Running head: “AUTISM DEFICITS AND SERVICES”

“Autism Deficits and Services”

Kaeleigh Becker

Stockton University
“AUTISM DEFICITS AND SERVICES” 1

Autism spectrum disorders were first identified in the 1940s. Autism Spectrum disorders

are developmental disabilities that are caused by problems in the brain. An individual with an

ASD will act different from most people, especially when it comes to communication, social

skills and behaviors (Smith, 2014). There are three characteristics that are involved in ASD and

they are, social interaction and communication impairment and restricted interests or activities

(Schopler, Mesibov, & Hershey, 1995). In 1944, the American Psychiatric Association created

the autism spectrum disorder umbrella which included five disorders. These five disorders were

autism, Asperger syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, persuasive developmental

disorder, and Retts syndrome (Smith, 2014). Currently, ASD is composed of autism, Asperger

syndrome and persuasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (Smith, 2014). The

autism spectrum contains a wide variety of deficits, ranging from mild to extreme. Autism, in

particular, is a developmental disability that affects verbal and nonverbal social interaction and

communication. These deficits usually start around preschool age and they tend to worsen as the

child gets older. These deficits may become more obvious once their daily lives include more

difficult tasks.

There are many services offered to students with Autism. Treatment and Education of

Autistic Children with Communication Handicaps, also known as TEACCH, is a program

designed to help children with Autism. It is a clinical service and professional training program

that started at the University of North Carolina (Smith, 2014). This program helps students adapt

and it provides structure to the environment to help these students understand things about the

world. The point of TEACCH is to organize their environment and create visual cues that lead

the child onto different activities to help them cope and understand everything going on. Once

the child develops the skills needed to understand the environment they are encouraged to do it
“AUTISM DEFICITS AND SERVICES” 2

more on their own (Smith, 2014). The guiding principles of the TEACCH are focused on

structured teaching, physical organization, schedules, individual work systems, and learning task

organization (Schopler, 1995).

YAP or The Young Autism Program is another program specifically for children with

ASD. This program was created based off of the work of O. Ivar Lovaas at UCLA. This program

focuses on task analysis, positive reinforcement, and direct or clear instructions (Smith, 2014).

Teaching this needs discrete trials which is a technique that uses teacher directed activity,

repetition of skills, and application of rewards. This program focuses on skills the child will need

to participate independently in all areas of daily living (Smith, 2014). These skills are practiced

one at a time until the individual obtains all the skills.

The Pyramid Approach to Education was created at the Delaware Autistic Program. The

Delaware Autistic Program is a statewide public school program for students with ASD. The

Pyramid Approach is more focused on integration into the community (Smith, 2014). It is also

designed for students in public school settings with a variation of ages and functioning levels.

Teachers using this approach work together to create individualized instructional plans for each

student. When making instructional plans, they ask a series of questions. These questions

consider the individuals’ goals, skills, strengths and weaknesses, and what services they will

need (Smith, 2014).

Some students with autism have problems developing communication skills. A program

designed to help these students is, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). This

program was originated in the 1980s by Andy Bondy And Lori Frost (Smith, 2014). This

program is meant to improve verbal speech, social communicative behaviors and problem

behaviors (Charlop-Christy, Carpenter & Le, 2002). PECS is so popular because it does not
“AUTISM DEFICITS AND SERVICES” 3

require a lot of complex motor movements from the speaker and it does not require the listener to

know another language like sign language. It is also a relatively inexpensive program and it is

portable so it can be used in different settings (Charlop-Christy et al., 2002). It has also been

shown that it can be taught relatively easily to children (Charlop-Christy et al., 2002). There are

six steps of PECS. The first step is to teach the students how to use the pictures to communicate.

The second step is to guarantee that the student has it mastered. The third step is to make the

student distinguish between a preferred item and a needed item. Fourth, the teacher will

introduce how to create and structure a sentence with the pictures. The fifth step is the students

learn to answer questions. The last step is for the individual to learn how to comment on the

environment that they are in. (Smith, 2014)

The curriculum for students with autism includes puts emphasis on instruction instead of

content. Because of this, it is difficult to decide what is important enough to teach and in what

order should it be taught (Olley, 1999). The curriculum is always based more off of the

individual’s knowledge. This is where the school psychologist comes into the situation. The

school psychologist helps create a curriculum specific to each child and they will also help find a

method of measuring the child’s progress (Olley, 1999). The changes to the curriculum help with

increasing certain skills and decreasing problem behaviors. There are many tests and different

assessments that the psychologist will use to determine the curriculum for the student and

services that the student will need. Now, curriculum for students with autism is different. Most

schools use a more integrated approach to teaching these students (Olley, 1999). Many students

with autism lack social skills and so this is built into their curriculum. There has been a change

recently that shifted from teaching discrete skills to teaching critical skills, in hopes that they will

lead to new skill development and social opportunities (Olley, 1999). Self-help, self-
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management, cognition, and motor skills have all been applied to the curriculum for individuals

with autism. Self-help focused on the student learning to answer their own question before

asking the teacher. Self-management help students to control their own behavior. This is worked

into the curriculum so that the student with autism can practice and learn to work independently

and manage their own behavior (Olley, 1999). The cognition part of the curriculum is meant to

put emphasis on thinking skills and problem solving skills (Olley, 1999). Having physical

education and motor skills integrated into the curriculum helps decrease problem behaviors with

children who have developmental disabilities (Olley, 1999).

The United States has roughly between 55,602 and 121,324 adolescents between the ages

of 15 and 19 have an ASD (Hendricks & Wehman, 2009). Individuals with ASD can transition

from high school to the community and work, but they need assistance to do so. Transition

planning is needed for students with ASD who are finishing school. They have programs that

dictate goals, courses of study, services, and supports. If the training goes as planned, it gives the

individuals a chance to learn about themselves and make plans for the future (Hendricks &

Wehman, 2009). During high school, the student will most likely participate in a functional

curriculum that includes getting to and from work by themselves and they work in a variety of

settings to find what job fits them best (Smith, 2014). Most students will have a job coach. Job

coaches teach the individual important skills and help them succeed in their job. Once they

graduate high school, those who qualify, receive governmental services continuously. Supported

employment is one service that helps these individuals find a job, learn the important skills

needed for that job and learn how to keep the job (Smith, 2014).

Autism is a very individualized disability. There are so many different types of

disabilities that may come with it. There are so many different programs designed to teach
“AUTISM DEFICITS AND SERVICES” 5

students with autism and some are more useful to certain individuals. Programs like TEACCH,

YAP, the Pyramid Approach and PECS can all help students with autism and they all are focused

on different skills. There are also ways for the curriculum to be adjusted so that the students can

learn better and gain more skills. There are certain skills that are needed for individuals to

transition into the community and job world after school. There are ways for students with

disabilities to learn those skills needed to be successful in the adult world. My major is

elementary education and I am strongly considering going for special education after I receive

my bachelor’s degree. I chose to write about autism because it is something that fascinates me. It

fascinates me that there are so many different cases that are on the Autism Spectrum Scale. I love

researching more about autism and that is why I chose it for my topic. Over winter break I

observed in a special education school because I wanted to get familiar with it and I wanted to

see if that is what I wanted to do once I am out of college. All the technologies and programs

used to teach individuals with special needs is so interesting. I always love to learn more about

autism when I can.

“AUTISM DEFICITS AND SERVICES” 6

References

Charlop-Christy, M. H., Carpenter, M., & Le, L. (2002). Using the Picture Exchange

Communication System (PECS) With Children With Autism: Assessment of PECS

Acquisition, Speech, Social-Communicative Behavior, and Problem Behavior. Journal

Of Applied Behavior Analysis. 35(3), 213-231.

Hendricks, D. R., & Wehman, P. (2009). Transition from school to adulthood for youth with

autism spectrum disorders: Review and recommendations. Focus on Autism and Other

Developmental Disabilities. 24(2), 77-89.

Olley, J. G. (1999). Curriculum for students with autism. School Psychology Review. 28(4), 595-

607.

Schopler, E., Mesibov, G. B., & Hearsey, K. (1995). Structured teaching in the TEACCH

system. Learning and Cognition in Autism (pp. 243-268).

Smith, D. D. (2014). Introduction to Contemporary Special Education, 1st Edition. Pearson.

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