Associated Learning Problems

The symptoms associated with autism contribute to a variety of learning problems that necessitate the use of different instructional approaches. The following are five common problems that may affect learning: lack of internal motivators, lack of response to social reinforcement, difficulty learning in a group, difficulty with generalization and discrimination behaviors, and interference from competing behaviors.

Lack of Internal Motivators

Motivation is an essential factor in learning. However, many children with ASD may have difficulties with motivation because of their unique characteristics. For example, their special and narrow interests may restrict their interest in a variety of experiences. Individuals may be resistant to attempt tasks that are novel, or outside of their scope of interests. Parents and professionals may need to work to engage these individuals by modifying tasks in terms of level of difficulty or complexity. On the bright side, using learners’ special interests could be the successful way to motivate these individuals.

Lack of Response to Social Reinforcement

Social reinforcement can take various forms including facial expressions, physical contact, or vocalizations. Theory of Mind difficulties in individuals with ASD may prevent them from being aware of the social reinforcement taking place around them. They may have difficulty recognizing the changes in facial expressions that neurotypical peers may find reinforcing from teachers, peers, and other adults. They may shy away from physical contact, or find it actually painful due to their sensory issues.

Parents and professionals working with these individuals need to be aware of their difficulty with social reinforcement and not rely on it as a reinforcement technique for individuals with ASD. Some individuals with ASD may need specific instruction to recognize social reinforcements, and some may never recognize any social event as being reinforcing.

Difficulty Learning in a Group

The noise and distraction that occur in group situations can interfere with learning. Students with autism may find it particularly difficult to screen out extraneous stimuli and to concentrate on the task at hand.

The complexity of a group activity may leave students unable to follow the flow of what is happening. They may follow only bits and pieces of an activity, frequently the beginning or end, and may therefore miss the full context of the activity. In such situations, children may appear to be withdrawn or noncompliant, when, in reality, they perceive the group activity as a hodge-podge that does not have a meaningful structure.

If these students are not internally motivated and are unresponsive to social reinforcement, working in a group is unlikely to be immediately reinforcing. In fact, the proximity to other students may be initially distressing to some. However, it is important, to include group work skills in classroom programming so that students learn how to function successfully in a group.

Difficulty with Generalization and Discrimination

Children with autism often learn tasks exactly as they are taught and tend to be rigid in carrying out learned skills. Frequently, they focus on nonessential elements of the task or learning situation. They may also fail to learn to discriminate subtle, or perhaps even obvious, changes in the environment that would require them to modify their behavior. For example, if they have been taught how to greet their peers using informal language (e.g., “What’s up?”) at school, they may greet their teachers using those same words. Thus, it cannot be assumed that when these students learn a particular skill in one environment, they can perform the same skill in another environment. They need to learn skills in the environments in which they will use them. For example, if they learn tooth brushing at school, some re-teaching of that skill is probably necessary at home.

Interference From Competing Behaviors

Self-stimulatory behaviors that often accompany autism, such as hand flapping or spinning objects, can be more reinforcing for the child than either the task at hand or the rewards promised for completing the task. The child's short attention span for tasks initiated by others and resistance to change in routines can also interfere with learning. For these reasons, it is important to make sure that the reinforcement for the desired behaviors is more powerful than the reinforcement for the competing behaviors.