Information about the Child and Disability
Emily, an incredibly active kindergarten student who is four years old, has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which is a multifactorial developmental disorder affecting social, language, and behavior (Hodges et al., 2020). This diagnostic may come back with difficulties. Emily was unfamiliar with social cues, formed connections with peers, and engaged in repetitive or narrowly interest behaviors. Determining Emily’s diagnosis is the foundation on which we architect interventions and accommodations that prioritize her requirements. When they realize her condition, educators and support staff can adopt measures to help Emily build social and academic skills. Therefore, Emily will be part of a class environment conducive to her growth and development, and she can ultimately reach her optimum. Awareness of all peculiarities of ASD enables Emily’s school staff to identify these specific areas that are sticking points for learning, and they work to ensure that they are adequately integrated into classroom activities; hence, Emily will enjoy and be appropriately educated.
Strengths and Needs Assessment
Through her experience, Emily demonstrates a wide range of abilities and vulnerabilities that lead her to the path of education. One remarkable fact about her is her passion for letters and numbers, which shows she acquired early literacy and numeracy skills. The other notable thing about her is that she likes structured routines very much because she quickly follows visual schedules and has a level of predictability in her daily tasks. The areas where Emily is most immersed help teachers establish a point of reference for the development of the student’s education. But Emily will have special requirements, too, which need to be attended to and satisfied. What strikes me first is her difficulties with social communication (Griffiths et al., 2022). Social cues might be a challenge for Emily, and she may not feel confident in her ability to communicate with her friends appropriately and suitably. It is quite possible that making friends and doing things in a group may be hard work. Tackling Emily’s social communication difficulties is very important as it is a critical component of the socialization process, as well as having good relations with peers.
Also, Emily is sensitive to stimuli sensations, which may hamper her ability to relate to the rest of her classmates. Extra loud sounds or some textures can overwhelm her, and she feels discomfort or fear. By giving her tools such as sensory ones or a place where she can withdraw herself from noise, Emily will be able to adjust the stimuli she gets from her surroundings and remain immersed in learning activities.
In addition to this, Emily might repeat being rigid or limited in her interests compared to children with ASD. Emily may view them as a means of comfort or a way to cope, but they could, ultimately, hinder the social realm and adversely affect the classroom norms. Helping Emily understand and manage such behaviors is a part of the treatment of social and emotional student well-being.
Classroom Functioning and Concerns
While at school, Emily demonstrates both advantages and disadvantages that require being dealt with through careful processing, planning, and preventive measures. On the one hand, Emily naturally urges and interests to be actively involved in student society and group work. On the other hand, she might have difficulties building a social network and learning how to interact. One key issue that arises from Emily’s academic activities is her withdrawal from social interactions and involvement in repetitive behaviors when overwhelmed. This conduct can exist in the form of rocking, hand-flapping, or other self-stimulatory gestures, resulting in her inability to comprehend the learning instructions and interact with her peers fully. Understanding the triggers for Emily’s seclusion and helping her learn to manage her emotions and sensory input is another important step for enhancing her social integration and overall wellness.
One more noteworthy issue concerns that Emily has hardly any verbal communication skills and has trouble with such procedures as switching between activities. While Emily might lack the verbal ability to express her desires and clarify her preferences, this might lead to frustration and potential behavioral challenges if her communication needs are unmet (Griffiths et al., 2022). Also, Emily has difficulty concentrating on different activities; things like a change of routine or environment could be stressful for her. Visual support, auditory cues, and structured transition plans will help Emily cope during transitions and ease related stress and uncertainties.
Moreover, being the one to prefer solitary play over playing with peers could potentially hamper her social development and relationships with peers. While Emily might be interested in engaging in self-driven activities, creating structured play and collaborative learning opportunities allows her to learn to share, take turns, and solve problems that require teamwork. An adult figure or support in social interactions also helps Emily develop confidence and feel more comfortable while in the company of her classmates.
Strategies, Design, Accommodations, and Services
The first step to help Emily master the school is to use a wide range of practices that consist of tactics, renovations in the design, accommodations, and particular services. These multimodal therapy sessions must focus on her strengths and challenges, comprehensively on different areas of her development like social communication, self-regulation, and school programs.
Visual aids are of paramount importance in helping the learner grasp what is expected and what will happen at a specific time. Schedules and social stories with visuals can provide her with clear structuring and appropriate navigation over the different phases. They provide visual clues that can put off anxiety and bewilderment, hence giving Emily more confidence and comfort through which she can navigate the environment properly. Sensory facilitation is the fundamental priority of our strategy to deal with sensitivity to each of Emily’s senses. Offering organs likely to play a role in the sensory nerve system, such as fidget toys, weighted blankets, or noise-canceling headphones, will help her regulate sensory input control and focus during learning sessions. Moreover, creating specific spotless divisions or peaceful rooms is the utmost place for Emily to retract and self-regulate if she feels overpowered.
Guided collective time, being ensured by the role of adults, brings forward the process of growing Emily`s teamwork and communication with others. By organizing planned playgroups and cooperative learning interactions under teacher supervision, educators can provide Emily with organized activities that allow her to practice social skills like sharing, turn-taking, and joint problem-solving. Enhancing the activities to appeal to Emily’s interests and give her a reason to engage and motivate her to participate may be another way to further her participation.
Alternative ways to convey herself, like the exchange system and the augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices, are where Emily can clearly communicate her needs, wants, and feelings (Pereira et al., 2020). This frees her from relying only on her interpreter to communicate and participate in classroom activities, reducing the frustration she used to experience and building her autonomy and self-confidence.
Personalized learning, i.e., required to meet Emily’s interests and aptitudes, guarantees that the learning activities should be helpful and exciting. Sometimes, implementing interactive ways and multi-sensory materials gives the teacher a chance to engage Emily’s learning style, thus offering a space for her to participate actively and for wise exploration. The utilization of differentiation in teaching (contingent on Emily’s abilities and preferences) produces a learning environment where Emily can apply herself fully and be proud of her achievements in different academic aspects.
Collaboration with other professionals is essential in every phase, and speech therapists, occupational therapists, and behavior specialists are to be included in the treatment strategy. These professionals who can specialize in skills and features in specific needy areas (speech and language development, finer motor skills, and others) can be a tremendous help. The collective effort of the educative process enables a teacher to give Emily the coping mechanisms and patient paces she needs to blossom in the classroom and become her best.
Grading and Discipline Concerns
Grading and discipline issues for Emily could be tackled by employing the ways that will lead her to identify her strengths and challenges. Teachers will collect ongoing assessment data through observation and portfolio assessment to ensure they track any progress Emily is making and adjust their instruction to correspond accordingly. Formative assessment tools, namely check-ins and informal assessments, frequently help teachers monitor Emily’s comprehension and provide her with timely feedback to help her improve (Pereira et al., 2020). Regarding behavioral management, working out a preventive and positive behavior support intervention that will emphasize teaching appropriate behaviors and coping mechanisms instead of punitive measures is very necessary. Emily will feel the difference when her teachers clearly show their expectations, provide consistent support, and implement strategies to overcome challenging behaviors accordingly.
Additional Research Findings
Studies proved the efficiency of social communication abilities augmentation through social skills training, peer-mediated interventions, and teamwork with peers. Peer-mediated interventions are aimed at equipping typically developing peers with different strategies of social engagement and interaction with students with autism that could improve their relationship manifold. Additionally, visual supports, such as pictures and symbols, and sensory accommodations, including fidgets and weighted vests, can improve the classroom experience for students with ASD, allowing them to be more engaged and reduce unwanted behaviors (Hodges et al., 2020). In addition, it is essential to develop good relations with Emily’s family, as well as with other experts such as speech therapists and occupational therapists, so that there can be comprehensive coordination of all aspects of her education and needs for support.
References
Griffiths, T., Clarke, M., & Price, K. (2022). Augmentative and alternative communication for children with speech, language, and communication needs. Paediatrics and Child Health, 32(8), 277-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paed.2022.05.001
Hodges, H., Fealko, C., & Soares, N. (2020). Autism spectrum disorder: definition, epidemiology, causes, and clinical evaluation. Translational pediatrics, 9(Suppl 1), S55. https://doi.org/10.21037%2Ftp.2019.09.09
Pereira, E. T., Montenegro, A. C. D. A., Rosal, A. G. C., & Walter, C. C. D. F. (2020, November). Augmentative and alternative communication on Autism Spectrum Disorder: impacts on communication. In CoDAS (Vol. 32, p. e20190167). Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia. https://doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20202019167
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