Acording to Taylor et al. (2014), there are various characteristics of students who have autism spectrum disorders. Those characteristics include difficulty in social interactions, no eye contact, communication struggles both verbal and nonverbal, behaviors that are repetitive, and high tolerance for pain. To teach these students and integrate them into the classroom there needs to be modifications, ways for them to communicate, eliminate triggers that can encourage bad behaviors, social skills, various skills, include family, skills used in adulthood, their own curriculum, services such as applied behavior analysis, and instruction that is direct. In their environment there are considerations that should be put in place. Those considerations are routine, structure, choices, organization, transitions, visuals, and group work. Technology considerations include alternative communication, Picture Exchange Systems, and communication aids (Taylor et al., 2014).
Understanding the characteristics and/or causes of a student’s disability helps a teacher integrate them into the classroom. This is because they are able to understand how they learn and function and can cater to that. The benefits of the approaches mentioned are the focus on skills when the students are not academically focused, various learning methods, and integration of the students. The limitations to the approaches mentioned include the reliance on technology, environmental considerations when all students are different, and the lack of access to resources and services needed.
