Autism: Characteristics, Classrooms and Curriculum
By
Kathryn Coleman, Trustee
Ethel Kozlik is Director/Principal of the Developmental Learning Center (DLC) in New Providence, New Jersey. The Developmental Learning Center is part of the Morris Union Jointure Commission which is a cooperative public education agency providing services and programs to meet the needs of its 24 constituent school districts.
In her presentation, "Autism: Characteristics, Classrooms and Curriculum", Ethel Kozlik began by defining autism. "Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder, a lifelong disability which occurs in 1 out of 200 births, and is 4 to 5 times more common in boys." she explained. She continued by discussing pervasive developmental disorders such as Retts Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Aspergers Disorder, Autistic Disorder and the qualitative impairments in social interactions and communication.
The primary characteristics of autism are speech and language deficits, developmental discontinuity, perceptual difficulties, and bizarre motility patterns. The presentation included sections on learning styles and characteristics of students with autism and the educational needs of these students.
Ethel Kozlik discussed the diagnosis for autism, the etiology, treatments, therapies, and fads. Some of the therapeutic interventions and treatment methodologies discussed included:
Applied Behavior Analysis |
The Option Institute Method |
This interactive presentation by Ethel Kozlik was highly informative, extremely well delivered, very interesting. Add her name to your list of experts/resources in the field of autism.