Autism In Classroom

As teachers, it is crucial to understand that at some point throughout a teaching career, there will several times where we will come across students who are identified as exceptional learners. Special education offers knowledge on a wide range of learning disabilities that children struggle with, as well as behavioural issues. Although teachers may not be special education teachers, at some point this role must be taken on to accommodate a child in the classroom. The odds of having a student in your class that has a learning disability or a behaviour problem have been magnified, due to the amount of awareness that been created, and for this reason it is imperative to be informed in this field to ensure that each child is identified and can …show more content…
Jimmy rarely talked, and when he did, his speech was very difficult to understand and often he would only speak one word at a time. He was not able to have a conversation, and would only speak unless he was spoken to, mostly if he was asked a question. According to Pry, Petersen and Baghdadli, children who have autism or are suspected of having autism do not ever fully develop functional language. At age five, children some children do not speak at all. It is thought that there is a relationship between functional language and social understanding. Jimmy does not demonstrate good social understanding, as he never engages in play with any other students, also showing his lack of functional language (Pry, Petersen and Baghdadli, 2009). He often seemed confused and needed questions repeated as well as he needed to be spoken to very clearly. During art activities, Jimmy would often have trouble with some of the motor skills, such as cutting out objects and often he needed step by step instructions, instead of being given instructions at the beginning of the activity. His writing skills were also less than average, however it is more difficult to identify any problems with his writing skills, because he is still in early years, and students are only beginning to understand how to write letters. His identification skills were also not excellent. He was not always able to identify letters of the alphabet; this was rather a hit and miss. At times it would appear that he would understand a certain concept, and then forget it another time. For example, Jimmy had only recently learned how to put his winter coat on. He was not able to learn how to put it on normally as one would put on a jacket. He would learn by putting the coat on the floor, making sure it was facing him upside down. He would then put his hands into the arms and flip the jacket