Autism &
Asperger’s Disorder:
Information &
Effective Intervention Strategies
Instructor
Name: Dr. Marrea Winnega
Phone: 509-891-7219
Office
Hours: 8
a.m. to 5 p.m. PST Monday – Friday
Email: marrea_winnega@virtualeduc.com
Address: Virtual
Education Software
Technical
Support: support@virtualeduc.com
Introduction
Welcome
to Autism & Asperger’s Disorder,
an interactive computer-based instruction course designed to help you achieve a
better understanding of Autism and Asperger’s Disorder, of intervention
strategies to enhance communication and learning, and of methods for teaching
more conventional behaviors. Autism & Asperger’s Disorder
provides information on the characteristics of the disorder, learning styles
associated with the disorder, communication weaknesses, and various
intervention strategies that have proven to be successful when working with
students with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
The course helps you comprehend why individuals with Autism Spectrum
Disorders act the way they do, and what you can do to enhance more appropriate
behavior. This course also lists
resources for educators, related service personnel, and parents who would like
more help or information on autism and Asperger’s Disorder.
This computer-based instruction course
is a self-supporting program that provides instruction, structured practice,
and evaluation all on your home or school computer. Technical support information can be found in
the Help section of your course.
Course Materials (Online)
Title: Autism & Asperger’s Disorder: Information & Effective Intervention Strategies
Author: Dr.
Marrea Winnega, Ph.D. & Mary Coughlin, CCC-SLP
Publisher: Virtual Education Software, inc. 2001, Revised
2002, Revised 2004, Revised 2010
Instructor: Dr. Marrea Winnega
Academic Integrity Statement
The structure
and format of most distance-learning courses presume a high level of personal
and academic integrity in completion and submission of coursework. Individuals
enrolled in a distance-learning course are expected to adhere to the following
standards of academic conduct.
Academic
Work
Academic work submitted by the
individual (such as papers, assignments, reports, tests) shall be the student’s
own work or appropriately attributed, in part or in whole, to its correct
source. Submission of commercially prepared (or group prepared) materials as if
they are one’s own work is unacceptable.
Aiding
Honesty in Others
The individual will encourage honesty in
others by refraining from providing materials or information to another person
with knowledge that these materials or information will be used improperly.
Violations
of these academic standards will result in the assignment of a failing grade
and subsequent loss of credit for the course.
Level
of Application
This course is designed to be an
informational course with application in work or work-related settings. The intervention strategies are designed to
be used with students with autism and Asperger’s Disorder ranging in age from
approximately three years to adulthood.
Expected
Learning Outcomes
As a result of this course, participants will
demonstrate their ability to:
·
To define the characteristics of
Autistic Disorder and Asperger’s Disorder for better understanding of these
disorders
·
To increase the ability to
identify students having these disorders
·
To provide information on how
individuals with these disorders are different from other students, and how to
teach them given these differences
·
To understand their behavior in
terms of their differences and communication styles
·
To develop an understanding of
the communication differences and weaknesses in students with autism or
Asperger’s
·
To provide information on
teaching strategies
·
To provide resources for teachers
and parents
Course Description
The
course Autism & Asperger’s Disorder
has been divided into four chapters and into five to eight exercises within
each chapter. The first chapter is on the diagnosis of autism and Asperger’s;
it gives a clear picture of the characteristics that define these
disorders. Although the information in
this chapter is complete and thorough, there is much information published
about autism and Asperger’s Disorder. We recommend that you complete readings
and research outside the course materials to gain a fuller understanding of
these disorders and the variety of interventions. To cover all areas and issues
affecting students with autism or Asperger’s and their behavior would not be
possible in one course. However, this introduction chapter and subsequent
chapters should give you a firm understanding of the disorder and of effective
tools for facilitating positive changes with these students.
The
second chapter of Autism & Asperger’s Disorder is “Behaviors & Differences.” This chapter discusses ways in which
individuals with autism or Asperger’s are different from other learners. The
information in this chapter serves to increase your understanding of autism and
Asperger’s so that an effective intervention plan can be developed to help the
student with communication and/or behavioral difficulties. Gaining an
understanding of the possible reasons for their behaviors will also help in the
understanding of why certain interventions are more successful in teaching
these students.
The
third chapter is “Communication &
Language.” In this chapter, you will
be given information about the prerequisites of communication, the components
of speech and language, and the profiles of nonverbal and verbal children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders. You will be
provided with interventions to enhance communication.
The final chapter covers “Visually Supported Communication.” You will learn how to use visual supports, schedules and calendars to help individuals with autism or Asperger’s monitor their time and program more effectively and independently. You will learn to use the strategy of “first/then” to help children finish important daily tasks before moving into pleasurable free-time activities. You will also be presented with some case examples to strengthen your understanding.
Student
Expectations
As a student, you will be expected to:
- Complete
all information chapters covering autism & Asperger’s, showing
a competent understanding of the material presented.
- Complete
all examinations, showing a competent understanding of the material
presented.
- Complete
a review of any chapter on which your examination score was below 70%.
- Retake any examination,
after completing an information review, to increase that examination score
to a minimum of 70% (maximum of three attempts). *Please note: Minimum exam score requirements may vary
by college or university; therefore, you should refer to your course
addendum to determine what your minimum exam score requirements are.
- Complete all course journal article and essay
writing assignments with the minimum word count shown for each writing
assignment.
- Complete
a course evaluation form at the end of the course.
Course
Overview
Chapter
1 – Introduction & Characteristics
This
section focuses on the characteristics that define the autism spectrum. The areas to be discussed are the social and
communication impairments and the restricted repetitive and stereotyped
patterns of behavior, interests and activities exhibited by individuals with
Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Chapter
2 – Behaviors & Differences
This
section describes how individuals with autism and Asperger’s perceive the world
and their different learning styles.
These differences will be applied to the behavioral challenges these
students exhibit.
Chapter 3 – Communication & Language
This
section discusses the prerequisites for communication, such as object
permanence and cause and effect, the components of speech and language, and the
communication profiles exhibited by individuals with Autism Spectrum
Disorders. Enhancing communication in
both the nonverbal and verbal student will be addressed.
Chapter 4 – Visually Supported
Communication
This
section discusses how visual supports can be used to help students understand
verbal directions and what they need to be doing. Visual supports include
symbols, line drawings and pictures used as pictures on a ring, communication
boards, schedules, lists and first/then cards.
Examinations
At the end of each course chapter, you
will be expected to complete an examination designed to assess your knowledge.
You may take these exams a total of three times. Your last score will save, not
the highest score. After your third
attempt, each examination will lock and not allow further access. The average from your exam scores will be
printed on your certificate. However,
this is not your final grade since your required writing assignments have not
been reviewed. Exceptionally written or
poorly written required writing assignments, or violation of the academic
integrity policy in the course syllabus, will affect your grade.
As this is a self-paced computerized
instruction program, you may review course information as often as necessary.
You will not be able to exit any examinations until you have answered all
questions. If you try to exit the exam before you complete all questions, your
information will be lost. You are expected to complete the entire exam in one
sitting.
Writing Assignments
This course has
two required writing components. ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE REVIEWED. Exceptionally or poorly written assignments, or
violation of the academic integrity policy noted in the course syllabus, will
affect your grade. Be sure to refer to
the Grading Guidelines for Writing Assignments,
sent as an attachment with your original course link.
It is highly
recommended that you write and save all writing assignments in an external word
processing program (such as Word or Notepad), and then copy and paste these
into the course program so that you will have backup copies.
To save your essays:
When
you select the question or article you wish to respond to, ‘Simple Text’ or
‘Text Edit’ will launch automatically. When you are finished entering your
response, simply click SAVE.
You must SAVE
before you write another essay or move on to another part of the course.
1)
Essay
Requirement: Critical Thinking Questions
There are four
Critical Thinking Questions that you must complete. You will do research on the
questions and write brief essay
responses relating it to the course content (and your personal experiences,
when possible). To view the questions,
click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the Critical Thinking Question that you are
ready to complete; this will bring up a screen where you may enter your
essay. You must write a minimum of 500
words (maximum 1,000) per essay. You may
go back at any point to edit your essays, but you must be certain to click SAVE
once you have completed your edits.
You must SAVE before you write another essay or move
on to another part of the course.
2)
Essay Requirement: Journal Articles
This task
requires you to write a review of three peer-reviewed or scholarly journal
articles, preferably written by an author with a Ph.D. (blogs and news articles
are not acceptable) of your choice on a topic related to this course. You may choose your topic by entering the Key
Words (click on the Key Words button) into a search engine of your choice
(Bing, Google, Yahoo, etc.). Choose
three relevant articles and write a critical summary of the information given
in each article, explaining how the information relates to, supports, or
refutes information given in this course. Conclude your review with your
thoughts and impressions (200 words per journal article minimum, 400 words
maximum). Be sure to provide the journal name, volume, date, and any other
critical information to allow the instructor to access and review that article.
To write your
essays, click on REQUIRED ESSAY and choose the Journal Article that you would like
to complete; this will bring up a screen where you can write your review. When
you are ready to stop, click SAVE. You may go back at any
point to edit your essays, but you must be certain to click SAVE once you are
done with your edits. For more information on the features of this assignment,
please consult the HELP menu.
You must SAVE before you write another essay or move
on to another part of the course.
Instructor
Description
Autism & Asperger’s Disorder
has been developed by Marrea Winnega, Ph.D. and Mary Coughlin, CCC-SLP.
Dr. Marrea Winnega, the instructor of record, is a Licensed Clinical
Psychologist with 20 years of experience in the field of Autism Spectrum
Disorders. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology
in the
Mary Coughlin is a
Speech-Language Pathologist with over 25 years of experience in the field. Her background includes working with students
in both regular education and special education settings. She has taught in a communication development
classroom and has worked with students with behavior disorders; students with
severe-profound disabilities, birth to five; and medically fragile children, as
well as those with developmental delays and autism. She served on a diagnostic team serving early
childhood children for over ten years.
She has presented numerous workshops for parents and professionals on
the various aspects of communication, speech, and language. She has worked with Dr. Winnega in Autism
Dynamic Beginnings since its inception.
Contacting the
Instructor
You may
contact the instructor by emailing Dr. Winnega at marrea_winnega@virtualeduc.com
or calling her at 509-891-7219, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m - 5 p.m. PST.
Phone messages will be answered within 24 hours. Phone conferences will be limited to ten minutes per student, per
day, given that this is a self-paced instructional program. Please do not
contact the instructor about technical problems, course glitches or other
issues that involve the operation of the course.
Technical Questions
If you have questions or problems
related to the operation of this course, please try everything twice. If the
problem persists please check our support pages for FAQs and known issues at www.virtualeduc.com and also the Help
section of your course.
If you need personal assistance then
email support@virtualeduc.com or call
(509) 891-7219. When contacting
technical support, please know your course version number (it is located at the
bottom left side of the Welcome Screen) and your operating system, and be
seated in front of the computer at the time of your call.
Minimum Computer
Requirements
Please
refer to VESi’s website: www.virtualeduc.com
or contact VESi if you have further questions about the compatibility of your
operating system.
Refer to the addendum regarding Grading Criteria, Course Completion
Information, Items to be Submitted and how to submit your completed
information. The addendum will also note any additional course assignments that
you may be required to complete that are not listed in this syllabus.
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Latest
information in a variety of journals, including: Journal of Autism and Developmental
Disorders; Focus on Autism; Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
Books by Carol Gray:
The
New Social Story Book, The New Social Story Book-Illustrated Edition, Taming
the Recess Jungle. Available through Future
Horizons.
Resources
Autism Society of
Contact
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Asperger’s Disorder.
National
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“The
Publishers/Bookstores
Future Horizons,
Inc.
Autism Asperger
Publishing Co.
Amazon
Course content is updated every three years. Due to this update timeline, some URL links may no longer be active or may have changed. Please type the title of the organization into the command line of any Internet browser search window and you will be able to find whether the URL link is still active or any new link to the corresponding organization’s web home page.
Updated 8/1614 JN