One exceptionality that a teacher may encounter in the classroom is ASD or Autism

Spectrum Disorder. Unlike some disorders, ASD seems to be shrouded in mystery. There is no

known cause for the disorder and the way to help students with the disorder is as varied as the

number of students. In this paper, I’m going to discuss what is ASD and what are the common

symptoms and characteristics that a teacher is likely to observe. We will briefly discuss the

process of creating an IEP for the student. Finally, we will explore what teachers can do to

accommodate their students who have this disorder, focusing primarily on how to modify their

classrooms to prevent causing a sensory overload. By clarifying the needs of these students

teachers will be able to provide the quality education that they not only deserve but are entitled

to.

What is ASD? Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disability that can cause

“social, communication and behavioral challenges” (CDC, 2019). As the name states ASD is a

spectrum disorder gathering several different disorders together, including autistic disorder,

pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome.

In 2018 the CDC reported that 1 in 59 children was identified with ASD, this year the rate was

raised to 1 in 40 children, with it occurring approximately four times more often in boys than in

girls (CDC, 2019). Unlike some disorders, ASD doesn’t favor a specific race or ethnicity. ASD

occurs in all races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic classes. This lack of containment, far-

sweeping occurrences, and no clear origin, it is understandable that parents would want to know

what can cause it. Unfortunately, while the CDC can confirm that its not caused by vaccinations,

they haven’t found a definitive cause.

According to the DSM-5, people with ASD have “persistent deficits in social

communication and social interactions…deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors ranging

from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication to abnormalities in eye contact and

body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures…difficulties adjusting behavior to

suit various social contexts” (CDC, 2019). Other characteristics include trouble adapting to

routine changes and having unusual, sometimes strong, reactions to sensory input. From a

teacher's perspective, these two characteristics are important to remember and plan for in the

classroom. The difficulty in identifying a student with ASD is that there is a wide range of

symptoms and characteristics, with many of these being symptoms for shy or asocial behavior.

Because each student with ASD can have such a wide range of symptoms and

characteristics, it is necessary to carefully determine their IEP eligibility. Based on the Michigan

Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE), in order to be eligible, the student must

have a defined disability. ASD is considered a lifelong developmental disorder that affects their

academic ability, behavior, and social skills. During the evaluation teachers, parents, and school

staff will provide documentation. Part of being eligible for an IEP is having a defined disability,

this requires documentation on impairment of their social interactions, how they communicate,

both verbal and nonverbal, with their classmates and teachers, and their behavior. Each of these

three areas will be addressed in the IEP on what kind of accommodations and modifications the

student will need to provide them with the resources they need to keep pace with the

neurotypical students. While the requirements for who participates in the IEP evaluation may

change depending on the district and the need, the state of Michigan requires the following: a

psychologist or psychiatrist, a school social worker, a provider of speech and language. These

requirements can cause difficulties for poorer and smaller districts who may only have a school

counselor (Michigan Alliance for Families, n.d.).

 Once a student has an IEP in place it is the teacher’s responsibility to meet these needs.

Some of the requirements may involve modifying or accommodating the student’s assignments,

but there also may be requirements for the classroom. If the IEP does not include classroom

modifications, there are a few methods that are easy to implement and may be beneficial to all

students. The first is to try to utilize smaller groups. Smaller groups allow students to focus more

on what a few people are saying as opposed to trying to listen to multiple people simultaneously.

This is not only beneficial to students with ASD but also to students who may have difficulty

hearing, those who are shy and ELL students. Small groups allow students to share ideas with a

few and then allow the extrovert type to share the information with the class. By utilizing small

groups, it also helps to keep the volume of the classroom a little lower as students will have less

reason to shout across the room when debating a certain point. Loud sounds can be disorienting

and confusing which may cause a student with ASD to become overwhelmed and possibly lead

to an outburst as they have difficulty processing the overwhelming volume.

One of the characteristics is that the student may have difficulty adapting to routine

changes. I have observed some students with ASD who can tell you down to the minute, without

looking at a clock, how long they have left in class and know the exact second, they need to head

towards the office to get to their bus. These students knew their routines. During my

observations, I asked one of the teachers how she helped her students to adjust to a new

schedule. She said that it helped to explain why the schedule had to change and to walk through

what was going to change step by step so that they knew how the new schedule was going to

work. According to Banda, Grimmett, & Hart (2009) “teachers can expect to face transition

problems…as a general education environment can be overwhelming” (p. 17). While every

teacher knows that sometimes schedules have to change, sometimes for emergencies or
unexpected events, by taking the time to explain why the schedule is changing and how precisely

it is going to be changed from their usual routine, it can help the student to adapt to the change

and, hopefully, continue on with their day. One method for assisting the students with

transitioning is by using Visual Activity Schedules (VAS). These are “a series of images,

pictures, photographs, or line drawings used to depict a sequence of events” (Knight, Sartini, &

Spriggs, 2014, p. 157). These are used to show the student what the next activity in class is going

to be. These can be any size whether in a binder for an individual student or on the wall so that

the whole class can use it.

My final suggestion for classroom modification is actually a teacher modification: be

patient. As every teacher knows it is not easy to get and hold the attention of 25 students and to

get them to all work on the same project simultaneously. One symptom of ASD is that

information is processed differently than neurotypical students. That means that requiring every

student to participate in a class discussion is going to be very difficult for students with ASD

who may need more time to think about what they are being told and to formulate a response.

This is going to take longer than the students who are going to debate back and forth quickly. If a

teacher uses this type of classroom quiz as a pre-test review then their students with ASD are not

only not going to be able to participate, but they are also not going to be able to study for the test.

The need for patience is critical as even answering a question in class will require the student to

take a little extra time to create the answer before being able to give it to the teacher. If the

teacher is impatient and moves on to the next student, not only is the student missing out on the

opportunity to participate in class, but the teacher doesn’t have the opportunity to see if the

student understands the material or could add to the class discussion. Research has shown that
when students with ASD are in inclusive classrooms can help to reduce off-task behaviors and to

help students to learn more social and communication skills (McCurdy & Cole, 2013 p. 892).

Having students with ASD can be difficult because of the wide range of symptoms and

characteristics. These students, however, are entitled to quality education just as the mainstream

and neurotypical students. It is up to the teachers to create an environment where all of their

students are given the resources and support, they need to learn, whether that support is in the

form of providing a quiet area or by reading the questions out loud on a test. For as many

different symptoms and characteristics as there are on the Autism Spectrum, there are also as

many ways for teachers to creatively modify assignments to a form that will benefit all their

students and to modify their classroom to create a positive learning environment that is

welcoming for students of all abilities.

 References

Banda, D. R., Grimmett, E., & Hart, S. L. (2009). Activity Schedules. TEACHING Exceptional

Children, 41(4), 16-21. doi:10.1177/004005990904100402

CDC. (2019, August 27). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/index.html

Knight, V., Sartini, E., & Spriggs, A. D. (2014). Evaluating visual activity schedules as

evidence-based practice for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of

Autism and Developmental Disorders, 45(1), 157-178. doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2201-z

McCurdy, E. E., & Cole, C. L. (2013). Use of a peer support intervention for promoting

academic engagement of students with Autism in general education settings. Journal of

Autism and Developmental Disorders, 44(4), 883-893. doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1941-5

Michigan Alliance for Families. (n.d.). ASD eligibility. Retrieved from

https://www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/asd-eligibility/