EDCE 7040
Autism
Transitions, Changes and Learning Implications for Students with Autism 5th through 8th grades
Students with autism face multiple new challenges during the late elementary through the middle school period. By developing an understanding of this transitional time, general and special education teachers through collaboration and communication with the student can be instrumental in their lives. By facilitating learning and social adjustment through this crucial period, the student can experience a satisfactory school experience. Physical, emotional, relationship and school building changes are particularly difficult when one of the critical characteristics of autism is difficulty making transitions. As expectations for students with autism change, so do the roles of the teachers. Additional teacher competencies, practices, and interpersonal skills are needed for regular education teachers who have students with autism in their classes. Therefore, teachers working with students from 5th grade through middle school benefit from additional training that this course aims to provide.
In this course, educational strategies include developing structured lessons and related activities meant to engage the students with autism in peer learning experiences. Literacy strategies to promote engagement with age-appropriate literature, aligned with grade-level experiences, are designed using the Four Lenses of Learning and The Five Reading, Writing and Talking Processes. These strategies will include the integration of technology in keeping with the needs of students with autism.
Transition law requires that teachers instruct students with autism on how to be an IEP team member. As part of this course, special education and general education teachers will develop skills and knowledge about the trajectory of transition planning. Reflective practices will be used to examine how bias about autism may affect the student's success during this critical phase of adolescence. Through reflective exercises and increasing background knowledge, teachers can ameliorate preconceptions that limit commitment to students with autism in the school environment and the communities where they will live.
