Name: Alice Lethbridge
Student Number: 0061004436
Course Examiner: Rahul Ganguly
Due Date: October 28, 2013
Welcome to SPE3002 Assignment Two. This ePortfolio will provide an outline of the knowledge and understanding I have acquired about individuals with Austism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). During this course, I have developed skills in identifying and addressing multiple behaviours exhibited by primary aged students with ASD. This ePortfolio is a collation of strategies and resources I have construced to address five key issues related to educating individuals with ASD. The five issues include changes in routine and adaptation to new settings such as school excursions; initiating conversation with peers; difficulty coping in high sensory situations such as school assembly; transition from playground to classroom, and; managing personal space. Five strategies with accompanying artefacts have also been developed to address these five issues.
A reflection essay has also been compiled, which evaluates (a) my engagement with this particular task, and (b) my growth as an educator in meeting the needs of students with ASD.
Introduction
Autism is a life-long developmental disorder that seriously affects the way individuals communicate and interact with those around them (Autism Spectrum Australia, 2013). The certain characteristics exhibited by individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can necessitate the need for specialised instructional technique that may preclude placement in mainstream education settings (Zager, 2011). However, ASD students maintain the right to be taught in inclusive classrooms, if general education placement does not impede the development of requisite skills of learning and lifelong success. These learning experiences for children in mainstream classrooms should occur in settings where programming is highly structured, individualized, and skill orientated. Educators of mainstream classrooms must provide environments for ASD students in which predictable routines are followed, and where antecedent conditions and consequent events responsible for erratic responding are identified and controlled. For the purpose of this assignment, five key issues related to educating students on the Autism Spectrum Disorder in a school setting have been identified. Five strategies with supporting artefacts have also been developed to address these issues in the classroom. As a future educator, it is paramount that teachers of inclusive classrooms obtain the skills necessary to cater for ASD students.