Supporting Children with ASD in Recreational Activities

Bella Chan EPSE 590

About Me
Tennis Skating Gymnastics Swimming Badminton Skiing Horseback riding And more

Children with ASD and recreation

Children with ASD: - Majority of time spent indoors for intervention! - Parents did not believe it was possible! - Lack of trained staff and tools! - Little research in training community recreation staff Vision for incorporating children with ASD into community recreation programs

Agenda
Introduction to Autism
What is Autism What does it look like on the child

Benefits of recreational activities Evidence-based strategies

Activity

Other methods/additional tips

What is Autism?

(APA, 2000)

Neurological developmental disability 1 in 88 (US Centre for Disease Control) Impairment in:
verbal and non-verbal communication and language developing social skills social-emotional reciprocity motor coordination

Excessive adherence to routines and structure Display repetitive speech, motor movements, or fixation on objects Hyper/ hypo reactivity to sensory input

What does it look like?

Range of language abilities
Some speech, no speech or typical speech

Poor conversation skills

Staying on topic Maintaining on-going conversation

Awkward, little or no social initiation and interaction

Ex) Inappropriate initiation to play

What does it look like?

Difficulty playing by someone elses rules Lack of perspective taking Avoid eye contact Hand flapping Easily stressed when changes occur Sensitive/insensitive to noise, textures, etc

Autism Spectrum Disorder

If you have met one child with ASD, youve met ONE child with ASD.

Benefits of physical recreation

Improve motor coordination, muscle tone and energy Promote family bonding and foster social skills (Fennick & Royle, 2003)

Teach safety and self-defence skills

(Zhang & Griffin, p.37, 2007)

Prevent obesity (Zuckerman et al., 2014) Build confidence, self-esteem Enhance the childs physical, emotional and mental well-being Enrich the childs life with expanded interests and hobbies! (Potvin, Prelock &
Snider, 2008)

Ideal staff characteristics

Enthusiastic!! Compassionate Eager to learn Adaptable Open to feedback Commitment to safety Patience Energetic Creative

(Coyne & Fullerton, 2004)

First steps in offering support

Bridging the gap
- Build rapport with the child - Assess the childs abilities - Understand family goals

(Potvin, Prelock & Snider,2008)

Next: Select strategies that would best fit the child for effective teaching and maximum learning opportunities!

Effective ways to help

Evidence-based strategies
Visual support Use simple language

Provide physical guidance

Rewards

Other methods

Visual Support

(Meadan, Ostrosky, Triplett, Michna & Fettig, 2011)

VS

For learner who: Limited language skills Difficulties interpreting verbal language Short attention span

Benefits: - More concrete - Offers solid reference - Offers predictability - Can be easily used repeatedly - Images can be easily memorized - Less talking for the instructor!

Visual Support
Embeded all around us! Effective tool for everyone!

How to use visual support?("Teaching students with, 2000, p 28)

Pictorial schedules
Provides predictability and structure

First _____, then ______

Visual contract

Choice board
Make decisions and gain control

Count down
Builds endurance

Token board
Embed rewards for motivation

Set rules and expectations for appropriate behaviour

Wait & stop

Physical Guidance (prompt) (Coyne & Fullerton, 2004)

Good for teaching a new skill Avoid error Promote success!
Types of guidance:
Demonstrate Hand over hand
+ swing picture

Use Simple Language (Potvin, Prelock & Snider, 2008)

Provide simple and clear verbal instructions
Ex: Lucy, I would like you to ride around the orange cones from the start point all the way to the other side. VS. - Lucy, ride around the cones.

Pair with visuals, models or body gestures

Use Simple Language

-Lucy, ride around the cones.

Offer Rewards

(Coyne & Fullerton, 2004)

Children with ASD do not often reward themselves Positive reinforcement and rewards keep motivation and confidence high Rewards should be meaningful to each child! - maintain a likes and dislike list for each child

Types of Rewards
Praise
You swam really fast! Good work Tim!

Frequent breaks
- allow time for rest & alone time

Access to preferred activity, toys or edibles Embed reward schedule in visual support!
- list order or use First/Then to help the child predict when a reward is coming!

Important: rewards should be given contingent to good behaviour!

Activity

Other methods
Break down activities and tasks into small teachable steps (Coyne & Fullerton, 2004) Pre-teach in less difficult environment first (Zhang & Griffin,
2007)

Cant do it in water? Try on land first!

Embed easy tasks with difficult/boring tasks to add variety for the participants (Zhang & Griffin, 2007) Be creative! Turn learning into fun games

Other methods

Skating: use marker to draw on ice

Other methods

Baseball: hit the angry bird with your bat!

Additional tips
Collaboration with parents or therapists to best support each child (Potvin, Prelock & Snider, 2008) Select strategies that best meet the skills and needs of individual children (Zhang & Griffin, 2007) Goal is to have fun and enjoyment!

Remember: All children can learn!

Questions?

References
American Psychiatric Association (APA). (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-fourth edition, text revision. Washington, DC: Author. Coyne, P. & Fullerton, A. (2004). Supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder in recreation-second edition. Urbana, IL: Sagamore Publishing. Fennick, E., & Royle, J. (2003). Community inclusion for children and youth with developmental disabilities. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 18, 2027. Meadan, H., Ostrosky, M. M., Triplett, B., Michna, A., & Fettig, A. (2011). Using visual supports with young children with autism spectrum disorder. Teaching Exceptional Children, July/Aug, 29-35. McConkey, R., Mullan, A., & Addis, J. (2012). Promoting the social inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders in community groups. Early Child Development and Care,182(7), 827-835. Ministry of Education, Special Programs Branch. (2000). Teaching students with autism: A resource guide for schools (RB0102). Victoria, BC. Potvin, M., Prelock, P. A. & Snider, L. (2008). Collaborating to support meaningful participation in recreational activities of children with autism spectrum disorder. Topics in language disorders, 28 (4), 365-374. Zhang, J., & Griffin, A. J. (2007). Including children with autism in general physical education: Eight possible solutions. JOPERD, 78(3), 33-50. Zucherman, K. E., Hill, A. P., Gulion, K., Voltolina, L., & Fombonne, E. (2014). Overweight and obesity: Prevalence and correlates in a large clinical sample of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders. Retrieved from

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24488158