Autism

= ** Teaching Students with Autism ** =

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. Some characteristics of autism:
 * =====Very little or no eye contact =====
 * =====Gross motor skills are developmentally behind peers such as riding a bike, skating, running. =====
 * =====Fine motor skills are developmentally behind peers such as hand writing, tying shoes, scissors. =====
 * =====Verbal outbursts =====
 * =====Difficulty with loud or sudden sounds =====
 * =====Becomes overwhelmed with too much verbal direction =====
 * =====Short attention span =====
 * =====Difficulty with reading comprehension =====
 * =====Has trouble transitioning from one activity to another =====

** Student use of iPad 2 **
Autistic students are showing great improvement with using the iPad 2 in the classroom. It is less stressful and more fun to use for both the student and the teacher. Since students with autism have a lack of communication skills there are many applications available to use to help them with this skill. For example, the application "Grace" is a tool students can use to build sentences from images. You can easily add pictures of your own to make it relevant in the classroom. Another great app is "First Then Visual Schedule". This app allows you to create visual schedules through the use of images that show a daily schedule or steps to complete an activity. This works wonderfully for students because they need a structured routine in order to reduce anxiety. These are just a few of the apps available to help with communication skills. Here is a video showing how one of the communication applications can be used: @http://youtu.be/vomkNSluWW4

The iPad 2 is also a great tool to help with fine motor skills. The "iWriteWords" app is a handwriting game that teaches letter, number, and word recognition and how to write them correctly. It is designed to make sure students are writing them in the correct order of steps not just tracing them however they choose. This is a great app for any student, but can be really beneficial for students with autism in improving their fine motor skills.

** Teacher use of iPad 2 **
<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Teachers can benefit tremendously from using the iPad 2 in the classroom, especially with students who have autism. By using the communication applications you can prevent less stressful situations from occurring. You are able to set up schedules before the day starts, so that when school begins students with autism are prepared and know what is in store for them throughout the day. It is also a great way to keep students engaged by using games to teach fine motor skills and much more.Here is a video showing an autistic student doing his homework:@http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdpjIR8KjLU Although this video is of an autistic child at home, it can also be used in the classroom.Using the iPad 2 in the classroom is proving to be very beneficial for both the autistic student and the teacher. It helps greatly with the lack of communication skills, which makes for a less stressful classroom environment. It also helps to make the academics engaging and fun, which otherwise may have seemed too difficult for an autistic student to complete.