Autism in Preschoolers Essay Example

Introduction

Exceptionality is a term used in Early Childhood Development by the Department of Education in identifying strengths and needs patterns mutual to groups of students. These needs and strengths may be: emotional, cognitive, physical, medical, behavioral or social. Students are allowed to access special education services to meet their education potential when found with an exceptionality. These kinds of students may access an assortment of services that are school-based depending on the intensity of the severity of their condition. This paper seeks to devour autism as one of the exceptionalities. It will explain the causes, physical and behavioral characteristics and propose particular adaptations that an educator in Early Childhood could make to maximize the social interactions and learning within a preschool environment.

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Definition

Autism, scientifically known as the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a mental condition and disability development present from early childhood, characterized by excessive difficulty in how a child communicates and relates with the people around them and in using abstract and language concepts (Buja et al., 2018). Children with autism have great difficulty when it comes to social interaction in their daily life.

Causes

While autism results from neurologic abnormality, the actual cause of the problem with the nervous system has never been discovered. Various research findings designate a robust genetic constituent (Buja et al., 2018). Most probably, immunologic, metabolic and environmental factors additionally influence the development of the disorder. As such, it is logical to conclude that there are multiple causes of the disorder.

A group of schoolers has however found a link between autism and abnormal gene claiming that the gene may be one of five genes which interact in unknown ways to cause the syndrome (Winden, Ebrahimi-Fakhari & Sahin, 2018). Scientists suspect that faulty genes may cause a person to develop autism if accelerated with other factors such as chemicals, viruses, chemical imbalance or the lack of oxygen during childbirth. There are a few cases of the condition that are caused by fragile X syndrome, brain inflammation, untreated phenylketonuria, Rubella in an expectant woman and Tuberous sclerosis (Winden, Ebrahimi-Fakhari & Sahin, 2018). The past few decades have experienced a growing interest in a theory which links autism to the use of thimerosal, a preservative made of mercury that is used in vaccinating. However, several well-done wide-ranging studies have been conducted and have not indicated any causal relationship between the disorder and thimerosal.

Behavioral and physical characteristics

Specific characteristics are usually identified with preschoolers facing autism. They are either behavioral performed by these children or physical that one can be able to see directly.

Behavioral

Majority of preschool children that have autism may at times laugh uncontrollably or giggle. They may do this repeatedly and also laugh lightly in a silly way even if there is nothing that has made them laugh or simply laugh due to amusement or nervousness. Moreover, they might also cry or tantrum for no reason. Usually, they have an uncontrolled outburst of anger especially when their parents or guardian deny them something they want. Additionally, they typically show abnormal fear responses (Croen et al.,2017). In everyday activities, they may reveal too much or little fear such as being with and around pets at home. Finally, children usually have different characters; some may be "over-reactive" while other may be "under-reactive." depending on the nature of the autism.

Physical characteristics

Children with autism may experience completely different symptoms from one another showing different capabilities. Majority of the children do not show any features that indicate they have autism. They usually have minimal characteristics of reporting the disorder. However, they may have small birth weight, small head, small but broadly spaced eyes, petite nose, thin lip, and a flat midface (Croen et al.,2017). Their first and second toes are usually widely separated with an increases skin crease. Their hands may also be short with some of them having white spots on the colored part of the eye (Croen et al.,2017).

Specific adaptations an Early Childhood Educator could make to maximize the learning and social interactions within the preschool environment

Physical Arrangement of the Classroom

It is important for educators of children with autism to note that setting up the autism class correctly will increase the independence and skill acquisition and lower anxiety and stress for the students. Creating a classroom that is well-designed and in which visual cues and workstations are clearly defined can increase the student's independence significantly. A teacher should pay particular attention to the classroom's physical layout, such as furniture partition, labeling of the workstations and shelves among others. Similarly, visual simulation, being a common challenge with children who have autism, should be minimized and as such, the windows, lighting, ceiling, and floor covering should be set appropriately to minimize sensory stimulation. Teachers should also get rid of unused furniture or items which no longer serve a purpose in the classroom and use visuals to define spaces and increase independence among students. Adapting Furniture

The physical classroom arrangement should be free from distractions and a structured environment in a most conducive environment for the kids who quickly become distracted and have visual perceptual difficulties, for instance, they may have trouble seeing where they are supposed to sit. An educator should use some furniture in some specific areas. For example, they can remove some of the furniture materials that are of no use. The cell layout may be designed according to the class schedule. A good example is the area that has tile floor being used for snacks other than being used for language arts.

An educator should set papers and pens in drawers, and also have toys on their desks. Place the board in one fixed place of the classroom, and the classroom should also be structured with clearly defined areas. The teacher should use furniture partition the areas that are off limits and establish boundaries using colored tapes and also let the students have fixed place to sit. Moreover, any furniture that is not useful for the day's learning should be removed.

Teacher support or instructional strategies

There are numerous school-based interventions in form of teacher support that may contribute to the development of autistic children such as speech-language therapy, physical therapy, integrated sensory therapy among much more (Winden, Ebrahimi-Fakhari & Sahin, 2018). There is also a need to integrate videotaping to enhance comprehension, intellikeys to assist in typing due to its images and symbols that are intuitive to autistic children and many other instructional strategies

Maximizing independence in routines

Independence is a significant, yet complex role of any professional dealing with autistic children and it is essential that the teacher aim at maximizing the opportunities of the children to enable them to feel as independent as possible. Teachers should support the children to recognize the tasks they can perform independently and the ones that need help and should reflect on their role as teachers and plan their objectives to assist the children in maximizing their independence and reviewing their progress regularly.

Building social interactions with the peer group

Schools with autistic children need to provide a calm environment to devoid things that may not overstimulate autistic children. There is a need for the schools to provide relationship development interventions to children with autism to enable them to develop adaptability, self-awareness, and social skills. Social communication or emotional regulations are another initial response for the school to the autistic children. This assists them in the ability to learn spontaneously and apply relevant and functional skills in different setups.

Acceptance by the school family is essential for autistic children in order to comprehend the deficits and strengths of the child. There is a need for the school to have a communal skills group to help kids with autism practice social skills. Social skills exercise is often overlooked when measuring the treatments of children with autism (Winden, Ebrahimi-Fakhari & Sahin, 2018). There is a need for the school to provide facilities such as computer and technology to help with teaching social skills like the tone of voice and emotions in facial expression.

Conclusion

To the larger extend, development of autistic children is vital to people who have children living with autism. From identification, right away to interventions are vital steps for the development of children who have autism. Although there has been no known cure for autism, through therapies and learning children are able to develop and improve their conditions. Early interventions are critical because it will assist in improvement and development. Autism is a normal phenomenon that occurs worldwide regardless of the race, gender and ethnicity and there is a need to embrace and be aware of its occurrence as well as taking responsibilities for it.

References

Buja, A., Volfovsky, N., Krieger, A. M., Lord, C., Lash, A. E., Wigler, M., & Iossifov, I. (2018). Damaging de novo mutations diminish motor skills in children on the autism spectrum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(8), E1859-E1866.

Croen, L. A., Shankute, N., Davignon, M., Massolo, M. L., & Yoshida, C. (2017). Demographic and clinical characteristics associated with engagement in behavioral health treatment among children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 47(11), 3347-3357

Winden, K. D., Ebrahimi-Fakhari, D., & Sahin, M. (2018). Abnormal mTOR Activation in Autism. Annual review of neuroscience, (0).