Autism Children Disorder: Identification, Specific Needs, and Intervention Plan

Running Head: AUTISM CHILDREN DISORDER 1
AUTISM CHILDREN DISORDER
Student Name
Institution Affiliation
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AUTISM CHILDREN DISORDER 2
Part 1
The child’s current level of performance
This paper identifies a child with Autism symptoms by the name Desmond. Desmond
who is seven years old has had different challenges in learning due to his autism disorder. His
current level of performance is raising alarm to both her teachers as well as the parents. For
instance, her teachers have severally reported to the parents that Desmond rarely pays attention to
what is being taught by the teacher on the blackboard (Christensen, Braun, Baio, Bilder,
Charles, Constantino & Lee, 2018). As the lesson starts, Desmond is fully attentive but as the
lesson progresses, he gets absorbed in other things like arranging her books and pens in certain
patterns and that makes him inattentive in the remaining part of the lesson. As reported by the
teacher, Desmond has not been writing notes or most of the times he starts writing but stops
unexpectedly and shifts his concentration on other things. When there is no teacher in the class,
Desmond always moves from one end of the class to the other instead of sticking to his sitting
position. He always disrupts other students seeking attention and that has made him be regularly
punished by the teachers.
Desmond has also been under-reactive to the school rules and regulations which have
been stipulated and followed by all students. For instance, when in the meal queue pupils have
been forbidden from pushing each other to avoid injuries but Desmond is always pushing even
when the teachers are around and rarely listens to the teacher when being warned (Wong, Odom,
Hume, Cox, Fettig, Kucharczyk & Schultz, 2015). Also, pupils are supposed to rush to where
they are supposed to be whenever a bell rings but Desmond always walks slowly and ignore the
warning from teachers. This has always landed Desmond to punishments from the teachers.
His/her specific learning/behavioral needs

AUTISM CHILDREN DISORDER 3
From the above discussion, Desmond has been presented as a child who easily
becomes self-absorbed and inattentive while interacting with other people. Because this is
behavior that has caught up with Desmond as a result of the autism disorder, the family
members should respond to this behavior positively (Sanders, He, Willsey, Ercan-Sencicek,
Samocha, Cicek & Goldberg, 2015). For instance, when a parent realizes that he has totally
switched off and distracted from his normal activities. Allowing him to take a short break
outside the class and the back would do him well then letting him stay in the class and waste
the whole lesson. A short break will make the child relax by being exposed in a totally
different environment. When back into the class, the student will be able to concentrate for a
while before getting disrupted again. With time Nadia will be able to realize the reason
behind her being sent out for some time by the teachers while the rest of the pupils are not
sending out like him (Loomes, Hull & Mandy, 2017).). That will slowly act as a positive
punishment to her and will be expected to adjust her behavior even if not fully but to some
extent. This draws from the behaviorism theory that holds on the fact that the learning and
development of a child are as a result of associations, rewards, and punishments.
Possible compounding factors that affect his/her learning behavior
Anxiety
Not only in autism victims, anxiety the main cause of problems in schools. A high
level of anxiety can reduce his or her learning capacity. In the case of Desmond, the presence
of large crowds in the same classroom may be a reason behind his easy disruptions. This is
because he has not been used to large crowds in his family and that definitely makes him
anxious (Happé, Mansour, Barrett, Brown, Abbott & Charlton, 2016).
Sensory Issues

AUTISM CHILDREN DISORDER 4
There are seven systems involved in sensory processing and which are touch, vestibular,
proprioceptions, visual, auditory, taste, and smell. These systems should work in a
coordinated manner and if they don’t, there is a likelihood of under-reaction or over-reaction
to stimulus. Considering the senses involved in learning and coping with the classroom
environments, in case Desmond has got some issues with his sensory processing ability, then
learning to him is likely to be impacted with high stress levels and other challenging
behaviors which he displays (Yuen, Merico, Bookman, Howe, Thiruvahindrapuram, Patel &
Pellecchia, 2017).
Physiological Factors
As an autism student, the possibility that Desmond suffers from sleep disturbances is
very high as a result of nightmares, waking up early than normal and having difficulties
before he can fall asleep. Also, he might be having a restricted diet and lacking body exercise
due to difficulties with motor planning as well as toileting issues. Having any such problems
and especially if they are chronic and on-going must affect his day in school (Solso, Xu,
Proudfoot, Hagler, Campbell, Venkatraman & Eyler, 2016).
Comorbidity
Comorbidity is a condition characterized by the presence of other disorders besides
the primary disorder. In the case of Desmond, this might be a combination of autism together
with depression, dyspraxia, ADHD and others like bipolar disorder. Considering the fact that
Desmond has not been taken for tests which can reveal her comorbid conditions, these
conditions might be affecting her learning capabilities when thought to be autism disorder
(Rodgers, Hodgson, Shields, Wright, Honey & Freeston, 2017).
General Intellectual Difficulties