EMMA'S STORY - DEALING WITH AUTISM AT COLLEGE

Emma was a student at Richard Taunton College for three years. Emma has a diagnosis of autism and first came to college with an assistant who was with her all the time. By the end of her course, she was independent. Before she left, she told us something of her experiences in education, and how she found life in college. Currently, Emma is contemplating going on to university.

WATCH EMMA'S STORY HERE: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRCprkKaz6E

SO WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM- HYPER-VISION- PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS FOR THE CLASSROOM

Our BTEC Level 3 Performing Arts students took part in a series of teacher led workshops, practically exploring some of the sensory symptoms that can occur as a result of having Autism. 

This enabled the students to fully appreciate some of the restrictions and day to day difficulties that someone may experience on the Autistic spectrum. 

Hypervision

Hypervision is when the sense of sight is more acute. This is characterised someone being able to see things that other people don’t notice, by being disturbed by bright lights or sunlight, and by being frightened by sudden flashes of light.

Imagine the impact of a thunderstorm if you were sensitive to light?

Watch these videos to show you what it is like to walk down the street and go shopping in a supermarket when suffering with hypersensitivity on the Autistic spectrum. 

SUPERMARKET:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcS2VUoe12M

WALKING DOWN THE STREET: Please note the distractions the person puts in place to provide comfort from the over load of sensory reactions. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plPNhooUUuc

It clearly shows you how light and sound are heightened as well as the importance of using distractions to minimise anxiety levels rising.

EXPLORING HYPER VISION : Drama activities

WORKSHOP 2

STUDENT EXPLORATION INTO HYPER-VISION 

The students took part in the following exercise:


All actors travel around space in accordance with sound collage reacting to each sudden sound in collage, the sounds are pitched at a normal everyday level.

Activity: Sound collage of everyday street sounds- Use this link 

http://youtu.be/LZbEIxhiJRM


Stimming behaviour in Autism

“The stimming behaviour increased very much, now he is clearly flapping his hand almost all the time (earlier it was just tapping some object on face, now he just shakes his hand for no reason, screaming at least 10-12 times in a day, he is running in circles on the bed , jumping on sofa ...I am at my wits end ... stimming is my biggest concern...”

This quote was from a Mother of a young child showing signs of stimming. 

Examples of different types of stimming behaviour commonly shown in someone on the Autistic spectrum 

Besides hand flapping, stimming can also take other forms:

Visual stimming: staring at lights, repetitive blinking, moving fingers in front of the eyes, rolling eyeballs

Auditory stimming: tapping ears, snapping fingers, making vocal sounds

Tactile stimming: rubbing the skin with one’s hands or with another object, scratching

Vestibular stimming: rocking front to back, rocking side-to-side

Taste stimming: placing body parts or objects in one’s mouth, licking objects

Smell stimming: smelling objects, sniffing people

Most of the time, these are coping strategies are due to overloads in sensory perception, such as noisy shopping centres, or due to psychological demands such as learning new tasks. Or, stimming behavior could also be due to biological reasons, such as yeast die-off effects.

In fact, normal adults also stim but not exactly in the same manner. For example, we might pace up and down while talking on the phone or twirl our hair when bored. Many students twirl their pens when solving complex mathematics problems. These activities do help release tension.

SELF-REFLECTION: 

How often do you used distraction techniques to avoid stressful situations? Do you use stimming in everyday situations? 

    

ACTIVITY CONTINUED....WALKING DOWN THE STREET

As the street sounds begin to heighten (volume increases) each actor must find comfort blankets and distraction techniques in the room which allow them to feel safe and keeps them distracted from their anxiety levels rising (e.g. Touching the walls, specific colours, walking in a certain formation, use of space, patterns) as well as creating their own stimming patterns of behaviour (see image for suggestions).

Each actor must then decide on a negative object, light, colour, formation, use of space that increases anxiety level - a Hypervision that disturbs them.

In the comment box below the students have commented on their experiences of this exercise and what they learnt about someone experiencing Hyper-Hearing on the Autistic spectrum. 

We would be really interested to see how it felt for you to experience this level of sensitivity to vision? - Please share below in the comments box. 

SO WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM? PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS FOR THE CLASSROOM

Our BTEC Level 3 Performing Arts students took part in a series of teacher led workshops, practically exploring some of the sensory symptoms that can occur as a result of having Autism. 

This enabled the students to fully appreciate some of the restrictions and day to day difficulties that someone may experience on the Autistic spectrum. 

AUTISM AND THE SENSES

Many autistic children suffer with sensory problems as part of their autism spectrum disorder. These sensory problems can be divided into two main groups:-

Hyposensitivity – When a child is “under-sensitive” to stimuli and has trouble processing information through their senses.

Hyposensitivity can cause extreme isolation in a child as well as disruptive behaviour such as pulling out hair or causing harm to themselves to try and 'feel' through their 'senses'.

Hypersensitivity – When a child’s sensory awareness is too acute.

Hypersensitivity to sound is called Hyper-hearing 

We have seven senses:
sight
sound
touch
taste
smell
balance ('vestibular')
body awareness ('proprioception').
People with an ASD can be over- or under-sensitive in any or all of these areas. You may hear this referred to as being 'hypersensitive' or 'hypo sensitive'.


Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity is very common in autism spectrum disorders and can be the basis or cause of many “problem” behaviors that autistic children exhibit. Let’s look at how hypersensitivity can affect autistic children:-

Hypersensitive hearing or “hyperhearing” – This is when every little noise sounds amplified and it can be very scary and uncomfortable for the child concerned. Children who suffer with hypersensitive hearing will find noisy public places hard to handle and will hate thunderstorms, surround sound systems in cinemas and will also tend to be light sleepers because sounds disturb them and wake them up. Sudden sounds will terrify them and they may make their own repetitive sounds, like humming, to try and block out the sounds around them. It is also often characterised by a child covering their ears frequently. 

WORKSHOP 1

STUDENT EXPLORATION INTO HYPER-HEARING 

The students took part in the following exercise:

Activity: Heavy Metal music was played in the background whilst partner A (Autistic actor) is having a conversation with partner B through improvisation. Autistic partner only concentrates on the different sounds of the music to show the distractions caused by intricate sounds (Similar to everyday situations for someone experiencing Hyper-Hearing on the Autistic spectrum). 

In the comment box below the students have commented on their experiences of this exercise and what they learnt about someone experiencing Hyper-Hearing on the Autistic spectrum. 

CLASSROOM EXTENSION

Try this out in class, here is some Heavy Metal music which you can use, make sure the music is played at full volume. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNk9_bUKYx0

We would be really interested to see how it felt for you to experience this level of sensitivity to sound? - Please share below in the comments box. 

WHAT IS AUTISM?

- Developmental - affecting social and communication skills
- Life-long
- Part of a range within what is termed 'the autistic spectrum'
- Wide ranging - some people have accompanying learning disabilities while others have average or above average intelligence
- Affecting boys more often than girls - classic autism sex ratio is four males to one female; for Asperger syndrome it is nine males to one female.



Autism and Asperger syndrome are all part of the same autistic spectrum and the differences between them relate more to degree than anything else. However, people at the more able end of the spectrum, such as those with Asperger syndrome, tend to have average or above average intelligence and generally have fewer problems with language, often speaking fluently though their words can sometimes sound formal or stilted.


Recognising the clinical features

Individuals who are considered to be on the autism spectrum are in many ways very different from each other. The range of intellectual ability extends from the severely learning disabled range right up to normal or even superior levels of intellect. Similarly, linguistic skills range from those who are mute to those who display complex, grammatically correct speech. All such individuals have difficulties in three main areas. Different authors have used slightly different terminology to describe this cluster of symptoms, but the concept of the 'triad of impairments' is widely used.

Triad of impairments

Impairment of social interaction

This refers to an impaired ability to engage in reciprocal social interactions. The most severely affected individuals seem aloof and uninterested in people. Others desire contact, but fail to understand the reciprocal nature of normal social interaction. In consequence their attempts at social interaction are clumsy, awkward and one-sided. Some passively accept the attentions of others but do not reciprocate.

Impairment of social communication

The whole range of communicative skills may be affected. A significant proportion of individuals with classical autism fail to develop useful speech. Even when the mechanics of language are mastered, the person with autism has difficulty using it for the purpose of communicating with others. Intonation is inclined to be abnormal and the non-verbal aspects of communication such as eye-to-eye gaze, use of gesture and facial expression can be impaired.


Impairment of social imagination

People with autism have great difficulty thinking imaginatively. This is demonstrated by pretend play, which will be absent or repetitive in children with autism spectrum disorders. Whether this is directly related to the development of rigid and repetitive behaviours has not been established.

Other characteristics

Repetitive and stereotyped behaviours

People may be familiar with the image of children with autism obsessively lining up toys, repeatedly spinning objects or flapping their hands in the periphery of their vision. As development proceeds, however, the focus of attention tends to shift from physical activities to the collection of information. This is particularly true of more able children who may accumulate facts about specific topics.

Characteristically, the themes of such preoccupations are unusual and the focus extremely restricted. Additionally, they do not become the currency of social exchange in the way that collecting football stickers or knowledge about computer games often does for typically developing children.

Joint attention behaviours

Joint attention behaviours are attempts to monitor or direct the attention of another person. They include gaze monitoring, pointing and showing. These behaviours are normally present by age nine to 14 months but are rare or absent in children with autism.

Screening

At present there is no suitable test for the universal screening of preschool children for autism spectrum disorders. Nevertheless identification of autism spectrum disorders can be improved by recognising those signals which might indicate further assessment is needed. These red flags include concerns around communication (eg not responding to name, not pointing or waving goodbye, delayed language), social interaction (eg seems to prefer playing alone, is very independent, does not smile socially) and behaviour (eg has unusual attachments to toys, is oversensitive to certain textures or sounds, is hyperactive, unco-operative or oppositional).

The red flags for autism

Absolute indications for immediate further evaluation:

no babbling by 12 months
no gesturing (pointing, waving, bye-bye, etc) by 12 months
no single words by 16 months
no two-word spontaneous (not just echolalic) phrases by 24 months
any loss of any language or social skills at any age.


Parents of children with autism often report dissatisfaction with the diagnostic process. On average parents first become concerned when their child is around 18 months of age and first seek help when he or she is about two years. However, it often takes years before a diagnosis is made. Not infrequently parents are reassured about their initial concerns only to discover later that their child has autism.

Behaviour problems

A tendency to engage in stereotyped, repetitive behaviours is a central feature of autism spectrum disorders. In addition, other maladaptive behaviours often develop such as temper tantrums, phobias, sleep problems, aggression or self injurious behaviours.

Behaviour management techniques have proved a valuable way of addressing these problems. It is important to remember, however, that people with autism spectrum disorders will not respond in the conventional way to standard behaviour modification techniques. They will not, for example, understand the rewards of social reinforcement. However, behavioural treatment, usually carried out by a clinical psychologist can be a useful intervention. Sometimes community psychiatric nurses or other mental health professionals may also have developed expertise in this area.

Psychotropic drugs may be indicated for the treatment of a specific mental disorder. Whilst it is preferable to avoid drugs in the treatment of longstanding maladaptive behaviours they are sometimes necessary and can prove beneficial.

Adolescence and transition to adult life

Not surprisingly, adolescence can be an especially testing time for people with autism and for their families. In addition to the developmental changes associated with puberty, some people with autism begin to develop a painful awareness of their difficulties, which can result in depression or behavioural problems. About one third of people with autism develop epilepsy with an onset of seizures in adolescence occurring in a significant proportion. Many adolescents, however, will only ever have one or two seizures and medication should not, therefore, be prescribed immediately.

Autism results in lifelong disability for those affected individuals. Follow-up studies have shown that the majority continue to suffer problems as adults and few manage to live independently.

For most, therefore, there will be a continuing need for social support and some will also require input from mental health professionals. Unfortunately, professionals working within adult services have often been unfamiliar with the problems of autism. It is hoped that this is changing as awareness of the disorder increases.