Question for the DisABILITIES Board

[msteddom]

Hi Everyone!
I never participate on this board because there has never been any need for me to do so. However, I am a frequent lurker here because I appreciate all of the knowledge that lives here!

So I have a question for all of you. So often I read about those of you who have children with hidden disabilities, but since you are discussing things with people who are "in the know" you'll use abbreviations.

I would be very interested to know what these conditions really mean. For instance: what is the difference between autism and a sensory processing disorder, what is (and forgive me if get the abbreviation wrong) PPD NOS? I am a high school teacher and I do work with some special needs children, but all I really get to know about them is what kind of accommodations they are eligible for. So I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me understand some of the conditions affecting my students. Thanks!!!


Melissa

 

[sharadoc]

Hi. My son's official diagnosis is PDD-NOS.

That stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified.

What does that mean? Basically it means that you can check off a lot of items on an autism checklist, but not enough of them to call it official autism. Autism is an "umbrella" to me - it means lots of different developmental disorders and delays and they are so different that they would need thousands of names to classify them all.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I will try to do something that resembles a definition, but will be yelled at by many people as not really correct. And I agree with them!

There is a spectrum sometimes referred to as autism/Aspergers. This can include anything from High Functioning Autism (HFA) through Down's Syndrome. It can be a person who appears and generally acts "normal" (whatever that is) to people who are adult in their bodies but are at about age two mentally. It may include ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

The real key to this is that it is possible for one diagnoses to cover a range (or spectrum) of symptoms and/or needs. And what may have one name for one person may have a different name for someone else.

I know this is not a really accurate explanation, and if I were a mental health professional writing this I would probably be put against a wall with a firing squad in front of me for writing this.

(But is should get some interesting reactions and posts.)

 

[bookwormde]

Autism is a set of genetic neurological variations, which when they reach clinically significant level (creating significant difficulties in interfacing with the “typical” world) are know as Clinical Autism, High functioning autism, PDD-nos (pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified) or Apsergers depending on the verbal communication deficits, impact of the lack of innate social skill, sensory differentials, Executive function differentials (how the brain is “wired”), base cognitive capabilites and a large number of other characteristics and maladaptive manifestations.

One important thing to remember is that some of these characteristics can be very beneficial, such as exceptional non-linear processing capabilities (visual processing for example), the ability to Hyperfucus, no innate discriminatory nature, heightened sense of justice and social equity, heightened sensory abilities and so forth.

Unfortunately society (including the school system) is “designed” for “average” people (nerotypicals, NTs), so the same characteristics can have negative effects. In additions to that, auditory processing issues are a major issue, which arise from and are intertwined with not having a linear, discriminatory processing mind. The lack of innate social skills and the “wiring” to “pick up “ social cues and standards leads to a very stressful interface with those who expect neurotypical social behavior. These combine to create situations where EF (executive function differentials, are misinterpreted as ADHD or ADD (which if you call it linear processing differentials might have some accuracy and usefulness).

As a high school teacher you are still encountering children who were born in the late “stone age” of understanding autism and only the most knowledgeable and persistent parents were able to discover and obtaining the items which were needed to help them flourish.

All to many children in this “generation” suffer from moderate to severe maladaptive manifestation of the chronic anxiety that goes along with (such as bipolar, clinical anxiety, OCD. ODD and so forth and live in a medicated world just to function) not having developed the intellectual social skills to at a reasonable level to interface with society, not having been taught in their native non liners format (e.i. visual), not having developed EF skills to emulate innate linear process, and feeling like there was “something wrong” with them instead of gaining an understanding that autism genetics are a “trade of” for some amazing abilities against having to adapt to a neurotypcial society which was not structured for their genotype.

Probably not the simple explanation you were looking for but it is not a simple subject. A simplistic way (although only partially scientifically valid) to look at it as autism genetics as a divergent species (lets call it homoaspiens, which is intermingled with homosapiens, most survival structures (society) are designed for homosapiens, so homoaspiens as the minority have a hard time adapting their genetic characteristics to this structure, the good news is that for some homoaspiens these genetics have benefits of “value” which makes the partial adaptation enough to “florish”.

This comes to the point that Autism spectrum genetics is something some of your children are, not something they have (like a disease or conditions). Now the maladaptive manifestations that they have developed from having to interface with society are things that they have (if they have not been able to be allowed to be who they are while leaning the skills interface with NT society).

If you want a less rambling explanations I would recommend Tony Attwood’s “The Complete Guide to Aseprgers C/2007, which your teachers resource library should have a copy of, and if not is available on Amazon for about $25.

Thank you for taking the time to try to learn about our children.

bookwormde

 

[KirstenB]

Regarding your question about sensory processing disorder vs. autism. Not everyone with SPD has autism. However, by definition, everyone with autism has some type of sensory issues. These issues often interfere with communication and learning, not to mention everyday life. However, in our case, our daughter has overcome some of her sensory issues (she hated having anything wet touching her, that was a fun one!!) with the help of her teachers.

Unfortunately, our kids also can develop new sensory issues (I call them issues, as a generic term, because our kids can be overly sensitive, to stimuli, or under-reactive), so some days, it's like chasing a piece of paper in a strong wind.

Thanks for asking. Almost forgot, one of the most frequent acronyms, is ASD. It's Autism Spectrum Disorder.

 

[Libbyt]

Sensory disorders are where kids' brains don't interpret signals from their bodies the typical way. The signal from pain or pleasure or a scent or reading letters may not reach the brain and cause the same response as a typical child. Sensory integration issues occur when all the "systems" in the body are out of kilter and don't work together smoothly. There are some kids who dislike to be touched (their brains interpret it as discomfort or even pain), some kids who need ADDED pressure or stimulation, some to the degree of even interpreting pain as something pleasurable, some kids avoid textures in food, their clothes bother them, some kids get overstimulated by a busy environment, other kids who really thrive on and need that. Lots of things that if they are very minor may just be a "quirk" in a kid's personality, but sometimes they can be very extreme. Sometimes sensory issues can be a child's primary issue, sometimes they can be an accessory to something else.

Thank you for being interested enough to inquire........wish more teachers had your outlook!

Libby

 

[Brightsy]

I was all set and rarin' to go with a great explanation, but the above posters beat me to it! Alas.
I'll add one other thing... if you've met one Spectrum child, you've met one Spectrum child.

 

[irish_trip_mom]

I didn't get a chance yet to read all the responses (sorry, I have two kids with autism...it gets busy here! LOL!)

BUT...

I have a friend who works p/t for her school system, often as a 1:1. When describing her work, she often starts off with "I don't know what the child's diagnosis is..." and then I stop her. I repeatedly tell her that diagnosis doesn't always mean anything. I ask her what the child's accommodations are. As another parent of an ASD child puts it, if you've met one child with autism, you've met one child with autism.

I have identical twin sons who are as different with their disability as you can get. That may not answer your question directly, but my point is that no kids can be classified the same, that you may have two kids with sensory processing issues that need two totally different things.

But, thank you for asking! Your students are lucky to have an educator who cares how to help them!

 

[jodifla]

Hi Everyone!
I never participate on this board because there has never been any need for me to do so. However, I am a frequent lurker here because I appreciate all of the knowledge that lives here!

So I have a question for all of you. So often I read about those of you who have children with hidden disabilities, but since you are discussing things with people who are "in the know" you'll use abbreviations.

I would be very interested to know what these conditions really mean. For instance: what is the difference between autism and a sensory processing disorder, what is (and forgive me if get the abbreviation wrong) PPD NOS? I am a high school teacher and I do work with some special needs children, but all I really get to know about them is what kind of accommodations they are eligible for. So I would really appreciate it if you guys could help me understand some of the conditions affecting my students. Thanks!!!


Melissa

Other good books at the library are "The Mislabeled Child" by the Eides and "Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World" By Jeffrey Freed.

In particular, The Mislabeled Child carefully goes through all the differences in the conditions, and why they are often mistaken for one another, and the different learning styles that are appropriate.

And the Right Brained Child is a really fascinating look at how some children are just wired to learn differently, in a fashion that teachers just aren't equipped to cope with (largely because they are left brained learners who think the right brain approach is wrong.)

 

[msteddom]

I have a friend who works p/t for her school system, often as a 1:1. When describing her work, she often starts off with "I don't know what the child's diagnosis is..." and then I stop her. I repeatedly tell her that diagnosis doesn't always mean anything. I ask her what the child's accommodations are. As another parent of an ASD child puts it, if you've met one child with autism, you've met one child with autism.

That is a fascinating comment! So often I only receive a piece of paper listing my student's accommodations. I get so frustrated because comments like, "Juan needs extra time to complete assignments, or Julie need preferential seating, or Mike needs reduced assignments", give me no insight into how to TEACH the student. And to add insult to injury I only have them for one semester, and it is not enough time for me to figure out what there needs are on my own, while still taking care of the rest of my class.

Every once and a while I will benefit from a special ed. teacher or TA who has developed a strong relationship with an individual student, and they can provide me with invaluable insight on how to help those students, but that is a rare occurrence. So I appreciate anything and everything you guys are able to tell me. Thanks again!

Melissa

 

[palpluto]

"There is a spectrum sometimes referred to as autism/Aspergers. This can include anything from High Functioning Autism (HFA) through Down's Syndrome. "

Just wanted to clarify- the spectrum does manifest in many ways and abilities, but Down Syndrome has nothing to do with the autism spectrum. DS is a genetic condition, a totally different diagnosis, although there are some children that have a DS diagnosis as well as a diagnosis on the autism spectrum.

 

[blondietink]

My 19 year old son has Down Syndrome (Trisomy 21) and PDD-NOS. We often describe him as more autistic than my 17 year old son who has Classic Autism. Because the 19 year old also has moderate mental retardation (I know, bad word)he displays many repetitious behaviors that are seen in ASD's. They are all only labels to help educators, advocates and funders of services try and set the correct educational programs and services in place. All plans should be individualized to the person and the generic "testing accommodations" should be thrown out for more specific services. Just MHO.

 

[clanmcculloch]

That is a fascinating comment! So often I only receive a piece of paper listing my student's accommodations. I get so frustrated because comments like, "Juan needs extra time to complete assignments, or Julie need preferential seating, or Mike needs reduced assignments", give me no insight into how to TEACH the student. And to add insult to injury I only have them for one semester, and it is not enough time for me to figure out what there needs are on my own, while still taking care of the rest of my class.

Every once and a while I will benefit from a special ed. teacher or TA who has developed a strong relationship with an individual student, and they can provide me with invaluable insight on how to help those students, but that is a rare occurrence. So I appreciate anything and everything you guys are able to tell me. Thanks again!

Melissa

It's so wonderful that you care so much about your students. I always hope for teachers such as yourself.

IMO, you're being handed VERY poorly written IEPs. My daughter's IEP includes notes about how my daughter communicates and interacts with different people (teachers, aids, students, other adults, etc) and signs of distress and suggestions for handling them and other things that are helpful to teachers. At the annual IEP reviews for your students, since you'll have already taken the time to figure out some of these things, it would be a great service to your students to make sure to include this kind of information in their IEPs for future teachers. My daughter's teachers also always communicate with the previous year's teachers and aids to learn more about her learning style and what makes her tick. Can you tell we're blessed with an amazing school? It really is caring and compassionate teachers like you that make it so amazing.

 

[bookwormde]

One other thing that might help is that for most IEP meeting there are “notes” about the meeting that are not included with the typical IEP forms that are broadly distributed, but can add greatly to the understanding of the child’s need and the process that arrived at the formal IEP. Also reading through some of the “historical” IEPs will help with understanding the student’s progression. IF you know you are going to have a student for multiple years ask to attend the IEP meeting, if you have not attended very many that is a learning experience into itself.

bookwormde

 

[mamacate]

Everyone else has covered the spectrum very well. AANE has a nice "Educator's Toolbox" that can provide useful information for kids on the more verbal end of the spectrum (I shy away from "high functioning," since my son is extremely verbal and brilliant, but severely disabled in some ways). Many of these strategies can be helpful for kids with ADHD or other issues.

http://www.aane.org/asperger_resources/educators_toolbox.html

I'd also suggest a letter home for any kid with an IEP or 504, nothing too intense, just inviting the parents to share with you information about the child's needs and learning style that might help them have a successful semester. Many parents have been rebuffed by so many teachers that they choose their battles and might not bother to share their knowledge with you. But I can't imagine that anyone would be offended by an offer of a new teacher to listen to the parents' expertise, and invite the parents to bring their child so that the child can learn self-advocacy techniques, and work with you to set up processes for expressing their needs during class (break cards or ways to tell you they don't understand).

Thanks for asking such a very good question!

Cate

 

[LuvMy3Monkeys]

I was all set and rarin' to go with a great explanation, but the above posters beat me to it! Alas.
I'll add one other thing... if you've met one Spectrum child, you've met one Spectrum child.

I just wanted to add that I love your signature!!

My daughter (3yo w/ Aspergers) has a shirt that says "I don't have a short attention span, I just... Oh look, a kitty!"

 

[scojos]

as a teacher and as the mom of two SEN kids (adhd and aspergers) can i just say-
well done.
I often find fellow teachers refuse to take advice or guidance on issues cause they ve been teaching longer than me and have more experinece (how much experience more do you need than 24/7 for the last 10 years??)
i would (again at the risk of being shoy=t down in flames...) say that are certain things you can do for all sen kids...
1. ask them what they need.
if they are in main stream school then they are capable of telling you (sat next to peer mentor, away fom the door (disruptions), time, yellow paper, access to ICT etc.
2. listen to what they say and then read between the lines.
3. dont tell them what you think they need.
4. be patient and value their input into your class, they often see "outside the box" not a bad experience in any class.
5. enjoy them - kids teach me everyday, but you have to be open to them.
6. use VAK skills. VAK allows easier access to cirriculum than classic teacher led teaching.



one sen kid loved my lessons - and was v naughty for other "better" more experienced teachers, i change schools in sept and on my last day i was brave enough (or stupid enough) to ask why he was good for me and misbehaved for other..
"i know the rules in your class, and i know i ll be punished if i mis behave the same as everyone else soem kids with mild issues just want to be normal...
i teach main stream deal with "milder" form s of most medical issues.

the other thing i would ask is phone home and take the time to speak to mom, she will be very touched you have taken the time to get to know her child, and will give you honest coping strategies for her child.
thats what i ahve always found anyway.

enjoy your students - and they ll enjoy your lessons too
x