* A disease

 * Childhood form of schizophrenia

 * A boy’s condition

  * Cured with medicine and special diets

 

+ Bad parenting or refrigerator mothers

+ Vaccines especially the MMR vaccine

+ Environmental factors

@ Prevalence of autism has been steadily increasing for the last 49 years

@ Appearance of autism is relatively new and recently there is an autism epidemic going on

* Are like Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man
* Are intellectually disabled or have mental disabilities

* Are unable or unwilling to form meaningful social relationships

* Are cold, lack empathetic feelings, or understand the emotions of others

* Will have autism forever

* Cannot Learn

* Have not sense of Humor, are violent, & can’t stand to be touched

* Are pretty much alike

* Have mental superpowers

* Who are not diagnosed with autism will never exhibit characteristics similar to the characteristics of those who have been diagnosed

 

*Parents are often anxious, not only about today, but also about how the child will cope in the future.  

 

*Guilty feelings, anger, grief, and sadness are common reactions 

 

*Set expectations, be consistent, and follow through.

 

*Acknowledge your child or students for complying with your requests

 

*Tell the child specifically what you expect and allow him/her to earn privileges for complying with your expectations

 

*Give Choices

 

*For some children with language difficulties, showing the child the activity or toy that he will be utilizing next is helpful to encourage him/her to move form one activity to another

 

*If possible, use a schedule to let the child know how is day will go

 

*Allow the child to bring a transitional object form one activity to the next

 

*Distract and redirect problematic behavior instead of saying “stop” or “no”

 

*If the child seems over stimulated form sensory input, such as a large crowd, bring him/her to a quieter place to de-stress

 

*Make directions clear, short, and concrete

 

*When giving tasks, assignments, chores, etc., many children do better if they know when the task will end

 

*Some children thrive when given structural hands-on or visual activities

 

*Stay calm when interacting with the child