Practical Strategies for Meeting the Needs of Teens and Adolescents with ASD

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder that can affect people in their early childhood and adolescence. It is a disorder that affects the communicative and behavioral ability of individuals who have it. Difficulty in interacting with others, interests in very limited areas and exhibiting the same behavior repeatedly, and difficulty in working with people at the workplace or in the society are some of the most common characteristics of people with ASD.

When working with teens who have autism, healthcare professionals could face challenges. People with ASD could exhibit behaviors that interfere with their ability to effectively and efficiently navigate their environment. They could also be overreactive, willful, anxious, unfeeling, withdrawing, or obnoxious.

As a result, caregivers could face issues that affect them professionally and personally. It is not unlikely that they could lose control of their ability to cope or regulate their behavior, which could eventually lead to a meltdown. After every episode of meltdown, they could experience a feeling of helplessness, frustration, and powerlessness that could result from any of these: sensory overload, cognitive overload or the inability to self-regulate emotions.

It is to help understand the ways of dealing with adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder that MentorHealth, a leading provider of professional training for all the areas of healthcare, is organizing a valuable ninety-minute webinar on May 13.

MentorHealth brings Kathy Kaluza Morris, a highly experienced speech therapist and self-contained teacher of students with behavior disorders, to be the speaker at this session. To gain insights into how to deal with adolescents who have ASD, please enroll for this webinar by visiting http://bit.ly/2Yc1WIk .

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At this session, Kathy will bring the rich experience she has in developmental strategies, at which she has worked for 45 years. The participants of this session will benefit from her experience and research based strategies, which Kathy will impart. This will help them understand the communication and social needs of adolescents with ASD and support them, helping to prevent behavioral problems.

She will use visual aids such as videos to demonstrate examples that will help support and demonstrate the strategy. Her teaching is based on Brenda Smith Myle’s escalation model, which will help the participants be able to identify each of the stages with suggestions on how to prevent each from escalating to the next and more serious stages, which include:

• Rumbling
• Meltdown

Apart from these, Kathy will also explain the critical components for setting up a program for students with ASD as recommended by the National Autism Research Council. She will spotlight these with case studies that have demonstrated how to put successful intervention strategies in place.

She will cover the following areas at this webinar:

• Recognizing the Warning Signs
• Responding Appropriately to Each Stage
• Visual Strategies that are age Appropriate but still a Necessary Critical Component when setting up a Program for a Teen with an ASD whether in a General Education Setting or a Self-contained Setting.

This webinar is of immense benefit to those who are related to ASD in some or another capacity, such as teachers (general education and special education), parents of teens, social workers, counselors, administrators, speech therapists, and occupational therapists.

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About the speaker:

Kathy Kaluza Morris has been a special educator for 45 years, serving as a speech therapist, self-contained teacher of students with behavior disorders, moderate to severe developmental disabilities, and as a resource teacher and first grade teacher. She conducts seminars nationally and internationally.

She served on the President’s Commission on Special Education, was Teacher of the Year and recently, she and her husband were honored by the ARC of Texas with the Lifetime Achievement Award Serving Persons with Disabilities.

 

 

Understanding and responding to the special needs of college students who have autism

When people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) –called just autism –enter college, they are up against challenges that are unique and peculiar to the group. They need to be understood for their special needs, because they enter college at a sensitive age. There is an onus on the part of the other people in the college, such as peer students and staff and those in administration and management to respond to the needs of these students with special needs.

With the number of students attending university increasing; the enrollment at college level of students with autism is also increasing across the US. About 50,000 people with autism turn 18 every year. Nearly a third of these attend university, which clearly points to the fact that one expects a steady and consistent increase in the number of people with autism entering college. Americans universities have to learn to understand and respond to thousands of college students with autism every year.

People need to be sensitized about students with autism

Because of the nature of autism and the unique behavioral pattern people with it exhibit; it is left to universities to sensitize their students and other persons about the nature of autism. They need to be made to understand the emotional and psychological needs and wants of college students with autism. Their peers need to understand the special needs of this population when they come across college students with autism and have to interact on a consistent basis with them.

Findings of research studies have shown that the main area in which college students with autism have a difficulty is in “fitting in”. Those with autism have a tough time in mingling with students and talking and comprehending at their wavelength. This makes finding jobs and building a successful career all the more challenging for them once they have finished their studies.

Society as a whole, and universities and colleges in particular, and then the workplace, have all got to combine efforts to understand the special needs of people with autism. It requires commitment, education and training, as well as an in-depth and operational understanding of the special needs of college students with autism. These are a prerequisite if they have to be imparted the kind of quality education that helps them assimilate into the mainstream and find career opportunities.

Get to learn how to accept and interact with college students with autism

MentorHealth, a leading provider of professional trainings for the healthcare industry, will provide valuable learning on the highly important topic of college students with autism. Aaron Hughey, who is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University, will be the speaker at this very major and valuable educative session.

To imbibe the important learning needed for understanding the special needs of college students with autism, please register.

Evidence-based best practices

The major highlight of this highly important session on college students with autism is the description the speaker will offer of evidence-based best practices for ensuring that students with ASD transition to college successfully. He will explain how they can get the best value out of their educational experience.

He will also describe what is it that centers of higher learning in which students interact with college students with autism need to do at various venues that they visit or interact with others. These could be the classroom or the residence hall, or the dining facilities or the athletic venues. He will show how college students with autism are accepted and can fit in into the overall campus community.

Aaron will cover the following areas at this webinar:

• Characteristics of College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Ethical and Legal Obligations
• Teaching Strategies
• Coping Strategies
• Interaction Strategies
• Social Integration
• Potential Student Discipline Issue and Solutions
• Reasonable Accommodations
• Promoting Self-Management
• Campus Resources (including Counseling Services)
• Keeping Everyone on the Same Page.

 

Responding to the special needs of college students with autism

College students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or just autism, have their own peculiar challenges. When they enter college, they face their own issues, because they need to be understood for the uniqueness they bring. This calls for a very wide understanding of college students with autism on the part of other students and other people in the college.

As the number of students attending university is increasing, those with autism are also enrolling in large numbers for colleges across the US. Around 50,000 youths with autism enter the age of 18 every year, out of whom just over a third go on to attend university. This means that Americans universities are dealing the college students with autism in the thousands every year.

Sensitization is very important

Given the unique nature of the condition, universities need to sensitize their students and other administrative and other persons with the nature of autism and the emotional and psychological needs and wants of college students with autism. Other students who come across college students with autism and with whom they have to interact on a consistent basis need to understand the special needs of this segment of students.

Research has shown that one of the areas in which college students with autism struggle is in “fitting in”. Mingling with students and talking and comprehending at their wavelength is quite a challenge for college students with autism. This leads to further levels of difficulty in finding jobs and building a successful career.

A lot of commitment, education and training, as well as an in-depth and operational understanding of the special needs of college students with autism is needed if they have to be imparted the kind of quality education that helps them integrate into the mainstream and find career opportunities.

An important educative session on accepting and interacting with college students with autism

A very major and valuable educative webinar from MentorHealth, a leading provider of professional trainings for the healthcare industry, will throw light on this highly important topic of college students with autism. At this session, Aaron Hughey, who is a Professor in the Department of Counseling and Student Affairs at Western Kentucky University, will be the speaker.

To gain the critical learning needed for understanding the special needs of college students with autism, please register for this webinar by visiting

http://www.mentorhealth.com/control/w_product/~product_id=800961LIVE?/Wordpress-SEO

Evidence-based best practices

At this highly important session on college students with autism, the speaker will describe evidence-based best practices for ensuring that students with ASD transition to college successfully and derive the best out of their educational experience. He will explain what needs to be done by centers of higher learning at every possible outlet in which students interact with college students with autism, be it the classroom or the residence hall, or the dining facilities or the athletic venues. He will offer learning about how college students with autism are accepted and can fit in into the overall campus community.

At this highly valuable session on college students with autism, the speaker will cover the following areas:

• Characteristics of College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Ethical and Legal Obligations
• Teaching Strategies
• Coping Strategies
• Interaction Strategies
• Social Integration
• Potential Student Discipline Issue and Solutions
• Reasonable Accommodations
• Promoting Self-Management
• Campus Resources (including Counseling Services)
• Keeping Everyone on the Same Page.

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a condition that is characterized by persistent difficulty in some children in imbibing social skills, mainly communication and interaction. Unlike many other such psychiatric conditions; Autism Spectrum Disorder is characterized by a multitude of behavioral symptoms or skills in such children. Autism Spectrum Disorder is also characterized by sharply differing levels of social interaction impairment. It is because of this wide variety of such traits that this condition has come to be known by its name, the word “spectrum” signifying the range.

Causes unknown

As in the case of most mental conditions, the causes of Autism Spectrum Disorder are difficult to pin down. Autism Spectrum Disorder can be caused by either genetic or environmental factors; yet, this is a broad classification. It is also speculated that Autism Spectrum Disorder could be caused by the administration of some vaccines in children who could be aversive to some substances in them, such as thimerosal, but this is at best a guess.

Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder

A child with Autism Spectrum Disorder is not likely to exhibit clearly identifiable, typical symptoms of the condition. In some children, the symptoms are noted in the first year, and in some others, a little later. Since there are no clear-cut, distinct behavioral patterns that children with Autism Spectrum Disorder show; it is usually the parents who notice behavior that is at noticeable variance from what is considered normal in other children in the peer group.

Usually, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have difficulty in communicating what they want to. They end up babbling or are incoherent in their communication. Other behaviors could include difficulty in maintaining eye to eye contact or obsession with certain objects from an early age. Typical objects that they are unusually attracted to include trains, airplanes, lighthouses and related objects. It is no wonder that many great scientists exhibited symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder in their childhood.

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are also likely to be withdrawn from other children in their own age group. They are overtly possessive about their objects such as toys, refusing to share or even show them to others. They also show high sensitivity to touch. They are also likely to be very resistant to sounds and smells, and show little or no emotion to extreme pains or colds. Such children also usually have a difficulty in understanding the depth or seriousness of communication that comes from another person.

Treatment options

Autism Spectrum Disorder has to be treated over the long run. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one line of treatment that psychiatrists and pediatricians pursue. This involves inculcating a customized set of focused behavioral traits. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are made to learn the habit of learning new behaviors. Psychiatrists also like to work with such children’s parents and teachers in helping understand ways of dealing with this condition. It requires long-term intervention and practiced and nuanced evaluations and treatments.

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