Educating Children With Autism - 01 edition

Summary: Autism is a word most of us are familiar with. But do we really know what it means?

Children with autism are challenged by the most essential human behaviors. They have difficulty interacting with other people-often failing to see people as people rather than simply objects in their environment. They cannot easily communicate ideas and feelings, have great trouble imagining what others think or feel, and in some cases spend their lives speechless. They fre ...show morequently find it hard to make friends or even bond with family members. Their behavior can seem bizarre.

Education is the primary form of treatment for this mysterious condition. This means that we place important responsibilities on schools, teachers and children's parents, as well as the other professionals who work with children with autism. With the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1975, we accepted responsibility for educating children who face special challenges like autism. While we have since amassed a substantial body of research, researchers have not adequately communicated with one another, and their findings have not been integrated into a proven curriculum.

Educating Children with Autism outlines an interdisciplinary approach to education for children with autism. The committee explores what makes education effective for the child with autism and identifies specific characteristics of programs that work. Recommendations are offered for choosing educational content and strategies, introducing interaction with other children, and other key areas.

This book examines some fundamental issues, including:

• How children's specific diagnoses should affect educational assessment and planning
• How we can support the families of children with autism
• Features of effective instructional and comprehensive programs and strategies
• How we can better prepare teachers, school staffs, professionals, and parents to educate children with autism
• What policies at the federal, state, and local levels will best ensure appropriate education, examining strategies and resources needed to address the rights of children with autism to appropriate education.

Edition/Copyright: 01
Cover: Hardback
Publisher: National Academy Press
Published: 10/11/2001

View Review

"Features effective instructional practices. ... This is perhaps the most scholarly, respected book available today on the topic of autism."

--National Professional Resources, 2002

"Essential reading on 'the state of the art.' ... rich in discussion of important issues for the improvement of research in this field."

--Autism, December 2002

"This is actually a report...that has been organized into a book for educators and parents. It has a lot of timely and useful information..."

--Support for Families newsletter, Spring 2003

Publisher Web Site, April, 2003

View Table of Contents

Front Matter
Executive Summary

1 Introduction
2 Diagnosis, Assessment, and Prevalence
3 Family Roles
4 Goals for Educational Services
5 Development of Communication
6 Social Development
7 Cognitive Development
8 Sensory and Motor Development
9 Adaptive Behaviors
10 Problem Behaviors
11 Instructional Strategies
12 Comprehensive Programs
13 Public Policy and Legal Issues
14 Personnel Preparation
15 Methodological Issues in Research on Educational Interventions
16 Conclusions and Recommendations

References
Biographical Sketches
Index