Autism Spectrum Disorder

IDEA defines the category of Autism as:

(i) Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences.

(ii) Autism does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (c)(4) of this section.

(iii) A child who manifests the characteristics of autism after age three could be identified as having autism if the criteria in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section are satisfied.

ODE adopted the language of the federal definition and defines Autism in section 3301-51-01, section (d) of the Ohio Revised Code.  

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Autism is defined more specifically. The full diagnostic criteria can be found through Autism Speaks here. 

The Autism Society of America also provides a definition:

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. The result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. Autism is one of five disorders falling under the umbrella of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by “severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development,” including social interaction and communications skills (DMS-IV-TR).

(This definition is outdated based on updates to the DSM, see following information)

As one might assume based simply on knowing this disability category contains multiple definitions, Autism can be a tricky category. It is typically a medical diagnosis, not something that is identified or labeled by the school. The medical community's understanding and definition of Autism continues to change. The most recent edition of the DSM (the fifth edition) provides information and criteria for "Autism Spectrum Disorder". Previously there were other diagnostic categories, including Asperger's Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder- Not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS); these have been replaced by the one, over-arching diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder. 

In addition to this being a category that can be difficult to clearly define, the prevalence of ASD continues to increase. 

Prevalence:

• About 1 in 68 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. [Read article]
• ASD is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. [Read summary] [Read article]
• ASD is almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in 42) than among girls (1 in 189). [Read article]
• Studies in Asia, Europe, and North America have identified individuals with ASD with an average prevalence of about 1%. A study in South Korea reported a prevalence of 2.6%. [Data table] [Read article]
• About 1 in 6 children in the United States had a developmental disability in 2006-2008, ranging from mild disabilities such as speech and language impairments to serious developmental disabilities, such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, and autism. [Read summary]

Information found on CDC website

Common Symptoms of Autism:

Tips for working with a student with Autism:

•  if the student has a behavior plan-understand what the plan is and use it 
• reinforcement! 
• this goes along with using the behavior plan, but provide feedback to the student about the positive or expected behaviors they are demonstrating
• keep things structured
• provide a daily schedule and if changes are going to happen to the day's schedule, inform the student 
• provide an outline or expectation of duration of activities when possible
• provide warnings before transitioning between activities or classes 
• when it comes to language-less is more
• students with Autism often have a lot of difficulty with understanding language
• use language that is clear and simple 
• when giving directions, break them down in to smaller steps or give them 1 or 2 steps at a time
• provide visual cues that students can use as reminders throughout the day 
• these can be cues of classroom rules, expected behavior, the daily schedule etc. 
• some students may respond better when tasks are presented using "first-then" language or when given a choice between two things