Autism With Severe Learning Difficulties

This book is aimed at those who care for and/or educate the large group of individuals with autism who also have severe learning difficulties. Its main focus is children and young people but also applies to adults too.

Autism can exist with any level of general ability, but it often occurs with additional severe learning difficulties. Rita Jordan has a lifetime of experience of working with individuals with autism and in this practical guide she uses techniques from a variety of programmes to outline how to develop the strengths of individual children while reducing problem behaviour. Covering topics such as the implications of the dual diagnosis, characteristic behaviour and development, fostering social interaction, understanding, preventing and managing challenging behaviour as well as how to support parents and how to deal with sexuality and the transition to adulthood this is a complete guide. This book will be invaluable to parents and key workers.

Based on many years of working with such people, many of whom have withdrawn into a world of their own, Phoebe Caldwell explores the different sensory reality they experience, showing it to be infinitely more complex and varied than is widely understood.

Children and young people with Complex Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (CLDD) have co-existing and overlapping conditions which can manifest in complex learning patterns, extreme behaviours and a range of socio-medical needs which are new and unfamiliar to many educators. Their combination of issues and layered needs – mental health, relationship, behavioural, physical, medical, sensory, communication and cognitive – mean they often disengage from learning and challenge even our most experienced teachers. This book provides school practitioners and leaders with an approach and resources to engage this often disenfranchized group of children in learning. The Engagement for Learning Framework has been developed and trialled by over 100 educational settings (both special and mainstream) with learners from early years to post-16. It gives practitioners from a range of disciplines a shared means of assessing, recording and developing personalized learning pathways and demonstrating progression for these children. The focus on inquiry means that however complex a young person’s needs, educators will be able to apply the approach. This practical and engaging book provides literature, tools and case study examples outlining who children and young people with CLDD are, why their engagement for learning is important and how the Engagement for Learning Framework can be used effectively by teachers and other professionals to ensure the best possible outcomes for these children.

When his son, Matthew, was finally diagnosed with autism at 12 years old, Mike Stanton thought the diagnosis marked the end of their troubles. In fact, despite the increase in reported levels of autism, appropriate support and clear information were hard to find. Mike had to teach himself and then attempt to pass on his knowledge and understanding to those who worked with his son. But because Matthew has high functioning autism his obvious abilities helped to disguise his more fundamental autistic spectrum disorder. As a consequence, Mike found that his efforts were not always appreciated. Like many parents, who ought to be a valuable source of information and help to busy professionals, he was sometimes made to feel as though it was him and not his son's autism that was the problem. So he wrote this accessible, informative book which provides a clear explanation of the autistic spectrum and dissects and dispels some of the myths about autistic behaviour and the various types of autism. Intended for the professionals who work with autistic people and their families and friends, Learning to Live with High Functioning Autism draws on the Stanton family's experience, and compares it with the experiences of others, to offer an honest portrayal of what living with autism is actually like for all of those involved. It offers an insight into the world of autistic children and the problems that they and their families face. It provides support and encouragement for families of children with autism, as well as being an invaluable source of information and advice for professionals working with autistic children and their families. Most important of all, it argues convincingly that learning to live with autism is a two-way process. We have to reject all models of intervention based upon coercion and compliance in order to work in partnership with young people with autism.

Parents of children with autism can often feel out of their depth when it comes to nurturing their child's learning and development. This book helps parents to make sense of the baffling array of educational interventions available, showing how to adapt different strategies to meet the specific needs of their child, including those with moderate to severe autism. Guided by love, faith and unwavering resolve, Joyce Show offers practical advice based on her experiences as both a mother and a physician. She takes the reader by the hand through all the steps of cognitive, social, and emotional development from initial engagement to abstract thinking, and provides straightforward primers for popular interventions such as Floortime and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Parents will learn how to motivate play, build up communication, deal with challenging behaviors, and teach important everyday life skills, while growing in a trusting relationship with their child. This book offers encouragement and guidance to the parents of any child on the autism spectrum whether high or low functioning, as well as the teachers, therapists, family members, and friends who support them.

Intimate self-touch and masturbation can pose many difficulties for people with learning disabilities and/or on the autistic spectrum, particularly when it happens in public settings. This frank and thorough guide looks at societal, cultural and religious views of masturbation, how teens develop into sexual beings, the right to be sexual, how to masturbate, appropriate public and private behaviour, professional responsibilities and boundaries, and legal aspects of this topic. It also contains good practice responses providing examples of the issues and solutions in action.

This practical resource is an invaluable guide for teachers, RE advisers and co-ordinators. It provides a wealth of ideas and information to help facilitate motivating and meaningful RE experiences for children and young people with autism and/or severe and complex learning disabilities. Drawing on Liz O´Brien's extensive experience, it is brimming with ideas, activities and songs which have been used successfully with children who have a range of special needs and also with children in mainstream schools. These activities are compatible with current curriculum guidance, and there are sections on linking the material to local syllabuses.