Essay Example on Understanding Autism: Causes, Symptoms, Prevalence, and Treatment

Introduction

Autism refers to a group of neurological disorders or developmental disabilities characterized by problems in social interaction, resistance to change, and communication challenges. These disorders are often common in childhood, and its symptoms start showing when one is three years (Jensen & Spannagel, 2011). In the United States, the overall incidence of autism is 1 out of every 110 people, and it is common among males than in females (Jensen & Spannagel, 2011). Autism and its related diagnosis, which is also called Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) adversely impact children's behavioral development. The reason is that ASD causes a deficit in the domains of social interaction and communication, which are essential for childhood development. Teaching professionals should have a proper understanding of autism and how it affects children in school settings since it is the basis of improving their academic performance and addressing disruptive classroom behaviors.

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Enhancing Socio-Emotional Well-Being

Training institutions should educate teachers concerning autism and the different needs of children with this developmental disability as the first step towards enhancing their socio-emotional wellbeing in school. Research has shown that students with ASD have difficulty communicating their thoughts, understanding what they hear in their surroundings, and even developing their language skills (Yeo & Teng, 2015). If there are no teachers who are knowledgeable about ASD to assist them, these students can easily exhibit undesirable behaviors like throwing tantrums, being aggressive, and injuring themselves as they try to express their thoughts (Yeo & Teng, 2015). This phenomenon implies that learners with ASD can find life unbearable if teachers do not understand their condition. Thus, teachers ought to know the needs of these individuals and implement strategies to improve their wellbeing.

One of the essential things that teaching professionals should know about the subject is how to address communication failure and social ineptness among students with ASD. An understanding of the two elements, according to Yeo and Teng (2015), is the first step towards improving the wellbeing and the quality of life among people with autism disorders.

Other things that make life challenging among this group of students are difficulties deciphering information and solving problems. By educating teachers on these issues, they will be in a better position to help this category of learners to overcome such challenges. As an example, teachers could integrate students with ASD with normal ones as a way to develop social, academic, and emotional learning. Training teachers on the subject, as well, prepare them to identify critical issues facing learners with ASD and the best practices to resolve them.

It is necessary to educate teachers about the subject to equip them with knowledge on how to support students with autism to form social relationships. This aspect will enable them to help individuals with ASD to understand the feelings of other students and, more importantly, form peer relationships. In this regard, difficulties engaging with the healthy students and challenges understanding their feelings are among critical issues that negatively impact the emotional, social wellbeing of people with ASD (Yeo & Teng, 2015). Therefore, educating teachers on various aspects of the disorder is of great importance as it prepares them to take the responsibility of helping individuals with AD to develop their social skills.

There is no doubt that this category of students can benefit from educational settings where teaching professionals play leading roles in establishing programs that enhance their learning experiences. However, teachers can only design and implement appropriate educational programs for people with ASD if they have an in-depth knowledge of this health condition. This point explains the essence of training all teachers to handle students with autism.

To Improve Successful Transitions

The transition from one level of education to another can be fraught for individuals with autism. Impairments in communication and social skills contribute to low transitions, which, in turn, affects the psychological wellbeing of this group of students (Fortuna, 2014). In some instances, stress that occurs because of unsuccessful transitions can have long-lasting detrimental effects on the achievements and behaviors of children with ASD (Fortuna, 2014).

As a way to achieve successful transitions, it is vital to educate teachers regarding the needs of teenagers with autism. By understanding the social, emotional, and educational needs of this class of students, teachers would be able to adjust programs and even introduce additional measures to improve academic performance. Such aspects address the educational needs of this class of learners, thus contributing to higher transitions across different levels of education.

According to Fortuna (2014), reasonable adjustments aimed at meeting the needs of pupils with ASD has the potential to enhance the level of successful transitions, which in turn, contributes to better social and emotional wellbeing. Training teachers on the issue, therefore, enable them to recognize that each student with autism has a unique presentation of weaknesses and strengths that require reasonable adjustment of classroom programs. Knowledge of this aspect allows teaching professionals to identify and personalize appropriate classroom practices that not only meet the individual needs of individual pupils but also support their transitions.

Educational staff, including teachers that understand autism, can identify indicators of socio-emotional problems that pupils with ASD may encounter in the school settings. Research has demonstrated that individuals with autism have significant socio-emotional issues than their counterparts without this developmental disability (Fortuna, 2014). These challenges, which impact success in school, are in the domain of oppositional behavior (Fortuna, 2014).

All teachers should have education on autism to enable them to balance the needs of healthy students and those with autism in inclusive classroom settings. For individuals with ASD to excel in such learning environments, they need teachers that can provide opportunities that enable them to participate and interact with normal students in different environments. There should be appropriate models, stimuli, and natural cue in a variety of natural environments for individuals with autism in inclusive classrooms. So, training institutions ought to educate teachers concerning autism to enable them to gain knowledge on social opportunities and peer models that they should offer to people with autism, not studying in special settings.

Knowledge of Classroom Behaviors

It is vital to educate all teachers concerning ASD to enable them to promote positive outcomes by addressing disruptive behaviors in class. Some of these aspects are preoccupation with smelling, tasting, and touching objects or people. Moreover, these children lack peer relations and tend to have a high level of activity besides difficulty in reciprocal conversations. The only way to enable teachers to know such behaviors and leverage resources to resolve them is through education on autism. Research has indicated that learners with autism are more likely to exhibit an adverse reaction to changes in schedules besides unusual body movements like spinning, rocking, and finger flicking (Tiwari & John, 2017).

Having a knowledge base on undesirable classroom behaviors is essential as it enables teachers to integrate procedures of addressing child misbehavior into their teaching plans. By planning this aspect, teachers would be able to minimize disturbance that may occur as a result of scream crying and resistance to changes during in-class activities. A study by Tiwari and John (2017) indicated that knowledge of classroom behaviors that teachers acquire during training prepares them to apply a "procedure of diagnostic thinking" whenever they encounter cases of child misbehavior. From the authors' argument, it is evident that all teachers must have a knowledge base of ASD for them to achieve their teaching goals in inclusive education settings. Some aspects that these professionals ought to understand are physical, behavioral, emotional, and learning needs that are common among people with ASD. Tiwari and John (2017) found in their study that special educators with a knowledge base on autism are more likely to achieve their goals in the classroom and learning outcomes among their students.

The Enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 necessitates teaching professionals to gain knowledge on the needs of the children with autism (Yeo & Teng, 2015). This legislation requires policymakers to implement strategic plans that emphasize educating people with autism in general education settings. With this law, Americans with autism have a right to access education alongside their normal counterparts regardless of their disability. There is evidence that enrolling individuals with ASD in inclusive education can potentially improve their academic performance and their social skills (Preece & Howley, 2018).

Conclusion

Autism negatively impacts people's emotional and behavioral development, especially during childhood. In classroom settings, individuals with this disability exhibit undesirable behaviors such as scream crying and preoccupation with touching and smelling objects. Teachers should be knowledgeable about various aspects of ASD to enable them to address disruptive behaviors that are common among teenagers with autism. Also, education concerning this condition enhances teachers to implement learning approaches that support social and cognitive development among students with ASSD, especially in inclusion classroom settings. Other benefits include higher successful transitions and the ability to adjust educational programs or in-class activities to enhance emotional wellbeing and the development of social skills.

References

Fortuna, R. (2014). The social and emotional functioning of students with an autistic spectrum disorder during the transition between primary and secondary schools. Support for Learning, 29(2), 177-191. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9604.12056

Jensen, V. K., & Spannagel, S. C. (2011). The spectrum of autism spectrum disorder: A spectrum of needs, services, and challenges. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 41(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-010-9161-1

Preece, D., & Howley, M. (2018). An approach to supporting young people with autism spectrum disorder and high anxiety to re-engage with formal education - the impact on young people and their families. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673843.2018.1433695

Tiwari, S., & John, J. (2017). Special educators' knowledge and training on autism in Karnataka: A cross-sectional study. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(3), 359. https://doi.org/10.4103/psychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_133_17

Yeo, K. J., & Teng, K. Y. (2015). Social skills deficits in autism: A study among students with Autism spectrum disorder in inclusive classrooms. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 3(12), 1001-1007. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2015.031208