Download Prevalence

Understanding and Working with College
Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Enjie Hall, MRC, PC, NCC
Ohio State University
What is autism?
• A spectrum of behaviors
• Two adults, both with the same diagnosis,
can act completely different from one
another and have varying capabilities
• If you’ve seen one person with Autism...
well you’ve seen one person with Autism
Core Features
Impairments in:
Social interaction
– Communication
– Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns
of behavior, interests
– Onset before 3 years of age
Prevalence
• Autism is the most common of the Pervasive
Developmental Disorders, affecting an estimated 1 in 68
births (Centers for Disease Control Prevention, 2012).
– 2 million Americans today are believed to have some
form of autism
• Based on statistics from the DOE and other
governmental agencies, autism is growing at the rate of
10-17 percent per year.
• The prevalence of autism could reach 4 million
Americans in the next decade
• No racial, ethnic, social boundaries, family income,
lifestyle, or educational levels
• It is five times more prevalent in boys than girls
Why are the numbers so high?
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Better diagnostic procedures
Expanded professional awareness
Increased prevalence
Lends itself to expanded funding
opportunities and more services
• Less pejorative connotation than other
disability types leading to more hope for
families
Diagnosis
• Look at person’s behavior and
development
• Routine screening for symptoms
• Comprehensive diagnostic evaluation
• Can be diagnosed by:
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Developmental Pediatricians
Child Neurologists
Child Psychologists or Psychiatrists
Adult Neuropsychologist
Common Traits
• Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing
instead of words
• Repeating words or phrases in place of spontaneous or
generative language
• Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason or
showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
• Preference for being alone; aloof manner
• Tantrums
• Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
Common Traits
• Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in
intensity or focus
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• Difficulty reading facial expressions and body language
• Difficulty understanding the rules of conversation
• Makes honest, but inappropriate observations
• Short attention span for most lessons
• Overly trusting or unable to read the motives behind
people’s actions
Traits (cont)
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Little or no eye contact
Unresponsive to typical teaching methods
Obsessive attachment to objects
Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
No real fears of danger
Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme underactivity
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements
• Difficulty understanding jokes, figures of speech or
sarcasm
http://www.calgaryautism.com/characteristics.htm
Differences in Males v. Females
ASD
- 5:1 males to females with ASD
- Women with ASD are under-diagnosed, often leading to a diagnosis
later in life
-Women are instructed from a young age to be quiet and reserved. If
they do not act 'lady-like' they are told to change their tone or
conversation skills.
-Boys are socially expected to be more boisterous.
-Girls who realize they are not socially accepted in situations, simply
refrain from speaking so that they are not scolded. This can create even
more social issues that will go undetected. Attwood, Grandin 2007
What happened to Asperger’s?
• Included in Autism Spectrum Disorder in
DSM-5
• Social Communication Disorder
Challenges of Autism
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May appear self-centered
Immature
Poor adaptive behavior
Sleep problems
Gastrointestinal problems
Attention issues
Poor executive function
What helps?
• Medication for symptoms
• Identify a “safe” place for coping
• Use concrete examples and literal
explanations
• Extra preparation for transitions
• Therapies
Preparing for daily activities
• Write out rules making it clear who decides when someone
has broken the rule
• Visual supports
• Schedule special interest time at natural break
• Use hand signal cues
• Students with ASD often like maps. Print out a map
suggesting the driver may use that route
• Have a written schedule for the day
• Try not to be offended by rude behavior as the underlying
reason may not be related to the target.
Bloomfield, 2002
Moving into adulthood
• Judgment is a key deficit
• Social timing is poor
• Executive function is impaired
– Difficulty starting and prioritizing
– “Can’t see the forest for the trees”
• Impulsivity is problematic
• Need for control to lessen anxiety
• Tend to be punctual
Suggestions for University Staff
• Try to make your verbal interactions as concrete as
possible
• Make sure you use repetition
• Take your time because auditory processing for
these individuals may be a challenge
• Realize that they may come to sessions feeling
incredibly anxious so do everything you can to make
them feel comfortable
• Emphasize the importance of checking emails and
phone messages/missed calls
• Provide guidance in writing
Disability Services Assistance
• Meetings on a regular basis
• Release to speak with faculty/staff in order to
help facilitate communication
• Release for parents in order for them to be a
partner in the process
• Note-taking assistance
• Appropriate housing arrangements
• Advocacy with student conduct and
academic misconduct instances
Vocational aspects
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Tend to be punctual
Like routines
May attend to details TOO well
Problems with teamwork
Problems with authority figures
– Taking constructive criticism
– Giving correction
• Reluctance to ask for help or support
• Perfectionism in some
Resources
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Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence www.ocali.org
Autism Society of America www.autism-society.org
Autism Speaks www.autismspeaks.org
Organization for Autism Research www.researchautism.org
Wrightslaw www.wrightslaw.com
Hawkins Gail (2003) How to Find Work What Works for
People with Asperger Syndrome Philadelphia, Pa. Jessica
Kingsley Publishers
Autism Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
http://autisticadvocacy.org
Wrong Planet www.wrongplanet.net
Rocky Point Academy
http://www.calgaryautism.com/characteristics.htm
CDC http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html
The Ohio State University Nisonger Center
http://aspirationsohio.org/
Questions