WHAT IS AUTISM ?

 އޯޓިޒަމް ސުޕެކްޓުރަމް ޑިސްއޯޑަރ(ASD) ނުވަތަ އާއްމުކޮއް ކިޔާ ގޮތުން ނަމަ އޯޓިޒަމް އަކީ ކުއްޖާ އުފެދެމުން އަންނަ އިރު ނުވަތަ ހެދި ބޮޑުވަމުން އަންނަ އިރު ސިކުޑީގެ ނާރުތައް އުފެދުމުގައި މެދުވެރިވާ ހާލަތެއްގެ ސަބަބުން ކުއްޖާގެ މުއާމަލާތް ކުރުމަށާއި، އެހެން މީހުންނާ ގުޅިގެން އުޅުމަށާއި، އަދި ކުއްޖާގެ ވިސްނުމާއި އުޅުމައް އަންނަ ބަދަލް ތަކެކެވެ.

އޯޓިޒަމްގެ އަސަރު އެކި ކުދިންނައް ކޮއްފަ ހުންނަނީ އެކިވަރަށެވެ. މިގޮތުން ބަލައިރު ބަސްމޮށުން ތެރިކަމާއި، އެހެންކުދިންނާއި ގުޅިގެން އުޅުމާއި، ކުޅުންފަދަ ކަންތައްތަކުގައި އުޅުމަކީ މިކުދިންނައް ދަތި އުދަގޫ ކަނތައްތައް ކަން ފާހަގަ ކުރެވެއެވެ. އަދި މީގެ އިތުރުން ބާރު އަޑުތަކަށާއި، ގަދަ އަލިތަކާއި، ބައެއް ވައްތަރުގެ ކާނާއާއި އަދި ބައެއްކަހަލަ ފޭރާމުގެ ޓެކުސްޗަރ ތައް ކަމުނުދިއުމަކީ ވެސް މިކުދިންނައް ދިމާވާ އުދަގޫ ތަކެކެވެ.

   އޯޓިޒަމްގެ އަލާމަތް ތައް އުމުރުން 3 އަހަރު ވުމުގެ ކުރިން ފެންނަން ފަށައެވެ.ފަހުގެ ދިރާސާ ތަކުން ދައްކާ ގޮތުގައި ދުނިޔޭގެ ނިސްބަތުން ކޮންމެ 50 ކުދިންގެ ތެރެއިން އެއް ކުއްޖަކީ އޯޓިޒަމް ހުންނަ ކުއްޖެކެވެ. އަދި އެހެންމެ އޯޓިޒަމް ހުންނަ ކުދިންގެ ތެރެއިން އަންހެން ކުދިންނައްވުރެ 5 ގުނަ ފިރިހެން ކުދިން އިތުރުކަންވެސ މިދިރާސާ ތަކުން ހާމަވެއެވެ.

އޯޓިޒަމް މެދުވެރިވުމައް ދިމާވާ ސަބަބުތައް ހޯދުމައްޓަކައި ވަރައްގިނަ ދިރާސާތައް ދުނިޔޭގައި ދަނީ ކުރެވެމުންނެވެ. ނަމަވެސް އޯޓިޒަމް މެދުވެރިވާ އަސްލު ސީދާ ސަބަބު ސައިންސުވެރިންނައް މިހާތަނައް ހޯދިފައި ނުވެ އެވެ.

 އޯޓިޒަމް އައް މަގުފަހިވާކަމައް އެންމެ ގިނަ މީހުން ބުރަވާ ކަންތައްތައް

އޯޓިޒަމް އައް މަގުފަހިވާ ކަންތައްތަކެއް ފާހަގަ ކުރެވިފައި ވެއެވެ.

ވާރުތަވުން: އޯޓިޒަމް އަކީ ވާރުތަވަމުން އަންނަ ޖީން އެއްގެ ސަބަބުން ދިމާވާކަމެއް ކަމައް ވަރައްގިނަ ދިރާސާތަކުން ދައްކައެވެ. ނަމަވެސް ބައެއް ހާލަތްތަކުގައި މިހެން ދިމާނުވެވެސް ދެއެވެ.

ކުރިން އޯޓިޒަމް ކުއްޖެއް ލިބިފައި ހުރުން: ކުރިން އޯޓިޒަމް ކުއްޖަކު ހުރުމަކީ ދެވަނަފަހަރައް އެފަދަ ކުއްޖަކު ލިބުމުގެ ފުރުސަތު އިތުރުވެދާނެ ކަމެއް ކަމައް ދިރާސާ ތަކުން ދައްކައެވެ.

އޯޓިޒަމް ހުންނަ ކުދިންނައް ކޮއްދެވިދާނެ ބައެއް މުހިއްމު ކަންތައްތައް

އޯޓިޒަމް އަކީ މިހާތހަނައް ފަރުވާއެއް ހޯދިފައިވާ ކަމެއްނޫނެވެ. ނަމަވެސް ކުއްޖާގެ ޅަފަތުގައި މިކަން ދެނެގަނެވި އޯޓިޒަމް ސުޕެޝަލިސްޓެއް ނުވަތަ ތަމްރީނު ލިބިފައިވާ ފަރާތެއްގެ އެހީތެރިކަމާއި އެކު މިކަމައް ހާއްސަކުރެވިފައިވާ ތެރަޕީ ތަކެއް ދޭންފެށުމުން  އެހެން މީހުންގެ އެހީތެރި ކަމާނުލައި އެކަނި އުޅުމައް  މިކުދިންނައް ދަސްވެގެން ދާކަމައް ދިރާސާތަކުން ހާމަވެއެވެ.

އޯޓިޒަމް ހުންނަ ކޮންމެ ކުއްޖަކީ ތަފާތުކުއްޖެކެވެ. އެހެން ކަމުން ކޮންމެ ކުއްޖަކައްވެސް އެކުއްޖަކައް އެކަށީގެންވާ ވަރުގެ ޕޮރޮގުރާމްއެއް ހެދުމައްފަހު ވަކި ތާވަލެއްގެ ދަށުން މަސައްކތް ކުރުމަކީ މިކުދިންގެ ހުނަރުތައް ތަރައްގީ ކޮއް ކުރި އެރުވުމައްޓަކައި ކުރުން ވަރައް މުހިއްމު ކަމެކެވެ.

މުޖުތަމައުގައި މިކުދިން ނަކީ ބޭނުން ހިފޭ ބަޔަކައް ހެދުމައްޓަކައި އެހެން މީހުންނައް ސަމާލުކަން ދިނުމާއި، މީހުންނާ ގުޅިގެން އުޅުމާއި، އިވޭ އަޑުތަކާއި، ފެންނަ މަންޒަރު ތަކައް ހޭނުމާއި، އަދި ކޮންމެ ދުވަހެއްގެ ދިރިއުޅުމުގައި ކުރަންޖެހޭ ކަންތައްތައް ދަސްކޮއްދީ މުޖުތަމައުއައް މިކުދިން ނެރެ ދިރި އުޅެން ދަސްކޮއްދިނުމަކީ ކުރެވި ދާނެ ކަމެއްކަން މިއަދުގެ ދިރާސާތަކުން ކަށަވަރު ކޮއްދެއެވެ.

Helpful Strategies for Children with Autism in Preschool

Preschool is a great time for children to work on social skills, following directions and routines, and pre-academic skills, such as colors, shapes, letters, and numbers.  Children with autism typically lack the appropriate social skills and interactions that typically developing children exhibit. 

By integrating your child with autism into preschool, they can work on and improve their social skills.Here are some strategies that can assist your child with autism in the preschool classroom:

Helpful Strategies for Children with Autism in Preschool:

Picture Schedules. 

 Make sure that there is a picture schedule of daily activities so that your child is able to see what is happening throughout the day and can refer to it as needed, to stay on track and help with transitions.

Routine. 

 Some children with autism like to have a routine, and if there is a change in the routine, it can make them upset.  Try to have a routine in the classroom, and if there are going to be changed, try to tell the child as soon as possible so that they can prepare for this change.

Visual Stimuli. 

Using pictures and different visual aids benefit children with autism since many are visual learners.  For example: pictures by the cubbies can help them hang up their jacket and backpack, pictures of children sitting in a circle for story time near the classroom rug is helpful, and pictures of the classroom rules can help the child follow them. These are all great visual aids that can be used throughout the classroom.

Keep it Simple.  

When giving instructions/directions, make sure to keep it simple, use concrete language, and pair them up with pictures and modelling.  In addition, do not provide too many instructions at once.  For more complex activities, break the instructions down into clear steps.

Avoid Distracters.

 When possible, make sure that the learning environment is not filled with the types of distractions you can control.  Areas that are too noisy, too hot or cold, or that have bright lighting can make it hard for a child to focus and feel comfortable.

Coach. 

 During playtime, try to coach and teach the child how to appropriately ask a peer to play, share/take turns, ask for a toy/item, and be flexible on what to play and who goes first.

One-On-One Aide.

 Some schools provide special supports and a one-on-one aide to work with the child.  This aide can provide a lot of teaching and coaching opportunities to help the child appropriately interact with others and engage in different social and academic situations.

Buddy System.  

Try to pair children up into different groups depending on their level and skills.  You want to make sure that children who excel in certain areas are paired up with those that might need more help and practice in that specific area.  For example, pairing a child with appropriate social skills and who likes to talk a lot with a quieter child offers the two children the experience of learning from each other.  Through example, the quieter child may gain confidence in participating in the group, while the more outgoing student may become better at remaining quiet while the teacher is talking.

Reinforcers.  

Use items and activities that are reinforcing to the child.  By using stimuli that the child is interested in, you can help them stay more focused and motivated.  Some examples of reinforcers that could be used are: stickers, stamps, and prize boxes with little items that the child can pick from.  In addition, provide praise and reinforcement when the child is appropriately interacting with others, following directions, and accomplishing academic tasks.

Homework.  

Take the time to work on these skills at home.  Talk with your child’s teacher to find out what academic skills they are working on in the classroom, and be sure to incorporate them into your daily routine at home.  In addition, arranging different play dates and outings for your child will provide the opportunity for your son/daughter to continue to work on social skills in different situations while you coach and guide them as needed.

When having your child in preschool, be sure to keep the above strategies in mind and work with the teacher to implement them in the classroom if they are not already in place.  Also, take the time to practice the pre-academic skills as well as the social skills at home.  A positive experience in preschool for your son/daughter will help lay the necessary building blocks for continued success, both academically and socially, throughout their entire school career.

What Are the Causes of Spitting Behavior in Children?

Spitting is an aggressive behavior that undermines adult authority and does nothing to endear your child to his peers. Keep in mind that children are poor problem solvers. Causes include attempts to handle stress, an expression of anger, a bid for negative attention or a means of defense. Remain calm responding to the situation

Self-Defense

Children sometimes spit to defend themselves. According to child behavior expert Dr. Eisa Medhus, your child may resort to spitting because he does not have the verbal skills necessary to defend himself in more productive ways. Teach your child how to leave situations that make him angry, rather than staying in a situation and pushing himself beyond his limits until he becomes frustrated and starts spitting at others.

Attention Seeking Behavior

If your child is spitting to gain negative attention, it's best to ignore the behavior to stop the problem. Negative attention-seeking behaviors are only effective when a parent becomes upset, reinforcing the behavior by giving the child attention. If you ignore her, your child will learn very quickly that spitting is not an effective way to get attention. Consistency is important. Even one or two incidents of reinforcing this negative behavior will make it very hard to correct.

Expression of Anger

If your child is angry and doesn't have good problem-solving skills, she spits as an expression of that anger. Handle this problem by allowing your child a safe environment in which to express her anger and validate her feelings while holding boundaries. Try saying, "I understand you are angry. I would be angry, too, if that happened to me. However, spitting is not an acceptable behavior, and we don't act that way in this house."


Copying Others' Behavior

Your child is likely copying other kids' behaviors, if the behavior has started after he was exposed to a new friend or situation. Ignoring the negative behavior and eliminating or limiting your child's exposure to this peer are problem-solving strategies. Talk to the other child's parent to work together to solve the problem

A child often spits to illicit a reaction from adults or to show contempt for something when verbal explanation isn't possible. Spitting is a habit that can follow your child throughout life and cause problems, so it's important to do what you can to make your child stop spitting as soon as you notice a problem. Through patience, gentle probing and natural consequences, you can show your child that spitting is wrong and it will not be tolerated.

Step 1

Refuse to react when your child spits. Your child spits knowing that it's shocking behavior and to illicit a negative reaction from you as an adult. By not reacting, you tell your child that his spitting is not impressive. Instead of yelling or expressing surprise, move quickly into your natural consequences or discipline to show him that it is unacceptable behavior and that it doesn't give him what he wants.

Step 2

Ask that your child clean the spittle and apologize in a calm and controlled manner. If your child refuses, consider discipline, such as a removal of privileges or a timeout in her room. If she agrees to the clean-up and apology, hand her a towel and explain to her calmly that spitting spreads germs and is not an acceptable way to use her body.

Step 3

Teach your child verbal and healthy ways to react and display her emotions. Explain that spitting isn't okay, but other methods, like talking about her feelings, drawing a picture or letting an adult know can help her express anger in a more constructive way. Model these positive methods of dealing with anger and sadness to provide your child with a good example.

Step 4

Explore alternative reasons for the spitting. If your child doesn't seem to be spitting when dealing with emotions like anger, sadness and fear, his spitting could actually be a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, notes psychotherapist for mentalhelp.net, Allan Schwartz. Frequent spitting could also be the sign of a sensory disorder, for which your child will need medical diagnosis.

Useful resources 

http://loveparenting.org/2014/10/13/how-can-i-get-my-child-to-stop-spitting/

I am letting you know about eye contact.

My eyes see very well. Most people seem to need to have to look long and hard to make sense of a picture. 
I can take in a whole picture at a glance. Each day I see too many little petty details. I look away to not get overwhelmed by a lot of little bits of information.

I watch things that a teacher or person I listen to tells me to watch. This helps me concentrate on what I should be focusing on. I can search for a teacher’s voice to try to focus on. I am academically learning best when I sit side-by-side with a teacher. A seat on the side keeps me focused on your voice and not on visual distractions.

I am assessing many sounds too. I have to erase some stimuli to access my answers to people’s questions and meet their demands. That is why I don’t make eye contact. I am always listening. I listen a lot to voices.

I so love when people talk to me and are not talking like I am not there. I am active because I am unable to feel my body well. People think I am being rude but I can’t help it. I need to move to feel my body, but sitting down at least helps me not walk away from you.

Please peacefully talk those who are in needs. Let them know you understand. I am sad when people think I don’t like them. I love people.

How to Praise Children

How to Praise Children

Learn the best way to praise children effectively in order to increase positive behaviors and decrease a child behavior problem.

Saying things, such as “Good job!” after a child does something positive, can work well to increase behavior, but there are some important things to remember when using praise as a reinforcer to maximize its benefits especially when you are dealing with defiant children.

1. Use Descriptive Praise

When you praise children, it’s important to use descriptive praise by stating the exact behavior you are praising. For example, if your child helped you pick up his or her toys you may say something like this, “Awesome job cleaning up your toys!” If your child brushed his or her teeth, you may say something like this, “Way to go brushing your teeth!”

2. State why the behavior is important.

Consistently letting a child know why a behavior is important will help him/her to learn why you are always asking them to do it. Over time this will help the child to believe the behavior is important as well. 

For example, again for picking up toys you would say, “Awesome job cleaning up your toys!” and you would also say, “That really helps mommy/daddy around the house so we don’t trip and fall.” For brushing teeth you would say, “Way to go brushing your teeth!” and also say “Now your teeth are nice and clean, so you don’t get any painful cavities.” 

3. State how proud you are of him/her and that he/she should be proud of him/herself.

Children love to be told that you are proud of them, but it is even more important for them to be proud of themselves. This helps to instill positive self-esteem. So, with all three important ways to praise children you might say something like this… “Awesome job cleaning up your toys! That really helps mommy/daddy around the house, so we don’t trip and fall on your toys. I’m so proud of your responsible behavior. You should be really proud of yourself!” 

“Way to go brushing your teeth! Now your teeth are nice and clean, so you don’t get any painful cavities. I’m so proud of you and you should be proud of yourself for taking responsibility and brushing your teeth!”

Sometimes things can become too focused on compliance without emphasizing why the actual behavior is important to the child as a way to gain natural compliance because your child begins to understand the importance and feels proud of his/her behavior, both natural reinforcers.

This type of praise also works well with children that have Asperger syndrome behavior and ADHD. 

Difficulty in sleeping!

Recently, I had the opportunities to meet many families child with autism. 50% of a the families tell me that their children have difficulties in sleeping. So this post I want share some information about sleeping

Difficulty in sleeping is a very common problem with children on the spectrum. As many as 50% of children on the spectrum experience some difficulty sleeping. This can be a real problem for both the child and parents getting their needed rest. For the children, who already have fragile nervous systems, lack of sleep will compound any other difficulties (sensory, emotional, behavioral, etc.) they are experiencing. Steady sleep patterns are essential to keep the nervous system calm and organized. Listed below are several of the common strategies used to stabilize sleep patterns.

1. Consistent bedtime routine: The body needs to calm down and relax in order to sleep effectively. One of the best ways to stabilize sleep is establishing a consistent, relaxing routine before going to bed. The child should go to bed and rise at the same time every day. This helps establish a consistent sleep cycle for the body. The bedtime routine should consist of a sequence of relaxing events that lowers the child’s arousal level. This means avoiding video games and high stimulating activity for the last 45-60 minutes of the evening. Common activities in bedtime routines are taking a bath, brushing teeth, toileting, getting out clothes for tomorrow, getting a drink of water, reading a story, snuggling in bed, saying prayers, etc. Keep the same sequence of tasks each evening to build a consistent routine. This helps prepare the body for sleep.

2. Lessen any environmental distractions: If the child is a light sleeper, noise and activity going on in the house can disturb his sleep. Also, common noises occurring outside can be distracting for them. If needed, try using a consistent background noise (environmental tapes, soft music, white noise machine, fan, etc.) that will mask any other noises. Next, lighting can be an issue. If the child is scared of the dark, then a night light may be needed. Or, are there outside light sources that are disturbing your child’s sleep (street lights, house lights, etc.)? If so, make sure they are blocked out. Another factor that could disrupt sleep is temperature. If the room is too cold or too hot, the child’s nervous system will stay on high alert and not be able to sleep. Lastly, be aware of any tactile sensitivity that may present problems for your child. Are the pajamas a material that he feels comfortable in? How about the sheets and blankets? If any of these are too scratchy for the child, the nervous system will not relax.

3. Favorite video or song: Although you want to limited electronics that actively engages the child, for some children, having the same favorite video playing in their room each night often calms and sooths them. They typically do not watch it; just having the familiar scripts in the background relaxes them. These favorite videos or music can represent security in something they love, blocks out other noise, and gives them a familiar sensory pattern that calms and regulate them.

4. Deep pressure and snuggables: Deep pressure calms the nervous system and can promote sound sleeping. Provide large pillows, stuff animals, or a body pillow to snuggle with. Lots of heavy blankets, or a weighted blanket, can assist with sleeping. Also, some children love the feeling of being wrapped up in a sleeping bag. Snuggling with a pet, or simply having one sleeping in the same bed, will often sooth and relax the child.

5. Diet and exercise! The three basic components to an organized nervous (sleep, diet, and exercise) all affect each other. A good diet and lots of physical activity will help stabilized the nervous system so it will sleep better. However, try to avoid arousing physical activity for the last hour before bedtime.

6. Avoid frequent napping during the day. If your child is having difficulty sleeping at night, try and avoid a lot of napping throughout the day. If naps are needed in mid-day, try and keep it short (30 minutes or less) and occurring at the same time every day.

7. Medical concerns: If the child has gastrointestinal problems, upper respiratory problems, or any other acute medical concerns, these can keep the nervous system on “high alert”, thus keeping it from falling asleep. Sleep apnea could also be a factor. If your child has any of these difficulties seek medical help to lessen their impact.

8. Sensory integration problems: If the child has sensory processing issues, they often have problems modulating their arousal level, making it difficult to fall, or stay asleep. Their nervous system may be too “wound up” to fall asleep. A good sensory diet throughout the day can help calm and organize the nervous system.

9. Sleep aids: Melatonin has been an effective sleep aid for many children on the spectrum. It is used very frequently with minimal, if any, side effects. There are a host of other sleep inducing supplements and medications that can be prescribed, but should be used as a last resort. Seek out your doctor’s advice when using these.

  

Completing my journey

Back on the journey of completing my assignment and found this good little educational website when researching the learning styles that I believe in. i found ENHANCING EDUCATION is very god website covers multiple intelligence , cooperative learning and 5E's model. i like article 5E model it says that is instructional model based on the constructivist  approach to learning,which says leaners build or construct new ideas on top of their old ideas.

Worldwide research has shown that ICT can lead to improved student learning and better teaching methods. A report made by the National Institute of Multimedia Education in Japan, proved that an  increase in student exposure to educational ICT through curriculum integration has a significant and positive impact on student achievement, especially in terms of "Knowledge・Comprehension" · "Practical skill"  and "Presentation skill" in subject areas such as mathematics, science, and social study.

However, you can see that there are many education technology solutions provided in the world which may cause confusion among educators about how to choose the right ICT solution. Let's have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of ICT tools for education and discover what kind of education ICT solution is suitable for your school needs.

3 MAIN ADVANTAGES OF ICT TOOLS FOR EDUCATION

	1‧ Through ICT, images can easily be used in teaching and improving the retentive memory of students. 2‧ Through ICT, teachers can easily explain complex instructions and ensure students' comprehension. 3‧ Through ICT, teachers are able to create interactive classes and make the lessons more enjoyable, which could improve student attendance and concentration.

3 MAIN DISADVANTAGES OF ICT TOOLS FOR EDUCATION

	1‧ Setting up the devices can be very troublesome. 2‧ Too expensive to afford 3‧ Hard for teachers to use with a lack of experience using ICT tools

i believed technology provides opportunities to make a learning environment more student-centered, collaborative, multi-sensory, inquiry-based, and reflective. More important, technology is making information more accessible to students and teachers.

Keep learning! Can’t wait to be a teacher!