Misconceptions and Mistaken Misconduct:

A new school year is difficult enough let alone without the struggles of autism. Discrimination against a thirteen-year-old boy with autism for allegedly “aggressive” actions he cannot control is not only illegal but also “repugnant” according to Judge Alison Rowley. The child, called by the media as ‘L’, is one of the many children not only in England, the location of the case, but internationally who have been treated unfairly within the school system. Children like ‘L’ are not accommodated even though they have special needs and mental disabilities (Adams).

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At the moment, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has no viable cure. However, in most cases, there is a large misconception of its manageability, specifically in younger children. The clinical definition of autism is that it is a “developmental disorder affecting physical, social, and language skills, with an onset of signs and symptoms typically before age three” (“Autism”). The most common assumption of autism is physical which is only found in a minute number of people with this disorder.  In actuality, the larger problem is the behavioral side of things. As time goes on, ASD becomes better understood, and providing aid becomes easier within the education system. Autism during early child development has become much easier to navigate through these new discoveries.

Within the home, the modern-day response to autism is through a team of support coupled with professional assistance such as “nurses, nursing assistants, nurse practitioners or physician's assistants, social workers, or child-life specialists” depending on the accessibility of help (Chun and Berrios-Candelaria). “A coordinated, multidisciplinary, team approach is commonly and successfully used in educational and mental health settings” and is highly effective in the ASD field. This is a stark difference between the usage of electric shock and antidepressants in the sixties which was what was believed to help (Chun and Berrios-Candelaria).

In earlier years such as the nineteen-fifties, autism was believed to be a disorder that arose from “‘refrigerator mothers.’” The term was coined by Austrian psychologist, Bruno Bettleheim, as being a mother “‘lack[ing] warmth’ or 'lack[ing] of love' [and therefore]... contributing to ASD in children.” This assumption of general inactive parenting is an unfortunate jab at the parents themselves and was “propounded in the media, perpetuating the idea that mothers or parents were the main cause of ASD” (Simelane). This has since been corrected, but there is still an unnecessary underlying element of shame and discrimination towards the parents.

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Since autism is both a neurological and developmental disorder, a current non-stimulant of autism is to minimize the number of exterior factors while also teaching practical fixes to these problems. Success in this area is mainly due to parental assistance. Within the disorder, interaction and communication are affected, but finding comfort in different environments can have a large benefit (Autism Spectrum). Gaining stability in the physical environment is a large aspect seeing as sensory stimuli are typically present in children with ASD. This can include sound or light distractions. A real-life example of this could be within a busy classroom or walking down bustling streets. However, these disruptions are not only limited to being visual disturbances in day-to-day life but also the transitioning between activities or an interruption. Alterations in setting or even simply a break from doing work can prove to be devastating to the flow of someone with autism. As elaborated before, this is where parents need to jump in and work on planning by explaining to the child their schedule. In case of a surprise without the guardian being present, teaching the child how to handle stress is also an important precaution. Visual aids are highly effective, physical schedules allow children with autism to organize their days (Chun and Berrios-Candelaria).

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Because of the importance of the environment, predictability is key. For instance, “if you watch an autistic child's play, you'll.. notice a propensity for routine. They tend to play with the same toys in the same fashion… they'll wear the same clothes and eat a limited variety of foods, keeping it the same from day to day” (Iseminger). The behavioral side of ASD requires patterns and set schedules like “a daily morning routine, eating routine, bathroom routine,...bedtime routine” et cetera (Iseminger). The comfort that comes from routine proves to help improve quality of life.

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Problems especially arise during the school year whether it is inside or out of the classroom itself. The book Teaching Music by Scott H. Iseminger gives a general outline of how to establish structure. The technique consists of mainly consistent seating arrangements year-round, having your class pre-blocked out in an easily recognizable way, and most importantly a slow introduction to different activities within the class. Some educators choose to use a tab method in which the students will have a small folder and be able to check off their accomplishments and tasks. A music class is notably one of the most fluid and freeform within a child’s curriculum. Not only is there a lot that could go wrong, but also there is also a lot that could be altered and changed throughout the class. This uncertainty causes anxiety among children with special needs like autism.

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Field Trips combine an unfamiliar location combined with an unfamiliar activity, seemingly a nightmare for children with this sort of disability. The book suggests creating a small picture book of what is on the agenda for the day with captions. The emphasis falls on ensuring that the end location is back to a familiar place: school. This is thought to reduce levels of stress via the practice of planning.

To diminish noise stimuli that are overwhelming “keep[ing] a pair of professional construction worker's headphones” on hand is a simple fix removing unnecessary audio (Iseminger). Conditioning the child to understand there is a loud noise that can be lowered rather than completely removing the sound is a step in the right direction. The goal is to “simply bring it down to a more agreeable level for their brains to process” rather than to entirely mute (Iseminger). Removing the stimuli in its entirety has no learning opportunity. The end goal is to gain a greater understanding of the disorder on a people level.

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Both progression and setbacks are important in finding the best way to manage and eventually thrive with autism. Yes, there are frequent troubles, but they are never to no avail. There are always lessons to be learned from acting out rather than just a punishment. Situations involving students like ‘L’ are examples of unnecessary setbacks being put in place. The misconceptions that autistic children have purposefully “‘criminal or antisocial’” behavior portray an inaccurate representation of the disorder, and in fact, can be harmful (Adams). The recent advancements in the past decades have allowed for a much less bleak and inspirational outlook. By ensuring a network of teachers, family and community members, and medical professionals, this disorder is an approachable challenge.

 The scientific establishment that ASD treatment is not the same for all patients has pros and cons. A disadvantage is that there will not be one overarching remedy. The lack of a ‘one size fits all’ method can be an advantage seeing as it allows more opportunities for coping on the lesser side of the scale and more studies to be done for the lower functioning examples. Thomas H. Chun and Rosalie Berrios-Candelaria explain ASD as having a “one size (or strategy)... not fit[ting] all when it comes to caring for these patients.” They elaborate that “understanding the unique, individual qualities of each child with ASD is vital in providing optimal, satisfying (to the patient, family, and provider) medical care.” Creating specialized strategies is the key to aiding this disorder. By having this help, autism could be less of a challenge in early childhood development (Chun and Berrios-Candelaria).