Supporting Pupils on the Autism Spectrum in Primary Schools

A Practical Guide for Teaching Assistants

Carolyn Canavan

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781317558859
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Classroom Management

Written to meet the needs of teaching assistants and learning support assistants, this book provides a practical toolkit for supporting students on the autistic spectrum in mainstream primary schools.

The book offers a clear, jargon free explanation of autism spectrum conditions and examines the difficulties arising from these conditions and how they can impact on students' learning. Addressing issues which arise on a daily basis, it is full of practical advice and strategies for supporting students socially and academically across all areas of the curriculum.

Features include:

• advice on supporting students through examinations

• examples and case studies to illustrate how the strategies described work in practice

• forms to help with information collection and evaluation

• templates to scaffold students' comprehension and learning in different subject areas

Packed with photocopiable resources that can be adapted to suit individual students' needs, this book is essential reading for teaching assistants that want to help their students' on the autism spectrum to reach their full potential.

Part One

1
Strengths of individuals with Asperger Syndrome or High Functioning Autism

Before I talk about their difficulties, I would like to write about some of their strengths:

• The individual with AS/HFA is loyal and socially optimistic: they will persevere with a friendship, even if let down.
• They are free from prejudice and accept people at face value.
• Contrary to popular belief, they are very empathic and may surprise you with their insight. (They just don’t know what to do about another person’s feelings.)
• They will tell you what they really feel and think about something rather than what they think you want to hear.
• When they ask a question – they want the honest answer to it. There is no hidden motive behind it.
• They will tell the truth even if it means getting themselves in trouble.
• They rarely do something they know to be wrong, even when pressured.
• They have a strong sense of justice and neither fear nor favour.
• Their humour can be unique and unconventional.
• They love words, especially puns, and will make up their own jokes with them.
• They want to co-operate but often don’t know how.
• If they enjoy a sport, they will train hard to be the best and are particularly good at individual sports.
• They have the ability to learn quickly and want to progress, especially if interested in the topic.
• When they start a task they want to do it perfectly.
• They have a good eye for detail and pick up mistakes.
• If it interests them, they can concentrate on a single task for a very long period of time.
• When they are interested or motivated in a task they will persevere with an extraordinary determination to finish.
• Their long-term memory is good, especially for childhood experiences, facts, figures, dates and film dialogue or audio recordings.
• They are creative, often insightful, and can provide an original solution to a problem.
• Their spatial awareness can be quite remarkable – they are visual thinkers.
• They often have an encyclopaedic knowledge of their special interest.
• Of average or above average intelligence, they have the potential to go on to university.
• They often have an interest or a talent for something: design, Japanese, quantum physics, art, music or computing – find out and nurture it.

2
Important things to know about Autism Spectrum Conditions

The Autism Spectrum covers a very broad range of Pervasive Developmental Disorders, which are life-long neuro-physiological conditions (see glossary for descriptions of each of these conditions):

• Classic Autism, also known as Kanner Syndrome or Low Functioning Autism;
• High Functioning Autism (HFA);
• Asperger Syndrome (AS);
• Semantic Pragmatic Disorder (SPD);
• Pathological Demand Avoidance Syndrome (PDA);
• Retts Syndrome;
• Tourette Syndrome;
• Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) – this often develops into autism or AS later in life, or a child with autism may improve and be re-diagnosed with PDD-NOS.

Most ASCs are hidden disabilities caused by differences in the formation of the brain and the way it responds to stimuli. This is backed up by research using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scans, which detects blood flow through the brain in response to a variety of stimuli. Consequently, our expectations of individuals with an ASC can sometimes be compared to asking a blind person to ‘look at this’ or a deaf person to ‘listen’; this is why it is so important that we understand the condition and appreciate the difficulties they are confronted with on a daily basis.

Research into autism is ongoing and new findings occur on a regular basis. The brains of individuals with Asperger Syndrome are bigger than average and they have more white and grey matter. Grey matter is responsible for extracting and processing information from sensory organs such as sight, sound and speech, and is involved in muscle control, memory and emotions. Various parts of the brain compare that information with what’s in the memory and use the information to plan and execute behaviour. White matter carries information around the brain through electric and chemical activity, but this is also disordered.

More recent research suggests that the autistic brain has more neural pathways to carry information round the brain but that they are not co-ordinated, or that the white matter is too short so that the brain’s neural pathways are under-connected. Or that more information comes into the brain than it is able to process, leading to overload. In order to function, people with autism use strategies to distract themselves from the stimuli that threaten to overwhelm them, leading to a display of idiosyncratic behaviours. Researchers concluded that this might explain the problems with attention: for example, if too much information comes in through the visual system, they become distracted and show less interest in social interaction. However, they also suggest that hyper-connectivity might explain the islets of ability in subjects and visual search or detailed focus processing.

Whatever the current theory, it is enough to know that autistic brains work differently.

Difficulties processing information

As a result of all these differences, people with an ASC have processing difficulties affecting:

• social interaction;
• emotional recognition and regulation;
• impulse suppression;
• language processing – input and output;
• fine and gross motor skills;
• planning and organization;
• attention, short term memory;
• the ability to be flexible;
• sensory regulation.

There may also be areas of profound ability in any subject area: not just science or maths and music or art.

To use a metaphor to illustrate the problem:

1. The typical brain is like a road network. Information coming in at A goes to B by travelling along the neural pathways. Like a car travelling along the motorways, the information gets to its destination without any fuss.
2. The autistic brain is different. Information coming in at A goes to B, but it takes longer, like a car going from A to B along detours. It may even get lost and end up at the seaside (C) for a holiday, turning up at its destination weeks or even months later.
3. With the uneven distribution of grey and white matter, and the low levels of chemical neurotransmitters to push inhibitory messages across the synapses (joints), it may even be a more arduous journey, with traffic jams and detours. The synapses may even be broken in some places so that processing is impaired and takes much longer.
4. The uneven distribution of white and grey matter may account for the exceptional abilities one can find in pupils with AS, such as calculating complex mathematical equations without the apparent need to process them, or a photographic memory by which large amounts of text can be quoted but with little comprehension. Like a shortcut, getting from A to B without really knowing how – it’s just the way they have always done it.
   Faulty connections may also account for sensory issues. Super-efficient neural pathways may cause hypersensitivity and a flood of information, so that the nervous system is constantly under pressure to process more than it can; and the lack of connectedness, together with thin white matter and patchy grey matter, can be the cause of hyposensitivity.

Processing tasks: planning and writing an essay has been described to me as like building a tower of cards – ‘it’s very hard’! An interruption by a well-meaning TA or teacher sends the tower tumbling down. They have to start all over again because of a poor working memory. How frustrating is that! You will see an upset and angry child.

The amygdala

The amygdala (there are two) are a small part of the brain that have a major influence on much of the behaviour of a child on the spectrum; they are responsible for recognizing and co-ordinating information from different parts of the brain and processing an emotional response. It is one of the areas in the brain responsible for recognizing social cues such as facial expressions and body language: the emotional responses of other people. In the early years the amygdala are enlarged in people with an ASC, but they shrink to become smaller than normal in adolescence.

The amygdala trigger the flight or fight reflex. They are linked to the frontal cerebral cortex via the hypothalamus, which, depending on the information relayed, will suppress the reflex. For example, you see someone baring their teeth at you; your heart races, muscles tense, you feel hot and your hands sweat. These physical reactions are relayed via the hypothalamus to the pre-frontal cortex, which regulates the emotion on a subconscious level in nanoseconds.

At the same time, the cerebral cortex and hippocampus evaluate the information, based upon knowledge or memories of similar past experiences to make a judgement as whether or not there is a threat present. This information is relayed back to the amygdala through two inhibitory neurotransmitters called serotonin and glycine. The rational frontal lobe system overrides the basic instinct of the amygdala. If your brain reasons that the person is actually threatening you, you acknowledge that you are frightened and in danger and run in the opposite direction. If you recognize that he is smiling, your brain suppresses the desire to run away.

The ‘faulty wiring’ in the brain of children on the autism spectrum, connecting the amygdala to the frontal lobe, where impulses are controlled, may lead to a breakdown in communication. The autistic individual may be unaware of what is really happening. For example, after getting a fright from hearing a loud, unexpected noise, an adrenaline surge causes a racing heart and hyper-alertness to everything around about. The difference is that in a nanosecond NTs assess the danger and quickly realise that it’s actually not going to hurt them. There is nothing to be alarmed about, the heart rate returns to normal and the child calms down quickly, although it takes 4 hours for adrenaline to clear the system. For the individual on the spectrum this may take far longer; the difficulties processing what has happened mean that instead of calming down, the panic rises as they try to work out what has happened. They want to understand; they can’t; they become frustrated and angry and this feeling can last minutes, or hours, or the whole day. Adrenaline surges through the system throughout the day and its effects may last for days, leaving the person in a constant state of fear.

Another aspect of the high levels of fear that the child feels is that memories of that event will trigger the same reaction in the future, when placed in a similar situation or with the same group of people. All those intense emotions will come pouring back and send them into a blind panic. Try to imagine what it must be like trying to function while experiencing such an onslaught on the senses and emotions.

They will be unable to recognize that they are in a dangerous situation until they are actually in it. Or they may never see it… You will have to lay down a few rules, which they can use when they get older, to tell them that they must not do certain things and explain what might happen if they do.

Lack of inhibition

fMRI research has revealed that underconnectivity between various areas in the brains of people with autism (and ADHD) leads to a lack of inhibition and impulse control. This leads to:

• difficulties in Executive Function (organization skills);
• narrow interests;
• the need for rigid routine;
• language processing (literal interpretation);
• inappropriate behaviour.

It has also been linked to the lack of Theory of Mind (the ability to predict what another person is thinking or intends to do).

The effect of a disordered inhibitory system has implications for learning that are not immediately obvious. Research into language and metaphor comprehension in individuals with autism found that the reader must suppress knowledge of one object that is totally irrelevant to the analogy. The example was ‘Lawyers are sharks’. The intended analogy was that they are aggressive and ferocious, not that they have fins and sharp teeth (Gernsbacher and Robertson, 1999).

NT children will have learned from experience and be able to act intuitively, but the child with autism has to consciously work through the complicated process involved in making the right choice:

1. Assess the situation: which they have difficulty ‘reading’.
2. Choose what to do next: which they may perceive as a totally new experience and have not a clue what to do, so do the first thing that pops into their mind.
3. Assess their choice of action or words: by this time they are likely to be stressed.
4. Recognize that there might be a problem with what they are about to do or say: not if they are now panicking.
5. Make a decision based upon what they think might be the consequence of their actions: unlikely they will be able to process this far.
6. Choose what to do next to adapt their behaviour or language: totally unable to do this.
7. Then do it: Too late!

Pupils with AS often ‘challenge’ those people around them due to a lack of inhibition. These actions are due to poor neural connections, which fail to suppress ‘inappropriate behaviour’ until they are specifically taught the hidden social codes.

Children with AS have no natural respect for authority. If you are a teacher you are expected to know your subject. If you make an error they will tell you, reasoning that it’s not logical to want to make a mistake or leave it uncorrected. If you ask a question, they will give you an honest answer. Be careful about what you ask and the way you word a question. Social situations can be tricky because the individual will not adhere to the unwritten rules and will say exactly what they think, regardless of the fact that they may be perceived as disrespectful, rude, or even offensive.

Never lie to a pupil with AS. They will not understand the motivation behind it, and may take it as an attempt to humiliate them and never forgive you. Remember, we are the adults and the pupil with AS has no intention of being rude or disrespectful, they are just saying it how it is.

Executive Function – organization skills

The ability to plan and carry out complex cognitive tasks – to organize oneself – is also governed by complex brain processes. Called Executive Function, in autism this ability is interfered with by dysfunction in the frontal lobes of the brain. EF deficit includes a poor working memory, inattention, and difficulties initiating, sustaining and inhibiting actions.

It is important to understand that the neurobiological differenc...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• How to use this book
• Note on the terminology
• Introduction
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Afterword
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index