A presentation to WGU mentors, educators, and administrators during Autism Awareness Week, 2016. Covering basic concepts, this resource provides insight into autism, approaches to college academic support, and additional resources.
Autism in Education: A Resource for the Student Mentor
1. Autism in Education:
A Resource for the Student Mentor
presented by Louis Molnar
at
Western Governors University's
Autism Awareness Week 2016
2. Feedback from those on the Spectrum
Feedback has
taken place
• face-to-face,
• on the phone,
• in Facebook
and Twitter group
settings
example of a Facebook response
5. Statistics
1 in 68, according to the
Centers for Disease
Control
Diagnosis has risen 6-
15% per year from 2005
to 2010 due to better tools
35% of young adults (ages 19-23) with autism
have not received post-secondary support,
education, or employment after high school (
Shattuck, et al, 2012)
6. Why is it called
Autism
Spectrum
Disorder?
image courtesy Rebecca Burgess
8. No two autistics
are the same, so
an approach to
education is as
unique for
autistics as it is
for any other
student
image courtesy Rebecca Burgess
9. How does autism affect
adult students?
Time management
Organization when there is a lack of rigidity
The“hidden curriculum” unwritten, unofficial,
and often unintended lessons, values, and
perspectives that students learn in school
Generally, a low level of flexibility when
compared to neurotypicals: adjusting to new
instructors, mentors, testing structure, exam
background...even a new method of learning
something new
10. How to support someone with ASD
Routine and rigidity
Don't give a broad goal. Suggest reading one
chapter a night “starting at 7PM and complete
the chapter exam immediately afterward.”
Follow-up is critical.
Autistics are generally visual people. Color-
coded Excel spreadsheets with blocked-off
times for study with clearly-defined goals is
helpful to many.
11. Avoiding stress –
disengagement mode is
subconscious and
somewhat gradual, followed
by conscious adherence to
PAD protocol
Counter with a plan of action
broken down into smaller
steps with regular
encouragement
Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)
12. Some unique challenges
Communication
knowledge of the raw data may be known, but
not the method of relaying that information –
even in a written form.
Information overload
once information peak has been reached, the
student may fidget and lose focus – a
symptom of being overwhelmed, not attention
deficit. An extended break (nap or meal)
usually helps to refocus; beware of PDA at this
point
13. Social interaction with autistics
Communication is
simultaneously
conscious and
subconscious
To neurotypicals, tones and inflections are just
as important as the words themselves.
to an autistic, words are often only an
expression of raw data – like spoken software
code; it's black and white: there is no right or
wrong, no connection with emotional
responses, with tones and inflections being
irrelevant
14. More Information about Autism
Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism
Barry M. Prizant, Ph.D.
Essential reading for any parent, teacher, therapist, or caregiver of a
person with autism: a groundbreaking book on autism, by one of the
world’s leading experts, who portrays autism not as a tragic disability, but
as a unique way of being human.
The Power of Neurodiversity: Unleashing the Advantages of Your
Differently Wired Brain
Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D.
This book discusses some of the strengths that come with neurodiversity.
NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity
Steve Silberman
A groundbreaking book that upends conventional thinking about autism
and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full
participation in society for people who think differently.
15. More Information about Autism
online
Uniquely Human: A Different Comic Redesigns the Autism Spectrum to
Crush Stereotypes
The Mighty,2016
Rebecca Burgess, via National Autism Association
An animated explanation of autism for all ages.
