Supporting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Victor is a junior at Singleton High School in a Midwestern city, and he has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In his chemistry class, which he attends with students who do not have special needs, the lesson for the day is on endothermic reactions. The teacher has organized the class into small groups of four to review the lab experiment that they will do later in the period. Victor, a tall, rangy young man with sandy blond hair, reads the lab sheet and listens to his classmates, while rocking slightly in his chair. The teacher has modified Victor’s worksheet to help him follow the lesson. After this review, the teacher directs the students to move to their lab space and work with their groups to conduct the experiment.
At the lab space, Sarah, a member of Victor’s group, has been assigned to work with Victor today. Victor starts the lesson by reviewing and following the instructions, with Sarah’s occasional reminders. His rocking increases as they begin the experiment. Eventually, he leaves the experiment to pace the room, periodically returning to check on the progress and complete some of the steps of the lesson with Sarah. The teacher and his classmates know that Victor feels anxious in social situations and has a hard time concentrating on tasks for a long period of time. His pacing does not draw a single glance from his peers.
When the lab experiment ends, Victor helps put the equipment away in the appropriate locations, which are clearly labeled. He and his classmates return to their small groups and complete the worksheets for their experiment. Then the bell rings, and they head to their next class. When asked later about Victor’s work, the chemistry teacher says he’s a solid B student.
Victor’s mother says that her goal is for her son to attend community college and graduate from a university. Victor says he wants to be a scientist like his mom.
Rosa is a fourth-grader, also with ASD, who attends Monte Verde Elementary School in a Southern California city. Her parents emigrated from Mexico before she was born. Rosa has a hard time using words to communicate with others and is learning to use a communication program on an iPad. The program enables her to touch a small picture on the screen to generate a voice that expresses her thoughts, such as “hello,” “all through,” “how are you today?” or “I need a break.”
Much of Rosa’s day is spent in a special education class with five other children, four of whom have ASD. The class is very structured; there are well-labeled areas designated for specific activities (e.g., group academics, independent work, literacy, computer work). The schedule is posted on the whiteboard, but Rosa also has her individual schedule with small symbols that represent the sequence of activities for the day (e.g., a symbol of a small book indicates literacy time).
During part of the day, Rosa and her teacher work together focusing on her individual goals; at other times, she participates in small learning groups or works on independent learning tasks the teacher has designed. At two points during the day, as well as during lunch and physical education, Rosa joins a fourth-grade class down the hall.
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