya School. Ziyan lives with his both parents. Moreover he is having an aunt who is taking extra care of him as his parents are not well educated. His mother is a house wife taking care of him and his 2 siblings (a sister and a brother). His father is working in his island. He is the eldest in their family.

Ziyan is having difficulties in comprehending questions. Moreover, he learns and develops more slowly than other kids. Also he is not talking and writing as well as a typical 7year-old children. However, he likes to play and run with his classmates. He knows counting zero to fifty in English. Moreover, he knows how to read English alphabets but has difficulties in Dhivehi letters. As Ziyan is having difficulties in learning and lack of social skills. Moreover, he is usually slower to learn other skills also he is having difficulties with attention and organizing information. Ziyan is having short attention span for his age and he can follow directions with one or two steps. He did not participate in the class discussion too.

His teacher is very concern about these issues because she cannot bring any changes for last 5 months. To cater the child I have to find more information about the Ziyan so I talked to the leading teacher and check his personal file in the school whether he is having any documents about his disability. Also I went his class to observe him and taken interview from his class teacher and subject teachers. Moreover I have taken interview from his parents and went his home to observe him too. By doing this I came to know how I can deal with the Ziyan. And I believe without knowing the child I did not know where I can start and what I can do. So it is very important to know the child before we start anything to them.

By observing the child from the class, I came to know that teaching and learning is same as the others for him. This makes him confuse the content and doesn’t understand anything in the class. For this reason he has less confident and interactions is very poor compared to the other children. “Children with intellectual disabilities learn a lot through doing tasks rather than just listening. Using all the senses to learn also helps them learn and retain information better. Your classroom or teaching area must have space and resources to allow children with an intellectual impairment to do various activities that are functional as well as academic”(Parentcenterhub.org, 2015). And the explanation of the lesson is too long and he cannot concentrate it. So I strongly believe that the first thing what the teacher can do is to modify her teaching because Ziyan is having difficulties in comprehending questions also he is having difficulties with attention and organizing information. Also Ziyan is having short attention span for his age and he can follow directions with one or two steps. “Children with intellectual disabilities need to learn through baby steps. Every task, skill or activity needs to be broken down into small baby steps. The child is taught one small step at a time. Slowly, he or she learns to combine these baby steps to learn a bigger concept. For example, we will not teach the concept of red color in one day, we will first teach sorting red, then matching red, then identifying red, then naming red and finally generalizing red. In this way try to break up every skill into small baby steps” (Bright Hub Education, 2015).

I found that his parents are also not aware of the child disability. They are also not giving much attention of the child’s disability. They think child is not doing those because he is so careless.

Educational Adaptations and Intervention Plan

Every child is different and every child can learn. Different children learn on their own level and through different mediums. As teachers we should know each and every child’s needs. As teachers we should find out what works for the children in your class and find creative ways to bring those ideas into your lessons. “Our schools today are educating the largest, most diverse student population ever, to higher standards than ever before. In order to meet the diversity we have talked about, there is a need for “adaptations” of the regular curriculum, involving organizational modifications in the goals and contents” (2015). Inclusive classroom needs teachers to cater for different student learning needs through the modification or differentiation of the curriculum. So Curriculum adaptation is an ongoing dynamic process that modifies and adapts the prescribed program of studies to meet the learning requirements of a student with special needs.

Curriculum modification involves change to a range of educational components in a curriculum, such as content knowledge, the method of instruction, and student's learning outcomes, through the modification of materials for diverse student needs. For example: Using different visual aids, enlarge text, plan more concrete examples, provide hands-on activities, place students in cooperative groups, pre-teach key or terms before the lesson. “Adaptations, accommodations, and modifications need to be individualized for students, based upon their needs and their personal learning styles and interests.  It is not always obvious what adaptations, accommodations, or modifications would be beneficial for a particular student, or how changes to the curriculum, its presentation, the classroom setting, or student evaluation might be made” (Parentcenterhub.org, 2015).

Intervention Plan

As a teacher, we should carry out many aspects of the student’s individual plan. We need to work with whole class as well as the student with special needs. We need to give more effort if we have a boy like Ziyan in our class. We as a teacher can provide different task and extra time for different student. Teacher can make different learning goals for Ziyan’s capability. For Ziyan it is so hard to sit in one place and do an activity for a long time. So the schedule must have short in activity times. Before stating the lesson teacher can bring Ziyan to the front of the line to get attention from him. Moreover, teacher can use colourful pictures to explain the lessons and can use real life examples in order to make learning meaningful. In addition, children with intellectual disabilities learn a lot through doing rather than just listening. I noticed it from Ziyan too. He also learns things by doing. For example it will be easier for him if I give real objects to do addition and subtractions. Moreover, repetition is also one of the easiest way to the child to learn concepts. And it is very good opportunity to practice it many times in order to learn and remember the concept. Moreover, Ziyan will learn things by doing group work with his peers. Buddy system is one way student to learn from the peer. In my view, it will be very helpful to Ziyan to keep him near a high level student. By doing this he will learn lots of things from them. Once he did anything, give immediate positive feedback to him. Positive feedback will encourage the student to keep on trying always. According to Piaget’s theory where Ziyan falls under the concrete operational stage, we recommend that children under this stage be properly guided and motivated to further develop their cognitive development. Children under this stage can easily be influenced by society and environment. Moreover, the school and home play an important role in a child’s development. Thus, a healthy environment will develop a healthy mind and emotion of a child. On the contrary, a negative environment can greatly affect the child’s upbringing and decisions.

To explain those strategies and modification, I will meet teachers come to Ziyan’s class, the leading teacher and his parents and will give the information about his disability and aware the teachers and parents by giving information. I will take session to them with the help of NIE. I will visit his class 1-2 periods every day. So with the teacher I can easily monitor his progress by using the checklists and rubrics. By doing this I can know what we can do next for him. And when I give my full support will be easy for the teacher to recognize the progress of Ziyan.

While doing this, I have faced lots of difficulties like teachers are not giving much support to me. They doesn’t want to be differentiate their lesson to cater the Ziyan’s need. They are not attending the sessions I have taken to aware the child. Moreover, they are not getting enough resources to use in their lessons. I think schools should include sessions like this on teacher’s professional day. So it will be a must to attend the session. In addition, aware the teachers to cater all the divers learning needs in the school. “Teachers become more effective the longer they teach. In his review of teacher research, Goldhaber (2008) highlighted studies that consistently demonstrate teachers becoming increasingly more effective in the first 3 to 5 years of teaching” (Alan Brue, 2015).Moreover, school can make a reward system for the teachers who can make a difference for child who has special need. By doing this the teachers motivations comes automatically.

References

1. Parentcenterhub.org,. (2015). Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Students | Center for Parent Information and Resources. Retrieved 30 October 2015, from http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/accommodations/#staff
2. (2015). Retrieved 29 July 2015, from http://www.cnotinfor.pt/inclusiva/pdf/Adaptacao_curricular_en.pdf
3. Alan Brue, P. (2015). Urban School Challenges | RTI Action Network. Rtinetwork.org. Retrieved 1 November 2015, from http://www.rtinetwork.org/learn/diversity/urban-school-challenges
4. Parentcenterhub.org,. (2015). Intellectual Disability | Center for Parent Information and Resources. Retrieved 30 October 2015, from http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/intellectual/
5. Parentcenterhub.org,. (2015). Supports, Modifications, and Accommodations for Students | Center for Parent Information and Resources. Retrieved 30 October 2015, from http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/accommodations/#staff
6. Bright Hub Education,. (2015). Effective Teaching Strategies for Students With Intellectual Disabilities. Retrieved 30 October 2015, from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/special-ed-neurological-disorders/79002-tips-for-teaching-students-with-an-intellectual-disability/