Tips to assist higher functioning students with
autism spectrum disorders achieve their potential
Guest Blogger:
Dr.
Raby Bouras, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist
When trying to support their special needs
child or student, the first and most important issue one
needs to address is to
try to understand what their “special needs” are. Two children with an autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) can be very different. Needs, services, accommodations
or any other interventions should be tailored to that child’s specific profile.
To complicate matters further, a child’s profile varies throughout the years,
and can vary by leaps and bounds after years of plateauing. Having a child
assessed every few years by a paediatric neuropsychologist allows one to understand
where the student’s strengths and weaknesses lie at each stage.
With the basic knowledge that a
neuropsychological follow-up provides, you can determine what resources to put
in place. Although all students on
the spectrum can be supported, the following thoughts are specifically aimed at
those that are “higher functioning”, meaning those who struggle through grade
school, persevere through an adapted curriculum and are able to begin high
school with at least a 3rd cycle reading and writing level. Whether
they need six or seven years to achieve that level should not matter. What
matters is that you can support their efforts, and are able to gage YOUR
expectations and personal time table.
Special tools, therapies and minor
accommodations to their learning environment can have major positive impacts. Knowing
your student’s true academic level allows you to adapt their curriculum
appropriately. For instance, typical cognitive profiles of students on the
spectrum closely resemble those of students with learning disabilities (LDs).
Although we cannot speak of LDs proper (i.e. dysorthographia, or ADD, etc.),
accommodations used for students with LDs can have the same positive results on
those with ASD.
Electronic dictionaries, computers with specialised
software that help with reading comprehension and speed, additional time to
finalize assignments and exams, and even separate testing environments can be
game changers.
A pharmaceutical intervention is at times recommended.
By addressing their inattentiveness and impulsivity, some prescriptions gives students
the opportunity to make use of their intelligence, reach their potential, succeed,
and follow their peers.
Social skills vary greatly from one student
on the spectrum to the next. Direct
contact with an experienced practitioner can offer an objective measure of
their social knowhow. Options available include social skills training, distant
shadowing, or even joining a theatre company. All present new horizons and
further inspire academic integration. Sometimes, simply allowing a student to
repeat a year, to give them time to grow and mature, spontaneously solves some
of the problems. Always remember that a child’s education is not a 100 meter
dash, but rather a marathon. It is not necessarily the first one out of the
gate that wins.
Dr. Raby Bouras, is a neuropsychologist
specialised in paediatric care. He holds a doctoral degree from the only
neuropsychology program in Quebec fully accredited by the Canadian
Psychological Association. Having completed post-doctoral level training at
such prestigious institutes as Havard Medical School and the Montreal
Children’s Hospital, Dr. Bouras has extensive knowledge of childhood
development. He is currently the director of the Laval Centre for Psychology
and Neuropsychology. For information, visit www.NeuropsychologyLaval.com
or call the Centre at 514-312-7046.
*Ideas shared in this blog are those of the guest blogger.
*Ideas shared in this blog are those of the guest blogger.
