TOPIC

I’ve decided to talk about autism. The main reason why I decided to talk about it is that
I’m a teacher and I love dealing and working with autistic children and I would like
people to know what they are like and their feeling, also theirs special needs.

Here some material.

1. To begin with I would like to explain what is autism.

So…
Autism is a pervasive neurological syndrome that affects individuals behavior and
communication. I`ve herad that autism has become more common in recent years.
Textbooks report that prevalence is between 1in 1000, although some psychologists say
that its 1 in 500 and that it is 4 times more prevalent in boys.

2. Let me explain what causes autism.

What I´ve heard is that… there is general agreement that autism is caused by
abnormalities in brain development and genetic factors.

3. Do you know what the main characteristics of autism are?

Well…you know? …
Autism impacts in the normal development of the brain in areas of social interaction and
communication skills. So the main characteristics is that they find it difficult to
communicate with others and with the outside world. Because of that they have a
preference to play alone rather with other.

An other characteristic is that changes in their routine could be very stressful for them.
For instance some children need particular furniture arrangement, they always need to
eat the same food on the same days, tv shows, and so on…so symmetry is absolutely
essential.

With regard to intelligence, In general, the majority of children with autism present
mental retardation mainly in verbal and reasoning skills.

Have you ever heard that autistic children don’t like to be touched?
Most people seem to believe that but I would say it isn´t true in all cases.

4. Now for Intervention.

Autism appears during the first 3 years of life but there isn´t a medical test. So
psychologists always use interviews, observation and specific checklists developed for
this purpose.
Unfortunately there isn’t a medical cure. In spite of that, early intervention is very
important.
There are various strategies that I/teachers can use to help or teach them.
Many autistic children find it easier to understand the world with visual aids.
For example, I usually use a visual timetable with drawings to show the children the
differents activities that we are going to do during the day.
So children understand sequences and predict what is happening.
An other strategy that we use with them is a comic strip conversations. This helps
children with autism to understand the abstract aspects of social communication for
instance the feeling and the intentions of others. Because they can see visually the
different elements of a conversation.

Other children with autism respond well to drama and role play activities. That helps
them learn social skills, such as greetings, turn taking in conversation, etc. and also to
reduce stress and improve understanding.

So these are some examples of the resources that we use in our schools to help autistic
children.

5. Oh, could I ask you something?

Have you got a child?/ How would you feel if you had a child with autism?

I think If I were in the parent´s shoes Í´d probably feel helpless. As you can imagine,
parents must find ways to communicate better with them.
In addition, they need to visit child therapist often and use the specific techniques and
therapies according to the needs of their child.

And I think It could be very costly, couldn´t it?

Absolutely! And in addiction, sometimes, they need medication (anti anxiety and anti
psychotics).

The main concern of parents is what happens to them when they are adults?

Public schools provide services to people with autism until they reach age 22.
After that, the responsibility shifts to the person with autism and family members to find
educational or employment opportunities and appropriate living arrangements.
Some of them maybe go to college or to vocational training, others find a job that
matches their skills and interests, and in other cases, those who are profoundly affected
by autism generally end up staying with their families or in a residence.