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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. CDC is committed to continuing to provide essential data on ASD, search for factors that put children at risk for ASD and possible causes, and develop resources that help identify children with ASD as early as possible.

Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move. CDC has checklists to help parents and others track a child's development.

More

The ADDM Network is the only collaborative network to track the number and characteristics of children with ASD and other developmental disabilities in multiple communities of the United States.

SEED is currently the largest study in the United States to help identify factors that may put children at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities.

Explore the tool to see autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence estimates and demographic characteristics at the national, state, and community levels.

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. CDC is working to find out how many children have ASD, discover the risk factors, and raise awareness of the signs.

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Autism Speaks is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders, to funding research into the causes, prevention and treatments for autism, and to advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.

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Strategies to use with students with Autism

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Strategies to use with students with Autism

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1. Use visuals
2. Structure your day
3. Tell a social story
4. Go beyond the "teacher look"
5. Keep it simple
6. Integrate sensory activities
7. Take a break
8. Consider parents the experts
9. Create a culture of understanding
10. Treat them as children first

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Chris Cooper, a fourth-grade teacher at Moorlands Elementary in Kenmore, Washington, says he didn't have students with autism in his class for the first half of his 22-year career-at least none that he was aware of. But that has changed over the past decade. "It's not unusual to have one or two kids on the spectrum in a classroom anymore," he explains. Cooper's experience reflects wider trends in the diagnosis of autism. In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that one in 150 children were identified with the disorder. Today, that number is one in 68-with boys at five times higher risk than girls.

The diagnostic criteria for autism changed in 2013 with the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ( DSM-5). Previously, there were separate diagnoses for autism disorder, Asperger's syndrome, and other pervasive developmental disorders, says Clarissa Willis, associate professor of teacher education at the University of Southern Indiana and author of Teaching Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, DSM-5 puts them in all in one category as autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

"The criteria are much more comprehensive," explains Willis. "[ DSM-5] recognizes that autism is a spectrum. Children are going to have varying degrees of challenges with the common areas considered part of autism, including communication, behavior, social awareness, and sensory integration." Instead of "pigeonholing" children into subcategories, says Willis, DSM-5 focuses on how much support a child needs.

Willis points out that the push toward inclusive classrooms has also increased the number of children with ASD in the general education setting. "Inclusion only works insofar as the appropriate supports are set up for the child and the teacher," she says.

Those supports vary from child to child. Some can spend all day in the inclusion classroom, while others can manage just a half-day. Some students may have full-time aides. Others may be able to function with computer assistance, such as apps to help them communicate or learn social skills (see sidebar). And while technology can be a powerful tool, Cooper suggests using it judiciously. "With kids on the spectrum, it shouldn't be used as a crutch or a babysitter, but it can be used to help facilitate," he says.

With the guidance of Willis, Cooper, and several other educators trained in autism, we've compiled 10 strategies to help you support the varying needs of students on the autism spectrum.

1 | USE VISUALS. Using visuals can help students with ASD in a wide range of areas-from understanding rules to explaining social situations. For instance, Willis has found visual "if/then" cards to be particularly useful to address behavioral issues. Consider a student who loves to be on the computer but doesn't like to do math. On the "if" side of the card, you would include a picture that represents math. On the "then" side, you would show a computer. "Every time he starts to get off task, the teacher can just point to the card," Willis says.

2 | STRUCTURE YOUR DAY. Routines are doubly important for students who require a tight structure. In addition to a posted class schedule, students on the spectrum can benefit from a personal daily schedule with built-in visuals.

Willis points out that most children with ASD demonstrate "unbelievable inflexibility" when there are changes to a routine (think assemblies). You can add these deviances into students' schedules and provide extra transition time.

3 | TELL A SOCIAL STORY. Difficulties with social skills is a hallmark of ASD. Using "social stories," a technique developed by Carol Gray, president of the Gray Center for Social Learning and Understanding, can help guide students through interactions with peers and teach social norms. Willis had a student with autism who would become physical when it was his turn to use the computer and someone else was still on it. She created a story that taught him to ask for a chance to participate without pushing or shoving: "He would say to himself, 'When someone's on the computer, I ask them to stop. I count to 10.' "

4 | GO BEYOND THE "TEACHER LOOK." You know your disapproving 'teacher look' when the class is too loud?" asks Julie Van Alst, a special-needs teacher consultant in the Wexford-Missaukee Intermediate School District in Cadillac, Michigan. "Your student with ASD will likely not understand your look means you want your class to quiet down." Children with ASD have a difficult time reading nonverbal cues and gestures like facial expressions. Van Alst recommends using direct language to communicate exactly what you want the student to do.

5 | KEEP IT SIMPLE. Following a long set of directions is difficult for most students. It's especially challenging for a student who struggles with oral language processing, as is the case for many children on the spectrum. Both Cooper and Van Alst say it's crucial to keep oral directions short and to the point. Cooper uses key words like first and then. Van Alst says she gives only one or two directions at a time.

6 | INTEGRATE SENSORY ACTIVITIES. Most children with ASD are over- or under-reactive to sensory stimuli. Van Alst says the buzzing of fluorescent lights in the classroom or echoes in the cafeteria can be triggers for some students.

"We typically set the lights on halfway," says Christina Rodocker, an ASD teacher of grades 3-5 at Turtleback Elementary School in San Diego. Some of her students have scheduled sensory breaks every hour or two, which include playing with a stress ball, sitting with a weighted lap pad, chewing gum, or carrying a heavy backpack.

7 | TAKE A BREAK. Willis says that sometimes students just need a quiet place to retreat. "There should be a place in the classroom-not a place for punishment-where a student can go to take a break from the world," she explains. You can set up a spot in the back of the room with soft lighting for a getaway moment. "The only rule is, after you take a break, you have to finish what you were working on," adds Willis.

8 | CONSIDER PARENTS THE EXPERTS. As a stepparent of a child on the spectrum, Cooper knows about being on both sides of the teacher-parent relationship. He recommends you say to parents: "You're the expert. Help me get to know your kid." Cooper says parents of children on the spectrum can provide valuable insight into a child's routines, triggers, and the reasons behind behaviors. He collects information in various ways, including surveys.

9 | CREATE A CULTURE OF UNDERSTANDING. Cooper has had honest conversations about autism with all of his students to educate them about the disorder. He has two go-to books he recommends reading to upper-elementary and middle-school students to begin those discussions: Al Capone Does My Shirts, by Gennifer Choldenko, and Colder Than Ice, by David Patneaude. "When you're reading a particular section where behavior is demonstrated by a character, it's totally fine to point that out and ask, 'Why do you think this is?' " he says. "It brings it out in the open to have that discussion. Kids are empathetic."

10 | TREAT THEM AS CHILDREN FIRST. Van Alst says we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that "children with ASD are unique and wonderful individuals. They are first and foremost children." Treat them as you would any other student-tap into their interests, allow them to showcase skills, support them as needed, and celebrate their successes.
Click Here to Subscribe to Instructor Magazine Photo: Jodie Griggs, Flickr Select/Getty Images

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Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder | Scholastic

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Chris Cooper, a fourth-grade teacher at Moorlands Elementary in Kenmore, Washington, says he didn't have students with autism in his class for the first half of his 22-year career-at least none that he was aware of. But that has changed over the past decade.

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Do you have a student with autism in your classroom this year? Whether you are a veteran teacher or just starting out, you may be wondering how to help your student be successful in your classroom. Here you will find 12 inclusion tips for your classroom. I would like to thank Emily, from Education to the Core for the wonderful opportunity to stop by and share with you today.

Guest Post by Lisette from Speech Sprouts

If you have questions, reach out to your SLP, occupational therapist or special education teacher. Believe me, no one has all the answers for every child. Teaming up can make a huge difference!

Students with autism have a wide variety of abilities and challenges. Here are strategies that can help.

1. Reduce Sensory Overload.

Survey your room and setting from a sensory point of view, remove distractors, and make modifications if possible.

Many children with autism lack the ability to tune out the sensory information around them (things you and I may not ordinarily notice), leaving them feeling overwhelmed.

Watch for sounds, smells and sights. Noisy hall? Flickering lights? Clicking noise from a fan? Do you wear perfume? Try a lamp for soft lighting, move a noisy neighbor, play soft music during work, use a study carrel, or offer noise-canceling earphones.

2. Provide a structured routine. Use a schedule.

Your student finds it comforting to know what she should be doing, and what will happen next. (Including when to expect a break or playtime). Use first-then statements. "First math, then computer time."

Use a visual or written schedule. It can be student-specific or a general classroom schedule depending on what is recommended for your student. Your SLP can help you with this.

Teachers often tell me their student doesn't need to use a schedule because they know the routine. You probably use a planner. You know your regular routine, but your planner alerts you to upcoming changes. A schedule serves this purpose for your student.

3. Warn your student ahead of time to expect changes.

Assemblies, fire drills or even eating lunch in the room for a special event may cause anxiety. Even transitions from classroom to another area can cause fear of the unknown. I know a student who clearly expressed to me "I don't like new things."

Give your student a warning that change is coming. "In five minutes we will line up to go to recess. In two minutes we will line up to go to recess. It's time to line up to go to recess."

4. Use visuals.

Difficulty processing auditory information is often a challenge for students with autism. Visual learning is often a strength. Provide pictures, write instructions on the board, demonstrate what you need done.

5. Talk less, show more. Give oral instructions in as few words as possible.

Pause for processing time. Some students may need as long as 30 seconds or more. Then repeat if needed. Taking too much, particularly when a student is already upset, may increase anxiety or even trigger a meltdown.

6. Use concrete, simple wording.

Avoid idioms, sarcasm. "It's raining hard outside." is better than "It's raining cats and dogs." You may find your student looking outside for the cats and dogs. Students with autism often take things quite literally.

7. Avoid open-ended questions. Give limited choices.

Do you want a cracker or a cookie?" is preferable to "What do you want to eat?"

Stick to just two or three choices. Too many choices can produce anxiety. I knew a little boy that would melt down in the toy store, when presented with a shelf full of Lego sets and asked which one he wanted.

8. Have direct, explicit rules and expectations.

Write them, post them, show them. Don't expect your student will automatically know them. If she is to hang up her backpack, sit down, and get out her spelling words each morning, be sure to be clear about what is expected, and in what sequence.

9. Build in breaks.

Your student may need break time in her routine. Be sure your student knows they are there, when to expect them, or how to ask for them.

Even five minutes in a quiet place, a walk up and down the hall, or listening to soft music can make a big difference, help her be ready to learn and help avoid melt-downs. Provide a limited number of breaks so it is not used to avoid a task. Try offering three break cards he can turn in to you.

10. Teach social skills directly.

Understanding social expectations can be very difficult for your student. Teach "friend maker" positive behaviors such as greeting others in the morning. Teach that behaviors such as yelling or telling someone you do not like their clothes are "friend breakers."

11. Special interests can be used to motivate your student.

If he obsesses over Jurassic park, you may have him adding and subtracting dinosaurs. Loves airplanes? Measure how far from take-off to landing.

12. Finally, don't sweat the small stuff.

If your student does better standing up to work, that's okay. If group work makes her anxious, offer her an independent assignment. If he makes a rude remark, don't take it personally, just teach the expectation. Celebrate successes, large and small!

Help your student be successful across his day. I created a freebie for you to help you communicate your tips with other staff members. Download this tip HANDOUT and a personalized "About Me" sheet to share what works for your fantastic, unique student at Speech Sprouts on TpT.

My name is Lisette, and I am passionate about building awesome speech and language skills as the foundation for learning and life. I'm a speech language pathologist who works with children from PK-4 th grade. I want to thank Emily for the invitation to guest-post on her wonderful blog, Education to The Core. If you enjoyed this post, be sure share it or pin it to your favorite Pinterest boards!

Read more great tips on Speech Sprouts Blog. You can also find me on Instagram @speechsprouts, and Facebook. Thanks for your interest!

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Autism: 12 Inclusion Tips for Classroom Teachers

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Do you have a student with autism in your classroom this year? Whether you are a veteran teacher or just starting out, you may be wondering how to help your student be successful in your classroom. Here you will find 12 inclusion tips! Guest post by Lisette from Speech Sprouts

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5 Tips for Educators Teaching Students with Autism

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Resources >> Browse Articles >> Special Education & Learning Disabilities

"Give fewer choices. If a child is asked to pick a color, say red, only give him two to three choices to pick from. The more choices, the more confused an autistic child will become."

Pat Hensley

I am currently teaching a practicum where my students (who are actually teachers getting their master's degree in special education) are teaching students with special needs. Some of these teachers are encountering students with autism for the first time and have felt some anxiety about this so they asked for some ideas and strategies to help them in the classroom. These are some of the suggestions that I have given them that I have used in the classroom successfully.

1. Use Task Analysis -very specific, tasks in sequential order.

2. Always keep your language simple and concrete. Get your point across in as few words as possible. Typically, it's far more effective to say "Pens down, close your journal and line up to go outside" than "It looks so nice outside. Let's do our science lesson now. As soon as you've finished your writing, close your books and line up at the door. We're going to study plants outdoors today".

3. Teach specific social rules/skills, such as turn-taking and social distance.

4. Give fewer choices. If a child is asked to pick a color, say red, only give him two to three choices to pick from. The more choices, the more confused an autistic child will become.

5. If you ask a question or give an instruction and are greeted with a blank stare, reword your sentence. Asking a student what you just said helps clarify that you've been understood.

6. Avoid using sarcasm. If a student accidentally knocks all your papers on the floor and you say "Great!" you will be taken literally and this action might be repeated on a regular basis.

7. Avoid using idioms. "Put your thinking caps on", "Open your ears" and "Zipper your lips" will leave a student completely mystified and wondering how to do that.

8. Give very clear choices and try not to leave choices open ended. You're bound to get a better result by asking "Do you want to read or draw?" than by asking "What do you want to do now?"

9. Repeat instructions and checking understanding. Using short sentences to ensure clarity of instructions.

10. Providing a very clear structure and a set daily routine including time for play).

11. Teaching what "finished" means and helping the student to identify when something has finished and something different has started. Take a photo of what you want the finished product to look like and show the student. If you want the room cleaned up, take a picture of how you want it to look some time when it is clean. The students can use this for a reference.

12. Providing warning of any impending change of routine, or switch of activity.

13. Addressing the pupil individually at all times (for example, the pupil may not realize that an instruction given to the whole class also includes him/her. Calling the pupil's name and saying "I need you to listen to this as this is something for you to do" can sometimes work; other times the pupil will need to be addressed individually).

14. Using various means of presentation - visual, physical guidance, peer modeling, etc.

15. Recognizing that some change in manner or behavior may reflect anxiety (which may be triggered by a [minor] change to routine).

16. Not taking apparently rude or aggressive behavior personally; and recognizing that the target for the pupil's anger may be unrelated to the source of that anger.

17. Avoid overstimulation. Minimizing/removal of distracters, or providing access to an individual work area or booth, when a task involving concentration is set. Colorful wall displays can be distracting for some pupils, others may find noise very difficult to cope with.

18. Seeking to link work to the pupil's particular interests.

19. Exploring word-processing, and computer-based learning for literacy.

20. Protecting the pupil from teasing at free times, and providing peers with some awareness of his/her particular needs.

21. Allowing the pupil to avoid certain activities (such as sports and games) which s/he may not understand or like; and supporting the pupil in open-ended and group tasks.

22. Allowing some access to obsessive behavior as a reward for positive efforts.

Need more tips?
Check out our resources for special education now.

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22 tips teaching students autism spectrum disorders special education & learning disabilities benefits articles

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22 Tips for Teaching Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

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I am currently teaching a practicum where my students (who are actually teachers getting their master's degree in special education) are teaching students with special needs. Some of these teachers are encountering students with autism for the first time and have felt some anxiety about this so they asked for some ideas and strategies to help them in the classroom.

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Dr. Aletta Sinoff, director of the Lerner School for Autism, talks about important early warning signs for Autism.

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Brian Maranan Pineda

Ole Ivar Lovaas, Ph.D., a world-renowned autism expert, once said, "If a child cannot learn in the way we teach, we must teach in a way the child can learn." Technology -- specifically in Tablet form -- has revolutionized the way kids with autism learn and communicate, and mobile apps have given parents, educators, and therapists multiple approaches to teaching a child who develops at a different pace than his peers. The apps included in this list focus on and reinforce pre-K concepts, such as reading and math, while encouraging imaginative play skills and art in kids with autism.

Starfall ABC/Learn to Read

Starfall ABCs (available only on iTunes) teaches the alphabet by helping kids sound out the letters. Gen Holder, an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapist, even uses it as a teaching and positive reinforcement tool in her therapy sessions with young children. "It's like interactive alphabet flash cards," she says. Once children have mastered letters and sounds, the Starfall Learn to Read app helps emerging readers by introducing 15 simple sentence stories and fun songs with friendly characters such as Zac the Rat and Peg the Hen. Every word in the story is sounded out phonetically to help children recognize various letter sounds.($2.99; Android, iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Language, Reading, Vocabulary

Super Why!

This PBS Kids app allows your child to go on a hunt identifying letters with Alpha Pig, trace letters with Princess Presto, practice rhyming words with Wonder Red, and help Super Why himself select words to finish a story. Dani, mom of 8-year-old Brodie says, "Reading is Brodie's splinter skill, but her comprehension doesn't match her reading ability." The Super Why app offers fill-in-the-blank games within each story, so it improves reading comprehension because of the familiar stories and characters. ($2.99; Android, iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Fine Motor, Imagination, Handwriting, Language, Reading, Vocabulary

The Monster at the End of This Book

A favorite for many parents and kids, this playful app, also from Sesame Street, is bright, colorful, and laugh-out-loud funny. This storybook app features notes for parents on helping children through their fears, along with 31 helpful tips, such as "Encourage kids to mimic Grover's over-the-top movements and gestures as you read along." It's fantastic for teaching cause and effect because kids will learn that with a touch of their fingers, they can interact with the story by "turning" pages, untying knots, and knocking down bricks. ($4.99; iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Fine Motor, Imagination, Language, Vocabulary

Emotions and Feelings -- Autism

Kids with autism often have difficulty recognizing emotions and facial expressions; this app, created by TouchAutism.com, uses social stories and simple illustrations to show what different feelings look like. The app also explains why people may feel a certain way. It's excellent for use in special education classrooms and could be beneficial during speech therapy sessions. ($2.99; Android)

Development Skills: Emotional, Recognition, Social

Pop Math (Lite)

This Lite version of the Wired Kids Choice Award app introduces basic addition and makes it fun for your kids. Six pairs of colored bubbles with numbers float around the screen, some showing equations and some showing the answers. Kids must pop the correct pairs to advance to different levels, and words of encouragement are given to keep kids going after each one. A child who has mastered addition can progress to the full version of the app ($0.99) to learn subtraction, multiplication, and division. (Free; Android, iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Fine Motor, Math, Numbers

Toca Boca

Let your child apply a bandage or examine a patient with Toca Doctor, send out invitations and set a table with Toca Birthday Party, or cut, color, and style hair with the Toca Hair Salon -- just a few user-friendly apps in the Toca Boca app series. Many of the apps take real-life scenarios and allow children to create their own stories. The apps provide "great interaction, appealing characters, and role play," says Karla, mom of a 4-year-old daughter. They love the Toca Boca Store app: "As a parent, I love that the games teach basic money-handling skills and math -- and the kid in me loves the fun and beautifully drawn items in the store catalog," Karla adds. ($0.99 and up; iPhone, iPad)

Development: Imagination, Math, Money Handling, Social

Agnitus -- Games for Learning

This app offers a variety of interactive games, some of which focus on identifying and matching shapes, colors, letters, and managing self-help skills. Your kids will love playing "Icky Bathtime Fun," a game that teaches hygiene lessons such as showering and tooth brushing. Many of the games feature either Olly or Icky, cute and mischievous characters, and the app tracks your child's performance level. A "report card" provides detailed reports on study time and completed skills, which is useful to determine strengths and weaknesses. (Free; iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Fine Motor, Letters, Math, Memory, Numbers, Recognition

Fruit Ninja Free

Alysia, mom of three boys (ages 4, 7, and 10, the two youngest with autism) loves this free version of Fruit Ninja, which is "fun, short, and not intimidating." She says, "My kids like the fast pace of the game and the exploding fruit. I like that they are using fine motor skills to chop the fruit and are practicing their game-playing skills." The boys learn and "work on good sportsmanship," playing against each other using the Zen Dual feature. (Free; Android, iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Coordination, Fine Motor, Focus

Doodle Buddy

Kids can draw, scribble, write, and color on a blank canvas or upload photos to personalize with stamps, stencils, and quote bubbles. This app is so much more than a drawing app, though; it allows kids to develop creativity and game-playing skills. A variety of backgrounds, like nature scenes and games such as tic-tac-toe and hangman, are also provided. Other cool features include mazes for kids to navigate as well as a connect-the-dots background. (Free; iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Creativity, Fine Motor, Imagination, Writing

Nick Jr. Draw and Play

Kids create their own artwork by choosing different backgrounds (featuring favorite Nickelodeon characters like Dora the Explorer and Team Umizoomi) to decorate with coloring tools (crayons, brushes, chalk), special effects (fireworks, splatter tops, magic wands), and animated stickers. Kids also have the option of drawing and coloring on a blank background. The HD iPad version includes coloring pages and eCards. All creations can be saved and printed out. ($2.99; iPhone, iPad)

Development Skills: Creativity, Fine Motor, Imagination, Writing,
Copyright © 2013 Meredith Corporation.

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Ole Ivar Lovaas, Ph.D., a world-renowned autism expert, once said, "If a child cannot learn in the way we teach, we must teach in a way the child can learn."

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While more information than ever is available about autism, there are still prevalent stereotypes: The "Rain Man" stereotype of the severely impacted person with savant skills, and the less severely impacted "Bill Gates" stereotype, a scientifically or mathematically brilliant person with limited social skills.

Stereotypes, by definition, are oversimplifications, which means that many layers and nuances are frequently missed.

Autism expert Dr. Stephen Shore, who is on the autism spectrum himself, says, "Once you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." In other words, the elements that make up autism can be and are differently combined in every person on the spectrum. Here's a great video that demonstrates what this means:

My son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum in first grade. He's now in sixth grade, and we have worked with his school over the years to support him and his teachers in understanding what autism can look like in him.

Most students with autism will exhibit behaviors that don't look like autism stereotypes and, instead, might look like misbehavior. But they are still autism behaviors. Below are kinds of behaviors which our son experienced in his classrooms and how we worked with his teachers to manage them.
Intermittent Mutism
When my son experiences strong emotions, good or bad, the speech center of his brain stops working for a short time while it processes the emotion. If someone asks him a question during this moment, he will be unable to answer verbally. This can be a common occurrence in people on the autism spectrum. It doesn't mean that they're not paying attention or are being defiant, disrespectful, or uncooperative. For my son, it simply means that his brain needs more time to process a response.

Other communication avenues are usually still available to him. He is still able to make gestures, nod, and shake his head. He can still write and draw. So to help give him time, the easiest thing for us is to simply wait the few seconds it takes for his speech center to kick back in. One method we use is the eight-second rule:

As each child's response may be different, the best thing a teacher can do is talk with the child's special education teacher and speech therapist to know how to best respond when this occurs.
Repetitive Body Movements
A very common hallmark of autism is "stimming," a repetitive body movement like kicking a leg or twirling one's hair. (Stimming can also be found in children without autism-here's more information on different kinds of stimming.)

A child might use stimming for different reasons. Some children, like my son, use it as a calming strategy, often in response to sensory overload-bright lights, lots of movement, lots of sound, strange or intense smells, students brushing up against him in line.

Other children will stim as a means of increasing stimulus. This can be seen during quiet times in the classroom when a child is expected to sit still and listen. In this case the stim is used to stimulate the nervous system.

Stimming doesn't mean that a student is bored or doesn't want to be there. It isn't an attention-getting device or a way to disrupt the lesson. His nervous system is driving the behavior-it's not voluntary and is not always something he can control.

My son's special education teacher used the phrase "unexpected behavior" as a code to help him to remember to manage his stims. When his stim might disturb students, our son's IEP allowed that he could leave the classroom and go to a quiet space until he was ready to return.

One thing a teacher should never do is draw negative attention to a stim or try to publicly pressure or shame a student into stopping. This can increase anxiety and make the stimming worse. Trying to stop the stim outright can result in traumatic meltdowns.
Task Avoidance
Sometimes my son refuses to do classwork. Ninety-five percent of the time it's not because he's being defiant or intransigent, or "simply doesn't want to do it"-it is because something else is going on. Understanding the underlying source of the behavior can be tricky and is often the cause of frustration for both teacher and student.

Once my son suddenly refused to read an assigned book in class. After doing some digging, we discovered that the action in the story-the death of a parent and the subsequent resorting to thievery by the young protagonist-upset him so much that he was unable to focus on the reading. Our solution was to have the teacher give us summaries of upcoming reading to prepare him for story twists and emotional issues so that he would not be surprised and and would be better prepared for the emotional intensity.

Another time he completely stopped paying attention in his social studies class. After several weeks of struggling to get him to go to the class, we sat him down and talked about how he felt about going to the new classroom. By that time, he had processed and was able to describe what was bothering him. He told us that the classroom "smelled like stinky feet." He was unable to focus with this overwhelming sensory input. We were able to work out a solution for him to stay in his home classroom for social studies.
Keys for Understanding Children With Autism
The takeaways from these examples can be applied with all children on the autism spectrum:

1. Start with the assumption that the child wants to do his or her best.

2. If rewards and consequences are not working as a first approach, a teacher should look to understand and eliminate the cause of the behavior.

3. Be patient and creative in determining the cause.

4. Be patient and creative in finding a solution that meets both the child's needs and those of the teacher.

The most important recommendation is to work closely and collaboratively with the child's special education team and use the same techniques, strategies, and tools in the general education setting that are being used with the student in the special education setting. Our son responded well and quickly with consistent use of the same strategies by all of his teachers, both general education and special education.

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While more information than ever is available about autism, there are still prevalent stereotypes: The "Rain Man" stereotype of the severely impacted person with savant skills, and the less severely impacted "Bill Gates" stereotype, a scientifically or mathematically brilliant person with limited social skills.