Autism Awareness: EARLY INTERVENTION

In light of Autism Awareness Month I would like to discuss what Autism Spectrum Disorder is, the rate of occurrence, possible causes, early signs, as well as early intervention services for children with the disorder.

In the mid 1990s the prevalence rate of Autism was 1 in 3,000 children. New reports from the Center for Disease Control report that currently 1 out of every 110 children in the United States have an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Boys are impacted significantly more often than girls and no one really knows what causes Autism. Early intervention is key for children with Autism, therefore, if we know the early signs of Autism many children will be better off later in life. Early intervention significantly changes the outcome of the disorder, for this reason it is important to understand the early warning signs.

Autism is a complex brain disorder. It affects many areas of child development including social skills and communication. Every child with autism is different; however, children with the disorder usually have problems with social skills, communication and repetitive behavior. Some of the early signs of autism include rarely making eye contact and being non-verbal, for example not crying or babbling as a baby. The majority of autistic children have a delay in understanding and using language. In addition, having a very narrow range of interests is characteristic of autism.

No one has all the answers when it comes to autism; this is probably why the symbol for autism awareness is a puzzle, because we are still trying to fit the pieces together. Some people believe that an exposure to pesticides or flame controlants can cause autism. Many people believe that the mercury in childhood vaccines can cause autism. This, however, does not make sense because if vaccines were in fact the cause, autism would have declined after 1990, when the dangerous ingredients were taken out of vaccines. Some doctors say that eating too much fish when a woman is pregnant can also affect her baby. Certain doctors believe that diet can help to improve autism, such as detoxifying the body of metals; there is no evidence, however, to prove that this detoxification works.

Early intervention in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is very important. Stimulating children with autism may cause new neural connections. There are many different types of early intervention, this is because every child with autism is different and responds differently to each type of intervention. Unfortunately, not all children respond to early intervention. Intensive Speech therapy is a very common early intervention strategy because there is a very short opening for a child to learn language and many autistic children are nonverbal and others can develop language early on and then lose it.

Some other forms of intervention are: social skills training, a form of group therapy with other children; cognitive behavioral therapy, a form of therapy that helps children to manage their emotions; medications for other conditions such as anxiety and depression; occupational and physical therapy to help children with poor motor coordination; and parent training and support, which teaches parents behavioral techniques that can be implemented at home.

Autism and Asperger's syndrome are both on the spectrum of Autism Disorder. Asperger's syndrome is a mild form of autism and does not involve all the characteristics of autism. Children with Asperger’s syndrome do not have communication delays like children with autism. Asperger’s Syndrome is characterized by poor social skills, advanced language, and an intense interest in a specific subject.

For many adults with autism, their lives would be completely different had their parents not found them early intervention services. Some may never have learned to use language at all. Others may have never made lasting relationships with others, due to their poor social skills and behavioral problems.

"Asperger Syndrome Fact Sheet." National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2010.

"» Microsoft Clipart." KaeL Clipart. 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Smith, Melinda. "Autism Signs, Symptoms, and Causes: Early Signs of Autism in Children." Helpguide.org: Understand, Prevent and Resolve Life's Challenges. Dec. 2007. Web. 21 Apr. 2010.

Bullied to Death

Some people believe that being bullied is a part of life. In almost every childhood cartoon about school there is at least one bully. For example, one of my favorite childhood cartoons is “Hey Arnold”. In the show, Arnold is constantly harassed by Helga who is relentless in her bullying. Another one of my favorite cartoons is “Recess,” about a group of six friends in elementary school. This show also features a school bully, Gelman. It seems as though society has accepted bullying and many people do not realize the potential harm that bullying can do.

Recently, a 15 year old girl, Phoebe Prince, in Massachusetts was literally bullied to death. Nine teenagers at the Phoebe’s school are said to be the reason she committed suicide. After Phoebe moved from Ireland to Massachusetts she was constantly harassed and called names by her new classmates. According to Northwestern District Attorney Elizabeth D. Scheibel, Phoebe’s classmates “conduct far exceeded the limits of normal teenage relationship-related quarrels. The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe designed to humiliate her and make it impossible for her to remain at school” (Franks 1).

This story begs the question: why didn’t the school step in and stop the harassment before it was too late?

Bullying can begin very early in a child’s school years. Kindergarten and elementary school teachers need to watch for bullying just as much as high school teachers. Not only can bullying lead to depression but it will inevitably lead to a child dreading each coming school day. As educators, we must make our classrooms a safe place for our students. Not only do we need to develop bonds between ourselves and our students, but also among the students themselves.

Schools have counselors for a reason. As teachers we should not hesitate to turn to them for help. School counselors have had training pertaining to school bullying and know best how to stop it from happening. At the first sign of a problem, take action; it may be a matter of life or death.

Franks, Lucinda. "Bullied to Death - Page 1." The Daily Beast. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .

Miller, Maureen. "Anderson Cooper 360: Blog Archive - Evening Buzz: Teen Bullied to Death? « - Blogs from CNN.com." Anderson Cooper 360: - Blogs from CNN.com. 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .

"School Clip Art for Teachers and Kids | Free Clip Art | Clipart for Free | Download | Pictures | Images | Gif." Clipart Images Free Cartoon Cliparts for Office Presentations Download Online, Graphics, Clip Art Collection Free, Gifs, Pics Cliparts, Pictures, Greeting Cards. Web. 14 Apr. 2010. .

Reflection on Past Technology and Insight Into the Future

Since my time in elementary school technology has changed significantly and improved by leaps and bounds. This change directly impacted my education and learning experiences. I feel that I have had the opportunity to learn more information than the generation before me- my parent’s generation did not have information at their fingertips like I do.

The growth of technology makes it easier for people to access and learn more information in a shorter period of time than ever before. When I was younger, if I wanted to know what the meaning of a word was I would have to go through the trouble of finding a dictionary and looking up the word, many times I would not go through the trouble. Now, however, I can type that word into Google and access the definition through an online dictionary. If the word is, for example, jetty, I will also be able to access a picture of a jetty in the ocean, which will enhance my knowledge of the word further. Because technology is now readily available and so helpful there are fewer excuses for not broadening one’s knowledge.

When I was very young I had a big electronic game to learn my letters and numbers. In order to play the game I had to place plastic letters in a slot and an electronic voice told me the name of the letter. I could also change the modes and have the machine ask me to “find the N” and when I placed my selection in the slot it told me “good, this is an N” or “this is not an N”, if I chose the wrong letter. When I was a little older my parents bought our first computer. It is amazing to think about how big it was, yet how little it could do. The first computer learning game that my parents bought me was Reader Rabbit. The game was on CD Rom and although it was an amazing learning tool then, it was archaic by today’s standards.

When I was in elementary school computers were almost never used, and when my classes did use them they were very slow. Because computers used to be so expensive and took up so much room, each classroom would have two or three computers at the most. For this reason it was impossible for my entire class to work on a computer activity at the same time. Also, at this time the internet was not utilized in my classrooms.

I was in middle school I truly began to use the internet. My teachers would have us research background information in our history classes or search sites they selected for information that we had not covered to present to our class. During this time, AIM became increasingly popular, and while it may not seem educational, it helped me and my friends significantly in relation to our school work. When we were studying or doing homework assignments and one of us did not understand how to do something we would use that chat feature of Instant Messenger to have study sessions. This instant exchange of thoughts and ideas helped me significantly.

Going into my freshman year, my high school had just built a brand new science wing. Not only was every classroom equipped with a smart board but the technology was so advanced that my biology teacher hooked up a microscope to a projector and our class could see the individual blood platelets flowing inside of a goldfish. At the time this seemed like a big deal, but now that type of technology is common in high school classrooms as well as in elementary and middle schools.

One thing that is important to note is that as technology advances it become increasingly easy for our students to find ways to cheat and get away with it. When I was in high school my peers would save answers in graphing calculators and type notes into text messages to use during tests. Now many students have cell phones that are not only text message enabled but also are equipped with internet access. As teachers we need to be cognoscente of this and monitor their activity during class.

I am a very visual learner and get bored easily, because of this it is easier for me to learn in classrooms that utilize technology. If my professors simply put overhead notes on the screen and told me to write them down I find it very hard to understand the material and stay focused and engaged in the lesson. Something as simple as a PowerPoint presentation can solve this problem. A PowerPoint presentation can incorporate pictures, music, videos and graphics into a lecture which not only help students stay engaged but also present the material in multiple ways that cater to many different types of learners.

In the future, I feel that paper will eventually become obsolete in the classroom. Soon enough schools in affluent communities will have pop up computers in every desk, maybe even touch screen mechanisms with stylists to write on instead of typing, these could even be used in math classrooms. Hopefully the computers in my classroom will eventually have software that can track what students do during tests to make cheating next to impossible. Office referrals will be done on the computer in a more discrete fashion that will result in less embarrassment for students and enable more organized interventions.

The Internet makes research available like never before but, with the internet, however, comes the necessity of students being able to recognize what sources are accurate and what sources may be flawed. Multitudes of information are posted on the internet on a daily basis, but not all of the information is accurate. As an educator I am going to have to teach my students to question sources instead of believing everything on the web. One day there may be a technology to tell students which sites hold accurate information and which are biased.

Throughout my time as an educator I am going to see a great amount of changes in the field of technology. I will also be able to introduce my students to some of these technologies that will help their learning experiences. As an educator I have to keep learning new technologies, specifically the types of technology that are going to help my students learn and solve problems. I believe that technology can make learning fun and learning new technologies works our brains without us even realizing it. I hope that I will have the opportunity to fill my classroom with tools that will enhance their learning experiences.

Personal Computer PC. Digital image. Free Clipart Pictures. 2008. Web. 5 Apr. 2010. .