Autism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd ) - 2528 Words

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is considered one of the most challenging symptoms to deal with. The National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke(2014) indicates that one of every eighty-eight child has ASD while boys are four times higher than girls at the same age group.. ASD is highly researched in North America, Europe, and Asia (Elsabbagh el at., 2012). Yet in the Middle East not much research on ASD has been conducted.. Being from the Middles East, this is surprising given the challenges that parents, caregivers, and teachers have to face when dealing with students who are diagnosed with ASD in the Middle East. The term Autism has been used for over one century. In the early 1900’s, the term Autism was used to refer to†¦show more content†¦This paper explores the research on the benefits of Special Interests (SI) of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how a teacher may use these special interests to help a child learn. Studies reviewed show the utilization of SI to enhance children’s: social, communications, emotional, and executive function skills. Review of literature Because of the ASD prevalence, more and more teachers have been faced with the question of how to teach children with autism particularly with the inclusion of special needs students in a regular classroom . Teaching children with autism can be very difficult because many of the behaviors associated with this disability greatly interfere with the child’s overall ability to learn (Tews, 2007). Over fifty years ago, Asperger (1991/1944) already knew that special interests are the key to fulfillment and maximized potential in children and youth with Asperger’s syndrome (AS). [1] In this section, the importance of engaging the special interests of an individual diagnosed with ASD will be highlighted throughout case study research papers that are discussed with outcomes of those case studies Special Interest Special Interest (SI) can be defined as one or more special interests that person or child can have in narrow scale. It is widely believed that one can benefit from one’s special interest by making the SI a career (Schaber, 2014).. Winter-Messiers (2007)