Visual Teaching Strategies On Children With Autism - Research Paper Example

Teaching Children with Autism PECS PECS’ abbreviates Picture Exchange Communication System, an substitute communication system developed in 1985 by Lori Frost and Andy Bondy, to assist children pretentious of autism express their views and needs. It is currently a trademarked program of Pyramid Educational Products, a company established by Bondy and Frost. There are various diseases and disorders that spate today’s society, however, one of the most serious of them is autism. Autism is not virtually as extensively known as the recognizable Down’s syndrome, yet, astonishingly, autism is far more widespread. In fact, autism is the third most common developmental disability, affecting 400,000 people worldwide. As of yet there is no heal for this incapacitating disorder, only a selection of treatments. Autism is a developmental incapacity, not a mental illness that typically reveals itself in the first three years of life and affects 15 in 10,000 persons. No one is sure why it occurs, but some researchers have found out that MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans of persons with autism show abnormalities in the configuration of their brain It is evident that with autism, learning is simpler when it is made visually. In PECS, children with autism are able to commence communication by handing out picture cards interconnected to what they thinking of. For an instance, a picture of bread, which may mean that the child is hungry or perhaps a picture of a ball, which would imply playing? There are numerous things that can be employed when applying the picture exchange communication system. The instructor can use multi-colored graphic images, pictures cut out from newspapers, magazines, real photos or even drawings. Provided that the picture is correct and easy it can be used. Reading through all this, one may think that he or she can instantaneously start using the PECS approach with his or her child. PECS is not merely handing out pictures to the child with autism and anticipating him or her to right away communicate with it. As like other rehabilitation practices for children pretentious with autism, PECS has ladder to be followed to ensure positive impacts. The founders of PECS came up with the six stages that should be monitored and adhered with when employing the system. In the initial phase, the instructor must spot what inspires the child the most. It may be a doll, food, ball, or anything the child shows to be most interested with. Form or find a picture of that thing, whether in the type of a graphic presentation or an authentic picture, and bring in it to the child. The instructor or care taker then works with the child in evaluating that the cards can be a method for him or her to communicate with the trainer and that or hence by giving the card to the instructor, he or she will be capable of getting the desire entity.   In the second phase, the instructor goes away from the child with autism so that he or she must in essence come over to the trainer and show him or her the card as a sign of request of the imaged in the card. This promotes the child’s practical skill of capturing one’s concentration. Consequently the trainer provides more than one picture or image card at a time. This helps the child to learn how to differentiate his wish or need when asking for something. In this stage, the complexity level rises. It may be either tough or easy for the child. keep in mind that perseverance and patient will help both the child and the trainer to go through this phase and the child benefit will be satisfying. In the fourth phase, the child learns how to differentiate among various image cards. It entails training him or her in block sentences using sentence strips. The said sentence strips are the amalgamation of picture or image cards with verbal words. For instance, the child may start adding words such as “I want” or saying just “water” if he or she sees a picture of water. In the fifth phase the instructor’s chore is to aid the child to create and start using questions using the picture or image cards and sentence strips. For instance, if he or she needs something he she shows the instructor the picture that depicts the need demanded.  The final phase of the PECS technique the child should learn how to react to questions such as "what do you hear/see /smell?” and use adjectives. A good example would be “that is the small, yellow chick”.   As the child finishes the phases of PECS, he or she will have known to construct more compound sentences. This will advance communication between the child and the trainer or caregiver as well as improve his or her speech competence. Applying PECS is extremely positive to both the care giver or trainer and the child, particularly if communication is relentlessly dysfunctional. With commitment and perseverance, it will ultimately lead to the child’s autonomous communication skills. TEACCH The TEACCH program was developed by psychologist Eric Schopler in the University of North Carolina early 1960s, at Chapel Hill. It offers community-based services to children with autism and other related disorders from preschool age to adulthood. The school program provides personalized tutoring insisting skills suitable for the child’s age and his or her developmental level in a greatly structured learning setting. General sphere for skill maturity are socialization, communication, practical skills, and a nurturing of preparation and independence for adult living. Preschool age children registered in traditional TEACCH models can attend half or full-day programs. Emblematic classrooms for preschool children have six students with autism, a teacher, and maybe one assistant teacher. Extra related services such as speech-language remedy may be offered at the school. A TEACCH classroom is planned, with detached, defined areas for each chore, such as playing, individual work, and group activities. It relies a lot on visual learning, potency for many children with autism and PDD. The affected children use plans made up of pictures and or words to arrange their day and to aid them move well between activities. A child with autism may find it hard to make transitions sandwiched between activities and places with no schedule. TEACCH programs are typically conducted in classroom surroundings but TEACCH-based home programs are also offered and are occasionally used in juxtaposition with a TEACCH-based classroom program parallel. Parents work with autism professionals as co-therapists and second tutors for their children so as techniques can be prolonged at home. Young children with autism may sit at a work position and be expected to complete certain activities, like matching pictures and letters. The completed assignments are then located in a container. Children may apply picture communication cryptograms, small plastic-coated squares that have a symbol and a word -- to answer queries and demand items from their teacher. These symbols help ease frustration for the nonverbal children while assisting those who are learning to speak to remember and say the words they want to. A structured Teaching is based on what TEACCH terms as the "Culture of Autism." The Culture of Autism means the relative strength and obscurity shared by persons with autism that are pertinent to how they learn. A structured Teaching is intended to exploit the relative potency and penchant for processing information visually, whereas taking into account the evaluated intricacies. Children suffering from autism are evaluated to identify promising skills and work then focus on these to enhance them. In Structured Teaching, an personalized plan is developed for each student rather than applying a ordinary curriculum. The strategy brings a highly structured atmosphere to assist the individual plot out activities. The social and physical environment is organized with the use of visual supports so as the child will more easily guess and understand daily activities and react in proper ways. Visual supports may be also used to make student’s tasks comprehensible.  The learning field is precisely definite with solid physical boundaries. Separated areas are deliberated for particular activities as well as independent work positions, group work areas and play areas. Work areas are free of interruptions. Visual clarity, visual organization, and visual guidelines are strained throughout the setting and custom. An individual timetable is planned for each student. The everyday routine is exhibited visually in the course of picture symbols, line drawings, and photographs, written words in a left to right or a top to bottom progression. The student is taught to control the schedule autonomously. Activities contained in the schedule is mostly color-coded, for instance, independent work - yellow; circle time – red. The precise work and amount of task are noticeably defined. Preliminary tasks are taught using chaining and shaping techniques till independence is realized. Before completing work, the student goes to his individual schedule for the transition to the next activity. The work tasks are frequently changed as the student progresses. Some examples of work tasks for younger children comprise: sorting, assembly activities, matching and running activities, and functional academics - pre-math and pre-reading. Meanwhile, the curriculum is developmentally organized and functionally based. The main areas include community-based instruction functional communication, vocational and independence training, and leisure and social training. It is also important to train family members of the student affected with autism to facilitate the success the child. Indeed, training of family members to take over activities in the home surrounding is highly encouraged. The home setting may be altered to give visual structure. The families may demand sachets of activities which are finished at home. These sachets hold material lists, instructions, and feedback forms. Communication between school and home is regular through direct contact or communication notebooks carried by the students. Nina Lovaas Teaching and Writing Program Another visual program that is applied in trying to teach children with autism is the reading and writing program by the founder Nina Lovaas. The improvement and schooling of oral verbal communication is one of the foundation stone in the conventional functional behavior, (ABA).the Lovaas institute developed an unconventional mode of communication due to the fact that children autism found it had to communicate through verbal means and writing as they were generally limited to these aspects. The reading and writing program has been on the leading edge in providing better services to these children that had suffered from autism through providing better mans that enabled them to quickly learn the traits of better verbal and written communication. Children who had previously attended the ABA programs were visually strong as they could easily assemble word puzzles together that were at a very complex level than their own age. They had mastered only the physical details and readings that if something was changed just a bit they would quickly forget about it. For instance in the puzzle, they would remember every detail of the puzzle, plus they also mastered the road and routes to various shopping centers. They had highly developed in their visual remembrance but the only set back they experienced was the inability to detect and notice any changes that were made, for example in the road signs. By noticing these difficulties in those children that were affected by autism, Nina Lovaas adopted the system where she could use the writing and reading to try and put more emphasis to the learning provided to the child hence it would stick more in their minds. Nina Lovaas started by training the children with playing cards where she could write down words on each cards and made the children identify the cards that matched with their correspondent names. After a short training, the children could identify the cards that were changed a couple of time without any problems. Nina then proceeded by teaching the children to learn how to type using computers as this was much easy than writing. She started to teach them how to type only using the middle finger as this improved their speed and understanding. She later them gradually started to teach the children the concept of using both fingers in typing and this later proved efficient as they quickly learned and were able to progress without much difficulties. This was huge boost to the Nina Lovaas teaching program. The Nina Lovaas reading and writing program is different when compared with the other programs for a variety of reasons. For one, PECS is a program that is based on matching; hence, there is no discrimination concept in PECS, especially in the basic learning level. In so doing, children in this program will end up applying PECS for only asking about things that they only need and want, hence, this program is a mere reinforce. For example, children in this program are asked to go for swimming, or go to a place and grab lunch. However, in the Nina Lovaas reading and writing program, it is hoped that they will be more to learning than what is applied in programs like PECS. This system is aimed to enhance broader communication. As a result of this, education will be more effective and efficient. It is hoped that the reading and writing program will make learning more applicable than PECS in the sense that in PECS one is always to carry the big book with all the symbols, while in the reading and writing program, all that is needed is a portable computer for effective and efficient communication. Therefore, the Nina Lovaas reading and Writing Program is a way of enhancing and amplifying all academic qualifications of children. Works Cited Lovaas, .O.I. "Behavioural Treatment and Normal Education and Intellectual Functioning in Young Artistic Children." Journal of Consulting and clinical Psychology (1987): 3-9. Lovaas, Nina Watthen. "The Reading abd Writing Program- An Alternative Form of Communication." ABA FORUM (2004). Mirenda, P. "Autism, Argumantative Communication and Assistive Technology: What do we really Know?" Focus on Autism and other Developemntal Disabilities (2001): 141-151. TACA. "Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)." TACA (2010). Thresholds, Healing. "Picture exchange Communication System (PECS) for Children with Autism." Healing Thresholds (2009). Read More