Summative Examination: The Ultimate Guide

Part 1: Short Answer Responses 

Tomas 

Tomas behaviors include getting frustrated as the school year progresses, finds it difficult to recognize his name letters, struggles to acknowledge shapes, less able to focus on a task and not being able to follow two-part instructions. This shows that he has multiple disabilities. This is because shows more than one disability. Tomas inability to recognize letters of his name and not identifying shapes is a brain disability called dyslexia. Tomas is also experiencing emotional disturbance. This is because Tomas was excited about joining the school at the beginning of the year and now he shows frustration and further expressing repulsive behavior. Tomas inability to focus on tasks or follow two-part instruction is a sign of emotional disturbance. 

Harper 

Harper struggles with the high noises at school, she performs well in Math’s and gets bored when the other students in her class don’t understand it, and she finds it difficult when a substitute teacher takes her favorite teachers place. Also, according to her case study, she becomes upset due to the noise level hence rocking herself back and forth to calm herself. This sign shows that Harper has autism. This can be seen through her behavior of not being able to understand the other students` struggles with math and also rocking herself forth and back to calm herself. Her sensitivity to noise is a sign of sensory issue which is one of the symptoms of autism. Harper finding it difficult when a substitute comes in place of her loved teacher shows her lack of socialization which is also a sign of autism since individuals with autism have challenges when it comes to socializing with other people. 

Austin 

Austin had an accident which broke her legs and arms and also hit his head hard. From this situation, Austin expresses a traumatic brain injury. This is because when he goes back to school, he no longer did things, he finds it difficult it remembering things and now math is a hard subject yet it was his favorite subject. When his head was hit hard during the accident, the force on his head caused an injury to his head which in turn brought about his difficulties. Traumatic brain injury affects brain cell hence causing movement inabilities and also thinking and remembering abilities. This then caused the struggles Austin was going through in his learning process. Even though he broke his arms and leg, his difficulty in doing things is due to a brain injury. 

Part 2: Essay 

There are various genetic, environmental and other factors which may affect the development and the learning abilities of students with autism. Language impairment has been noted in students with autism. Studies have shown higher rates of language impairments in children with autism. The language problem has been seen mainly through two language deficits; the social use of language or pragmatic use of language and the primary language which include grammar, vocabulary difficulties, and phonology (Segall & Campbell, 2014). Pragmatic language deficit is known to be a part of the autism children's problem. They have narrative problems hence showing poor narrative performance. The language impairment can, therefore, affect their learning abilities. This is because having language problems might affect their reading abilities and also understanding abilities which considerably affects their learning abilities. 

Culture is a factor that influences the learning ability of students with autism. Different cultural factors may interfere how students experience autism hence affecting their interaction in school. Cultural factors contribute to how children with autism are viewed, understood, interpreted and even accepted. Cultural factors can affect how people, in this case, other students, communicate with students with autism. The school cultures on how to treat children with disabilities contribute to the outcomes of disabled children performance (Segall & Campbell, 2014). If the school culture help and support children with autism then the performance may be good. Autism students are known to have difficulties in socializing with the other students, and if they are understood and accepted by the school culture, they will be able to learn. Culture can either affect the autism students’ learning positively or negatively. 

Family backgrounds also influence the learning of students with autism. Parents of children with autism play a significant role in their development and education. Parents are the first people who recognize their child's conditions, and it is their responsibility to give them the necessary care (Segall & Campbell, 2014). Parents are a significant part in the education of their child to ensure that the child gets the required education program which will provide the necessary needs of the child. Parents of autism students have to look for the right education such as special schools where the child will be understood and will be able to get the required learning. They also have to be part of the education process to ensure the education provided is efficient for the child. Autistic students' families are significant parts of their life and education. The family support mainly in providing the right school for the child will positively influence the learning of the student. Home teachings also matter. In this sense, Family support in the child education is significant since it contributes to the child education development and learning in school. 

Communities may influence the learning process of an autism child. The school community is the primary factor that contributes to the child`s learning process. A school community that provides the necessary equipment and learn materials the children with autism will improve their learning process (Segall & Campbell, 2014). School communities that support and understand the conditions the children with autism have a positive influence on the learning process of the child. A school community determines what environment the autism students are subjected to. In communities, especially a school community, where the autism students are not accepted or supported will affect the learning process of the autism students hence contributing to their poor performance. 

Individuals with autism are known to have specific cognitive weakness and strengths. They face challenges understanding other people, difficulties in managing their behaviors and have sensory issues. Autism starts after birth or a short period after. The parents are the people who first recognize their child's condition. They express different behaviors from an average child at an early age, and also eat differently, and sleep fitfully. In an early age, they engage in certain stereotypic behaviors such as rocking back and forth, sitting alone and quietly in a separated room, lining up a wooden box or their items in a row and also flapping his or her fingers in front of his or her face (Mclntyre et al., 2017). Individuals with autism also have difficulties in language development. It is harder for a child with autism to learn and use language compared to a typically developing child. This is because they show no interest in other people and therefore have no need to communicate with them. 

Individuals with autism have difficulties in socializing with other people. They face challenges in social relationship and interaction with other people. They don't like communicating and interacting with other people but are mainly focused on what is happening around them. They also have difficulties in controlling their emotions. There way of understanding and expressing their feelings begins from birth (Mclntyre et al., 2017). Through childhood and adulthood, individuals with autism face a challenge is controlling how they express their emotions. Various approaches can be used to respond to the need of individuals with autism. The first one is the use of visual approaches. Students with autism show strengths in thinking, memory, understanding of visual-spatial relationship but also face challenges in communication, attention, social cognition and abstract thinking (Deserno, Borsboom, Begeer, & Geurts, 2017). Visual approaches can be used by the students for a more extended period as much as they need to process the information. It helps them stay focus on the knowledge and can be used to teach a variety of things such as appropriate behaviors, social skills, self-control and many more. 

Secondly, task analysis can also be used. Parents and teachers can divide tasks into subtasks and involve small and teachable steps (Deserno, Borsboom, Begeer, & Geurts, 2017). For the subdivide tasks the child has to implement pre-requisite skills. Through this, parents and teachers will be able to teach the autism child handle different tasks and also help guide the social skills and academic skills to the child. Finally, discrete trial methods can be used. This method involves teaching skills in small units (Deserno, Borsboom, Begeer & Geurts, 2017). In each trial, instructions are provided, a response from the student is given, and feedback is also given. The guidance provided has to be clear and precise so that the child can understand. Feedback of the child has to be delivered immediately, and finally, the feedback has to be informative for the student. This is method helps the child learn the necessary essential elements of instructions. This method can either be gestural, physical, verbal or positional and can be used as long as the child needs to understand the necessary elements. 

References  

Deserno, M. K., Borsboom, D., Begeer, S., & Geurts, H. M. (2017). Multicausal systems ask for multicausal approaches: A network perspective on subjective well-being in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 21(8), 960-971. 

McIntyre, N. S., Solari, E. J., Grimm, R. P., Lerro, L. E., Gonzales, J. E., & Mundy, P. C. (2017). A comprehensive examination of reading heterogeneity in students with high functioning Autism: Distinct reading profiles and their relation to Autism Symptom Severity. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders , 47(4), 1086-1101. 

Segall, M. J., & Campbell, J. M. (2014). Factors influencing the educational placement of students with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders , 8(1), 31-43.