Autism slideshow for class

Presented by Abby A, Eric J, Justin D,

and Trapper S.
Current IDEA Language

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability. It involves a

wide range of symptoms, but it mainly affects a child’s social and
communication skills. It can also impact behavior. Autism Spectrum
Disorder was originally multiple categories depending on severity of
the disability, but after 2013 children diagnosed with ASD are all
labelled under one of two umbrella categories no matter what type or
how severe the autism is, which leads to many different disabilities
being treated in one general way.
The Proposed Change

We are changing the overall general description to back to the

more individualized diagnoses, as the definition currently is an
umbrella term for a number of diagnoses. The old
descriptions/diagnoses worked wonderfully, and the individuals
who had their own diagnosis changed faced struggles with getting
services related to their original diagnosis, and really it just sort of
shoves these different diagnoses into one category that in some
cases doesn’t make sense too much.
Why does this matter?

We selected this disability category because we feel that teachers

will be able to better support students across the spectrum. By
allowing each student to identify with their specific area of the
spectrum, not only can the school system as a whole better
support people with autism, but also the school system can better
support its teachers in their preparedness and training for people
with exceptionalities.
How will this change benefit students?

Undoing the generalization of autism types will benefit students in

various ways. Having a more accurate and detailed diagnosis is
better for students with autism as well as their parents. Teachers
can also benefit from having more information about the certain
type of autism that a student may have, rather than generalizing
them all and expecting them to be the same. Autism manifests in
many different ways, and thus, some students with Autism may
need a type of accomodation others wouldn’t.
How will this change benefit educators?

This change would impact both general and special education

teachers by allowing them to gain more understanding for each
area of the spectrum. Different areas of the spectrum have different
social, emotional, and educational needs. By making the change to
differentiate the areas of the spectrum we allow educators to be
able to easily understand what each student may need, whether
that is in or out of a general classroom.