A Complete Guide to Teaching Art to Those With Autism: Utilizing the Elements and Principles of Design and Life Skills

A Complete Guide to TEACHING ART TO THOSE WITH AUTISM

UTILIZING THE ELEMENTS AND PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN AND LIFE SKILLSBy Mishawn K. Reynolds

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Mishawn K. Reynolds
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4670-3593-4

Contents

References.........................................................399Index..............................................................403

Chapter One

Part 1: Basic Facts About Autism Spectrum Disorder

The Prevalence of Autism

Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has reached what could be considered epidemic proportions over the last decade. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it has become an urgent public health concern.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders outlines the required criteria for the diagnosis of autism. Introduced in 1994, the criteria have not changed in any way, but it is difficult to accurately estimate the number of children who have ASD.

Estimates are becoming better and more consistent though. This is due to the fact that ASD research and means of assessment has increased a great deal in recent years, and multiple interest groups have formed organizations to determine current statistics. The CDC for example funds the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM), which is a group of programs that determine the number of people with autism in the United States, making the current statistics more accurate as to how many people have been effected.

Research has shown that a diagnosis of autism at age two can be reliable, valid, and stable. But despite evidence that ASD can often be identified at around 18 months, many children do not receive final diagnosis until they are much older. The median age of earliest ASD diagnosis is between 4.5 and 5.5 years, but for 51-91 percent of children with an ASD developmental concern, it has been recorded before three years of age (CDC, 2011).

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act now requires that comprehensive annual reports be published and presented to the United States Congress each year. The statistics reveal that the number of children with ASD has more than doubled in six years, with 37 states now reporting increases of more than one hundred percent. This could be viewed as a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions.

The CDC has revealed the most current statistic and estimates of those affected with ASD in the United States as:

One in 80 in 240 with an average of one in 110 children in the United States. Thus if four million children are born in the United States every year, approximately 36,500 children will eventually be diagnosed with an ASD. Assuming the prevalence rate has been constant over the past two decades, we can estimate that 730,000 individuals between the ages of 0 to 21 have ASD (CDC, 2011).

We must engage in helping students who have already been diagnosed. Thus, there is an need for the type of program suggested in this book as it is an additional approach to increase independence and the quality of life for these people.

If implemented properly, it will have a great effect on this often misunderstood population. In order to do so, It is important for the many people who have not been exposed to the different types, or needs, of those with ASD to become familiar with these prior to working with them.

What Is Autism?

Like the color spectrum, the types of autism reflect a continuum from genius to those who are extremely handicapped. People from any ethnicity, race, creed, or socioeconomic background are affected. It is a puzzling disorder without a cure, with a wide range of intelligence and communication abilities, as well as the strengths and difficulties in-between.

The faces of autism are diverse. Some have successful careers, living independently, while others sit in a corner and rock all day, requiring constant care. Some are unable to speak; others are very articulate but unable to decipher facial expressions and body language (Fast, 2010).

Many have cognitive impairments, while others are savants who possess extraordinary talent in fields such as music, art, or mathematics.

Autism, also known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a developmental disability that comes from a neurological disorder affecting the normal function of the brain. It is characterized by the abnormal development of communication or reciprocal social interaction, social skills, and reasoning.

Individuals on the autism spectrum often go through life trying to fit into a world that refuses to accept them. They have trouble relating to their peers, making light conversation, reading facial expressions, or sustaining eye contact. They may seem oblivious and may have unusual reactions to sensory stimuli such as sudden noises (Fast, 2010).

It is referred to as a spectrum disorder because the symptoms vary widely in severity, across a wide range of conditions, much like the colors of a rainbow.

Autism is not a form of mental retardation. Although many autistic people appear to function similarly to those diagnosed with mental retardation, they are not. However, there is a large segment of the autistic population who have some form of mental retardation.

Many also have exceptional abilities that are often not addressed because the major focus by others is their disabilities. These amazing students have the ability to demonstrate well-developed spatial and visual memory skills, especially when making art. They can often produce detailed spontaneous drawings in perspective from various vantage points. For instance, some can create a complex drawing of a building after seeing it once, or memorize a subway map after one glance and recreate it on paper.

There are also those on the far right of the spectrum who possess exceptional speech and language skills. Others have both verbal and non-verbal communication problems. Some never develop spoken language skills and remain mute. An autistic person is almost always late to speak, and usually displays abnormalities or peculiarities, including, volume, pitch, and tone of voice. After hearing others speak they might immediately imitate what they just heard through an involuntary repetition of words or phrases. This is known as echolalia and is common among those with this disorder.

The autistic person also may have severe difficulties in understanding what is said to them. They can remember and repeat entire conversations but are incapable of explaining any of the content. They take things literally, as in the case of the child who was given a five dollar bill and told to share it with a sibling. The autistic child ripped it in half, giving the other half to the sibling.

Autistic people tend to be hypersensitive to sensory information such as sound, sight, and touch. These experiences may involve a particular sense being too sensitive or less sensitive than normal. For example, the lights in a classroom may be too bright for a student, the ocean too loud, or they may touch something which might overwhelm them. They have sensory experience based on real experience, like normally developed people, but it may feel or sound different and the autistic person may have difficulty interpreting the experience. No two autistic people appear to have the exact same pattern of sensory problems.

It is important to acknowledge that there are five different disorders under the ASD umbrella. These include:

Pervasive Developmental Disorder

The term Pervasive Developmental Disorder, also called PDD, refers to a...