2. Scenario
 Simon, three-year-old boy, is in junior preschool classroom
where I work.
 He has autism: very little impulse control and echolalia (repetitive
oral language).
 Fond of cars and wheels
 Two teen-aged brothers.
 Living with his father and brothers in a single parented family.
 New comer to Toronto.
 His father is looking for service resources and seeking my advice.
Source: Assignment package, ECEP 233

3. Special Needs of Simon
 Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) health card to access to a
neurologist, psychologist, developmental pediatrician, speech
language pathologist, learning consultants etc.
 Agencies that provide various services for autistic children
 Live in a loving, caring and happy environment
 Proper social acceptance and inclusion
 Constant communication and socialization
 Involvement in group settings so he can feel
himself accepted and included.
Source: http://connectability.ca
Source: www.do2learn.com

4. Needs of Simon’s parent/family
 Find housing
 Settlement services
 Childcare services including counseling and services to adapt
Simon’s special needs
 Family support services.
 Workshops
 Resources
 Information and advice on
Simon’s special needs
Source: http://connectability.ca Source: www.do2learn.com

5. Simon has ‘Autism’ - a neurological disorder that affects brain
functioning. Its characteristics are:
(1) Impaired communication:
 Language developed slowly or not at all
 Echolalia is evident.
(2) Problems with social relationships and play skills:
 Little interest in making friends
 Little eye contact
 Hugs, holding hands craved or avoided
 Little spontaneous or imaginative play
 Poor motor-imitation skills
 Short attention span
Source: www.do2learn.com

6. (3) Stereotypical/repetitive behaviours:
 Overactive or very passive
 Repetitive gross motor sequences
 Tantrum for no apparent reasons
 Demonstrate strong interest in a single item, idea, activity or person
 Demonstrate difficulty during routine changes
(4) Sensory problems:
 Show various levels of sensitivities in areas of sight, hearing,
smell, touch and taste.
Source: Reading package, ECEP 233

7. How I would help Simon:
It is important to understand and identify Simon’s strengths, needs
and skills in six developmental domains as well as self-care skills
so that appropriate strategies are adopted for Simon.
Observing & understanding behaviours; identifying skills:
 Simon has little impulse control and he has echolalia.
 These require some adaptations and modification in approaches.
 I’d regularly observe, identify and record his existing skills and
behaviours
 Accordingly, to teach Simon, I’d adopt various strategies
described in next slides.
Source: http://connectability.ca and Reading package, ECEP 233.

8.  Adjustments in group settings:
Appropriate adjustment in group settings includes
 Physical environment: space and materials
 Visual supports
 Transition strategies
 Schedule and routines
 Individualized programming
Source: http://connectability.ca
Source: http://connectability.ca

9.  Setting goals and teaching new skills:
 A short-term teaching target.
 Identify specific skills that work on Simon.
 Break a skill into smaller steps so that he can learn easily.
 Adopt prompting and fading using physical, modeling, gestural,
visual and positional prompts
 Praise, encouragement and reward strategy e.g. patting and saying
“Good job!”, “Excellent!” etc. and offering attractive stickers
 Keenly record Simon’s behaviours on regular basis to assess
developmental changes
Source: http://connectability.ca and Reading package, ECEP 233.

10.  Developing communication skills:
 Simon has echolalia. So, one strategy is to form phrases from his
perspective.
 For example, when something (say a red toy car) fascinates Simon,
I’d say, “I want red car.” instead of saying, “Do you want red car?”
 Thus, he would practice appropriate phrases from his perspective.
 I’d perform it consistently.
 I’d use adaptive devices
e.g. Sign language.
Source: http://connectability.ca
Source: http://connectability.ca

11.  Developing Adaptive behaviour
 Break tasks of daily living into smaller steps; e.g. “Zip up a zipper”
 Through task analysis, teach Simon daily living skills to develop
adaptive behaviours.
 Improving pro-social skills:
Using some strategies, I’d teach Simon how to perform
 self-calming
 joining in a group, sharing and turn-taking
 asking for and offering help, asking for play
 using “Please”, “Excuse me” etc., greetings and farewells
 recognizing other children’s emotions and nonverbal cues
Source: http://connectability.ca and Reading package, ECEP 233.

12. How I would help Simon’s parent/family:
As an ECE, I would make an extra effort to connect him with local
agencies that support children with autism and their families. I will
 Communicate and report him regularly about Simon’s progress
 Encourage him to teach Simon the skills at home, using the
same techniques as I adopt in the classroom
 Provide lists of autism support services agencies
 Brochures or pamphlets that provide information about autism.
 Provide support system that maintains open communication
with the child’s family
Source: http://connectability.ca

13. Geneva Centre for Autism, Toronto
 A multi-service agency
 Provides direct clinical services to families living in GTA
 Extends clinical services in Peel, Halton, Simcoe and York Regions
 Provides information, resources, consultation and training to
 individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD),
 parents,
 service providers,
 educators and
 other professionals
across Ontario, Canada and globally. Source: www.autism.net

14. Geneva Centre for Autism (continued)
Services available for children:
 Toronto Partnership for Autism Services (TPAS)
 Behaviour communication and social skills services
 Respite
 Asperger specific programs
 Fee-based Services
 Summer camp
Services for parents-caregivers:
 Parent support and Parent training,
 Fee-based services Source: www.autism.net
 Service coordination.

15. Autism Ontario (formerly Autism Society Ontario)
 Skilled and committed volunteers organize and support parent to
parent contact
 Provides representation for ASD in boards of education, camps
and public awareness forums.
 Mission: “To ensure that each individual with ASD is provided the
means to achieve quality of life as a respected member of society.”
Source: www.autismontario.com
Source: www.autismontario.com Source:www.autismontario.com

16. Autism Ontario’s programs include:
Potential Programme:
 Designed to ensure greater access to ASD experts in communities.
 Provides community-based learning opportunities for children with
ASD.
ABACUS:
 Specializes in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) in Ontario.
 A self-searched listing of ABA providers in Ontario.
 Families who are looking at setting up their own ABA program use
this resource to locate and connect directly with providers.
Source: www.autismontario.com

17. Surrey Place Centre, Toronto
 Provides specialized clinical services that meet the needs of
individuals with developmental disabilities in Toronto region.
 Services and programs include assessment, diagnosis, one-on-one
treatment, family counseling and group support.
 Offers workshops for clients, families and caregivers
 Provides education and consultation services to community
agencies.

18. Surrey Place Centre’s services
Treatment services:
 Behavioural analysis and behaviour therapy
 Counseling
 Developmental therapy
 Medicine and nursing,
 Parent training,
 Psychology
 Speech-language pathology
Source: www.surreyplace.on.ca

19. Surrey Place Centre’s services (continued)
Clinical services:
 Children and Youth Program
 Infancy and Early Childhood Program
 Toronto Partnership for Autism Services
 Toronto Autism ABA Services
 School Support Program
Source: www.surreyplace.on.ca

20. Do2learn
 Provides a great deal of free pages with social skills and
behavioural regulation activities and guidance, learning songs and
games, communication cards, academic materials and transition
guides.
 Offers various products including View2do, JobTIPS, FACELAND,
books and apps.
Source: www.do2learn.com