ASD and Middle School Challenges: A Case Example

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-83
Author(s):  
Sylvia F. Diehl
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Sixth Grade ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Teacher Concerns ◽  
Collaborative Approach ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Grade Student ◽  
Education Services

Children on the autism spectrum experience increased challenges, both academically and socially, when they move from elementary school to middle school and beyond. In fact, it is not unusual for a child to make great gains during elementary school to the point where special education services are reduced and the child begins to flourish. However, middle school can change this and bring a child with autism to the forefront of teacher concerns once again. This article presents the story of a sixth grade student with autism and the collaborative approach his education team used to address the challenges he faced upon entering middle school.

Helping Teachers Understand and Mitigate Trauma in Their Classrooms

2021 ◽  
pp. 004005992110618
Author(s):  
Lynn S. Burdick ◽  
Catherine Corr
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Emotional Disturbance ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Classroom Environments ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Trauma Informed

Nine-year old Eliza is a student at Meadows Elementary School where she receives special education services for her diagnosis of Emotional Disturbance. Her teachers are working together to try to bring Eliza back into the classroom after weeks of time spent in the office with no contact with her peers. Mr. Jimenez and Ms. Landon are collaborating to incorporate trauma-informed practices into their classrooms in an attempt to address the absence of secure attachments and feelings of safety in Eliza’s life, as well as her inability to control her emotional responses. Creating a trauma-informed classroom benefits everyone but especially students with disabilities who have experienced trauma. In this paper we discuss the need for trauma-informed practices and strategies for making classroom environments more trauma-informed.

Disparities in autism spectrum disorder diagnoses among 8-year-old children in Colorado: Who are we missing?

Autism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136236132095005
Author(s):  
Trenesha L Hill ◽  
Tiffany C White ◽  
Bruno J Anthony ◽  
Judy Reaven ◽  
Bryn Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Clinical Diagnosis ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Developmental Regression ◽  
Clinical Presentations

There is often a large time gap between caregivers’ initial concerns and the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. The current study aimed to identify factors associated with missed or delayed autism spectrum disorder diagnoses among children in Colorado. In a surveillance-based sample of 8-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder ( N = 572), we examined differences between children who were identified with autism spectrum disorder by a community provider and/or were eligible for special education services under an autism eligibility (documented diagnosis) and children who were first identified with autism spectrum disorder through a systematic record review (newly identified). Compared to documented diagnosis children, newly identified children were more likely to be female, aggressive, and argumentative. They were less likely to have had a developmental regression, sleep abnormalities, or an autism screener or diagnostic measure in their records. Newly identified children also had a poorer quality of information in their records. Furthermore, among documented diagnosis children, variations in clinical presentations were associated with significantly different mean ages at autism spectrum disorder diagnosis; children who showed early delays, motor abnormalities, hyperactivity and attention deficits, and odd responses to sensory stimuli received a diagnosis much earlier than documented diagnosis children with other clinical presentations. Lay abstract Although autism can be reliably diagnosed as early as 2 years of age, many children are not diagnosed with autism until much later. We analyzed data to determine why many of the 8-year-old children who resided in Colorado and were identified as having autism through a review of their health and/or educational records did not have a documented clinical diagnosis of autism and were not eligible for special education services under an autism eligibility. We found that children who did not have a documented clinical diagnosis of autism and were not eligible for special education services under an autism eligibility were more likely to be female, aggressive, and argumentative. They had a poorer quality of information in their records and were less likely to have had a developmental regression, sleep problems, or an autism screener or diagnostic measure in their records. These results suggest that the symptoms characteristic of autism among this group of children may have been attributed to another disorder and that clinicians may be able to recognize autism more readily in children with more functional impairment and those who experience a developmental regression. We also discovered that differences in symptom presentations among children who had a documented clinical diagnosis of autism and/or were eligible for special education services under an autism eligibility were associated with different ages at autism diagnosis.

scholarly journals Autism Spectrum Disorder: Experiences of Mothers Before and After Their Children’s Diagnosis and Implications for Early Special Education Services

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
İlknur Çifci Tekinarslan
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Special Education ◽  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Special Education Services ◽  
Education Services ◽  
Preschool Period ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Child Centered

Mothers of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face various burdensome challenges in many stages of their lives. This study aimed to explore the experiences of Turkish mothers whose children were diagnosed with ASD in terms of the emotions they felt and the challenges they encountered before and after the diagnosis. 17 mothers participated in this study which was designed in line with qualitative research methods and participant information form based on demographic characteristics was utilized to collect data along with the interview form composed of 11 questions. Findings from face-to-face interviews conducted with mothers showed that mothers thought their children had some problems as a result of their observations of limitations in communication skills, limitations in social interactions and some problem behaviors in their children. Children were diagnosed with ASD by doctors during the preschool period. Mothers expressed that they had experienced grief, denial, anxiety and fear after the diagnosis and stated that these feelings had not changed. In addition, mothers mentioned that they had changes in their family lives and that they maintained a child-centered life. Mothers pointed out that they generally spent their time doing research and gathering information on the subject. Research findings reveal the necessity of taking these mothers’ experiences into account in early special education services and the need for planning these services to meet these mothers’ needs.

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