How to teach kids with autism

Rosemary Gavin would like people to imagine what it would be like if hearing organ music caused excruciating pain in their ears or if shaking hands sparked a needles-and-pin sensation.

Those problems are real for the approximately 1.5 million Americans who live with Autism Spectrum Disorders, she said.

The youth minister at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Latham will discuss the challenges and joys or ministering to such people during her Spring Enrichment workshop, "Normal is a Setting on Your Dryer: All Kids are 'Special.'"

Sensitivities

While it may be difficult to imagine music or touch causing pain, those sensations are common in individuals with autism, Mrs. Gavin said.

According to the Autism Society of America, "For most of us, the integration of our senses helps us to understand what we are experiencing. For example, our sense of touch, smell and taste work together in the experience of eating a ripe peach: the feel of the peach's skin, its sweet smell, and the juices running down your face.

"For children with autism, the fuzz on the peach may actually be experienced as painful and the smell may make the child gag. Some children with autism are particularly sensitive to sound, finding even the most ordinary daily noises painful."

Foreign country

In addition, people with autism often have a difficult time understanding what Mrs. Gavin called "the hidden curriculum" -- the rules that govern social interaction.

"For a person with autism, every day is like being in a country where you don't speak the language," she said.

That's a problem in many settings, but it can be particularly problematic in a religious education setting, where catechists are volunteers and aren't trained in working with people with disabilities.

Lessons

Mrs. Gavin hopes that participants in her workshop will learn how to minister to families living with autism.

At times, some simple tweaking of a faith formation program is all that is needed to allow a child to participate in religious education, she said. For example a child who doesn't do well in a large-group setting may blossom in a smaller group.

In addition to offering practical tips for catechists, she hopes to give parents of children with developmental disabilities some hope.

(Two of Mrs. Gavin's three sons have Asperger's Syndrome, one of five pervasive developmental disorders that make up the autism spectrum. When her oldest son was diagnosed with autism, Mrs. Gavin was told to look for a vocational school for him. Later, she was told he might someday attend a junior college. He is now finishing a four-year degree in English and drama at The College of Saint Rose in Albany.)  

(05/01/08) [[In-content Ad]]