Introduction
Throughout the years, teachers in special education have implemented a vast array of strategies that target the behavior of autistic students inside the academic classroom. Some teachers utilize a list of different strategies to cope with their students. Others rely on experience or intuition to determine what works in a particular moment or with a particular student. Few, however, are the teachers that resort to analyzing the functions of the brain, its different regions, and its link to the way human beings learn in order to mold an adequate approach to deal with classroom behavior. Perhaps this lack of focus on the brain by educators is due to the fact that there is still much to discover about the connection between the brain and how a person learns, which in turn renders an educator to depend on experience and strategies from the behavioral field. Nonetheless, granted all the brain research acquired throughout human history, it is difficult to find a universal strategy that works in every single situation.
Overview of Topic and Relevant Research
Implementing proper classroom management has always been one of the primary skills that a teacher must acquire to aspire for success (Ogston, 2008). Similarly, for an educator, understanding how a student learns is just as paramount. These laws, to label them in some way, apply to both general and special education. While putting these two laws in practice in a general education classroom conveys a challenge of its own, implementing them in a special education classroom is a different type of feat. In particular, when a teacher has autistic children in the classroom, the two aforementioned laws become a total necessity.
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It is here where teachers must take the time to understand which regions of the brain affect an autistic children’s ability to learn and acquire new skills. A research study conducted in 2012 used imaging to acquire evidence for disturbances in multiple learning and memory systems in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The primary areas of the brain that were found to be linked with learning and retention of information were regions of the hippocampus, the amygdala, the superior temporal cortex, and the striatum. It was found that hippocampal sub-regions can possibly contribute to a deficit in episodic and relational memory. Additionally, instabilities in the amygdala, which convey the superior temporal cortex and mirror neuron system, could potentially impact autistic deficits in socio-emotional learning. Furthermore, if there are abnormalities in the striatum, they can potentially lead to the development of dyspraxia in people with ASD (Goh & Peterson, 2012).
It can be noted that most of the above research states its findings as a probability, rather than as fact. This is due to the limitations gained solely through imaging and the complexity of the human brain. The research article made mention of studies evidencing that certain people with ASD have selective impairment of episodic and relational memory, but a higher preservation of semantic memory. Episodic memory relates to the recollection of past events or experiences, while semantic memory has to do with factual knowledge. This divide between the two memory types in individuals with ASD can be the reason why autistic people show a pattern of superior performance when dealing with work that requires facts that come from their memory, but struggle to apply context to these facts (Goh & Peterson, 2012). From this research, educators can undoubtedly formulate strategies to bridge the divide between episodic and semantic memory in autistic students.
Impact on Learning
Schools all over the United States have students with special needs. Among these students, the array of diagnoses is vast. When it comes to children diagnosed with autism, the pace at which they can attain knowledge varies from students without a special needs label (Knüppel, Lauritsen, Jakobsen, & Telléus, 2019). Consequently, students on the autistic spectrum are granted an individualized education plan (I.E.P), which is filled with goals that they are expected to attain depending on their skill level. Even within autistic children, the cognitive levels and abilities are totally different. There are verbal and non-verbal students, as well as different levels of functioning. This difference in abilities and skill levels dramatically impacts their ways of learning inside an academic classroom.
Having autistic children form a part of a daytime activity also has been proven to be of paramount importance. In a research study conducted in 2018, the parents of children on the spectrum were questioned about the daytime activities of their children. The nationwide study, which used a survey, found that children that did not undergo daytime activities regularly were engaged in more challenging behaviors (Knüppel, Lauritsen, Jakobsen, & Telléus, 2019). When these results are analyzed closely, it can be determined that children or young adults forming part of a daytime activity is of vast importance. Activities such as attending school every day, being part of a sports team, or having a part-time job are all positive examples of daytime activities that can play a role in diminishing challenging behaviors that can impact learning negatively.
The presence of challenging behaviors can definitely slow down the pace at which an ASD student cruises through their academic journey. In addition, the way in which a staff member reacts to the challenging behaviors of students can have an effect on the increase or decrease of the student’s challenging behavior. A Scottish journal article published in 2008 stated that “it is important to consider factors that may influence special education staff’s behavioral responses to pupils’ challenging behavior and the associated causal attributions and emotional reactions” (Ogston, 2008). For example, if an ASD student is constantly met with facial expressions of frustration from staff every time that they display challenging behavior, then the student will likely take advantage of this and continue to misbehave. In consequence, this can potentially lead to a chain reaction of having constant negative behaviors, which then affect the student’s grades and knowledge attainment due to lack of academic work.
Given that autism is the result of a range of issues in the development of different regions of the brain, two of the primary barriers to learning that these brain deficiencies bring forth are in the realm of communication and social interaction (NCC Home Learning, 2018). This means that without a proper form of communication, ASD students are likely to struggle in finding access to learning. Moreover, a constant in an academic setting is that there is typically more than one student inside a classroom, which in turn opens the door for social interaction. If a student lacks this skill, however, they are likely to miss out on opportunities to learn from peers or adults, hindering learning.
The visual cortex region of the brain is responsible for processing visual stimuli (Woodruff, 2018). Visual displays in classroom walls also play a fundamental role in learning for ASD students. A 2014 study by Durham University in the United Kingdom was conducted to see the impact of visuals on the attention of learning children with ASD. The study found that the presence of visual displays had a major impact on the attention of children on the spectrum (Hanley, Khairat, & Taylor, 2017). This study provides powerful insight into the influence that visuals can have on autistic children and sets the stage for potential strategies that educators can use inside their classrooms to enhance learning.
Application to the Classroom
While it is important to know how students learn and exactly which regions of the brain impact a student’s academic ability to learn, it is even of greater importance to apply that knowledge in the classroom. After all, knowledge has a finite amount of value, until it is applied. One of the major difficulties when working with ASD students is transitioning from one task to another. This is why it is a great strategy to implement visual supports such as visual schedules into the student’s repertoire of tools. A 2018 research study by the Cooperative Research Centre for Autism set out to find the effectiveness of visual schedules in supporting students with autism to stay on-task and work independently in a classroom. The study found that all of the participants showed progress in on-task behaviors (Libby, David, & Ashburner, 2018). Developing visual schedules for ASD students gives them a pre-determined routine to follow, which will dwindle the opportunities for challenging behaviors, as they know what to expect.
One of the most powerful ways of providing and structuring reinforcement in the classroom is by using an economy token board (Webster, 2019). An economy token board provides a visual representation of what a student has to accomplish before the reinforcement is granted. In essence, a pre-determined amount of tokens can be potentially earned by the student, given that they complete a given task or take part in a desired behavior by the teacher. The rate at which tokens are awarded can vary, depending on the student’s ability to work without a reinforcer. Gradually, a teacher should increase the amount of time between the awarding of each token to foster the student’s ability to be on-task for extended periods of time.
When in school, students must be capable of transitioning from one setting to another throughout the academic day. For example, if a student enters their classroom in the morning, they will eventually have to transition to the cafeteria for lunch. For students with ASD, it can be challenging to have a change of routine, or to shift from one activity to another and from one setting to another (Hume, 2008). One of the most effective strategies for this is the use of a visual timer. With a timer, students can know exactly how much time is left before the next transition. In addition, this goes hand in hand with the aforementioned preference for visuals that ASD students have. Another benefit of using a timer for teachers inside the classroom with their students is that they are lightweight and portable, easily accessible in any school setting.
Establishing reinforcers for students is one of the key tools that can reduce challenging behaviors considerably in the classroom (Long, 2012). A student is much more likely to engage in a non-preferred activity if a reinforcer will be obtained after the completion of the task assigned. One of the ways to determine what reinforcers work for a particular student is to conduct a preference assessment. During a preference assessment, a student is exposed to potential reinforcers, while the instructor is recording data on which reinforcers the student spends the most time with (Long, 2012). Logically, the reinforcer that the student gravitates towards the most will be the primary reinforcer and it will hold the most incentivizing power to increase a desired behavior in a student, such as staying on-task. An assessment can be performed at any time and will give teachers a clear idea of what will help the student work, and potentially learn, in the classroom.
A crucial application to the classroom to consider for teachers with students with ASD is to maintain a classroom that is sensory-friendly. Many children with ASD benefit from a sensory-friendly environment (Fowler, 2018). One of the four functions of behavior is sensory, which entails that a student will develop behaviors if affronted with sensory-rich settings that trigger them to act a certain way. Teachers can prevent these challenging behaviors from occurring by maintaining a classroom that is not too rich in posters stapled to the wall, or loud noises that can elicit difficult behaviors in ASD students (Fowler, 2018). By being conscious of what is inside the classroom and what the students are exposed to on a daily basis, a teacher is much better geared toward preventing unwanted behavioral episodes in the classroom.
Conclusion
For years, research about the human brain has provided countless benefits in understanding the way humans function in everyday life. One of the fields that has greatly benefitted from this research is education. Despite teachers knowing that having good classroom management is essential to their success, it is becoming an ever-growing necessity to understand how students learn. In particular, an accurate understanding of which regions of the brain perform specific functions geared towards learning is becoming an almost obligation. Through this knowledge, a teacher is able to stipulate the conditions on which a classroom operates, as well as implement a vast array of strategies to target the challenging behaviors of students with ASD, and primarily, foster their academic success.
Bibliography
- Fowler, S. (2018, March 27). Inclusion in the Classroom. Retrieved from Organization for Autism Research: https://researchautism.org/inclusion-in-the-classroom/
- Goh, S., & Peterson, B. S. (2012, January 23). Imaging evidence for disturbances in multiple learning and memory systems in persons with autism spectrum disorders. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 54(3), 208-213. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.libproxy.chapman.edu/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-8749.2011.04153.x
- Hanley, M., Khairat, M., & Taylor, K. (2017). Classroom displays -Attraction or Distraction? Evidence of impact on attention and learning from children with and without autism. Developmental Psychology, 53(7), 1265-1275. Retrieved from http://dro.dur.ac.uk/20263/1/20263.pdf
- Hume, K. (2008). Transition Time: Helping Individuals on the Autism Spectrum Move Successfully from One Activity to Another. The Reporter, 13(2), 6-10. Retrieved from Indiana University Bloomington: https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/transition-time-helping-individuals-on-the-autism-spectrum-move-successfully-from-one-activity-to-another
- Knüppel, A., Lauritsen, M. B., Jakobsen, H., & Telléus, G. K. (2019). Characteristics of young adults with autism spectrum disorder performing different daytime activities. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(2), 542-555. doi:https://doi-org.libproxy.chapman.edu/10.1007/s10803-018-3730-7
- Libby, M., David, T., & Ashburner, J. (2018). The use of visual schedules and work systems to increase the on-task behavior of students on the autism spectrum in mainstream classrooms. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 18(4), 254. Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.libproxy.chapman.edu/doi/full/10.1111/1471-3802.12409
- Long, S. (2012, November 13). Teaching Tip: Positive Reinforcement! Retrieved from The Autism Helper: https://theautismhelper.com/teaching-tip-positive-reinforcement/
- NCC Home Learning. (2018, December 17). How Does Autism Impact Learning and Development? Retrieved from Ambitious About Autism: https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/understanding-autism/how-does-autism-impact-learning-and-development
- Ogston, J. (2008). Educational staff's responses to the challenging behavior of children with learning disabilities. Glasgow University Journal of Education. Retrieved from http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.513323
- Webster, J. (2019, February 4). Token Boards for Reinforcing Behavior and Managing a Classroom. Retrieved from ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/token-boards-reinforcing-behavior-managing-classroom-3110364
- Woodruff, A. (2018, November 29). Visual perception. Retrieved from The University of Queensland: https://qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/brain-functions/visual-perception
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