Learning Styles & Autism

Join Lynette and Rich as they explore an intervention model for Autism called The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach (SM). The model is designed to help you understand, respond, and help those in your world who live a life with Autism. Our goal is to help expand your thinking to better serve these amazing people, and to support you in your daily struggles and celebrations.  In this episode Lynette and Rich  discuss learning styles as they relate to Autism.  They discuss schemas and how they are formed for all, but particularly the opportunities where those on the spectrum can get stuck.  They dive back into some Gestalt Theory concepts and Theory of the Mind deficits. 

If you or someone you know could benefit from the full training for The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach (SM), you can take the course online.  Just go to https://www.thesuccessapproach.org/online-course for registration and other details.

The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach is a registered Service Mark protected under intellectual property law unless otherwise specified, all music, audio visual, and proprietary content shared in this podcast is property of AWEtism Productions, LLC and it’s sister agency Integrations Treatment Center. The use of this content is unlawful without the expressed written consent the proprietor.  

For more information about The S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Approach(sm), please go to our website at www.thesuccessapproach.org.

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Transcript

Welcome everyone to the sixth episode of CONNECT with SUCCESS, a podcast built around the The SUCCESS ApproachSM, and the person who coined it Dr. Lynette Scotese-Wojtila.
 
 In the fifth episode we introduced a synthesis of episodes one through four, where we learned about a few of the theories of The SUCCESS ApproachSM. So today we'll pick up right where we left off with yet another key concept that will help parents and professionals to understand both autism, and the The SUCCESS ApproachSM. Today's topic will bring us down to the basics as we learn about how children learn. So, Dr. Lynette, what term are we going to learn about today?

Dr. Lynette Scotese-Wojtila
Today the very important term I want to share with everybody is the word schema. 
 
 

Dr. Richard Smith
 And what is schema? 
 
 

Dr. Lynette Scotese-Wojtila 
 Schema comes from cognitive development. And it's basically a mental representation, or mental framework, for remembering and understanding information about objects or events. 
 
 Schema is sort of like a template, it's sort of like a mental representation for a set of events. So we have schemas for many things. If I say, grocery shopping, the listener will have an idea of what's involved with that. They have a schema for how they get their cart, they go up and down the aisles, they select the items they want, they walk through the checkout to purchase their items, put them in their car, go home and basically put them away and then use them. So a very complex example of schema, but it is a mental representation of all that. 
 
 

Dr. Richard Smith
 So this is another way of processing. This is association, almost. 
 
 

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 Yes, and it's different. I'm glad you said the word processing because it's different than sensory integration processing, and here's why. 
 
 As you'll remember and sensory processing content we learned that processing happens subcortically, sort of at that brainstem level, where things are very automatic. We're not thinking at all, but in this kind of process and schema development, which comes from the theory of what we call Information Processing, it is completely cerebral, up in the cortex. It's a cognitive function, and that's why that part of the brain is involved.
 
 Dr. Smith
 This imprinting of happenings around you and then how you feel about it. Actually we're hitting today. Great, well it's going be a great episode. Hang in there, folks, we're going to jump right into our message. 
 
 All right, welcome back everyone, and this is going to be a great episode as we talk about information processing, or forming schemas, around events that are happening in our lives. So do all kids develop the schema? 

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 Yes, all kids do develop schema, and that's because schemas are actually formed through experiences that get sort of encoded, or understood, and processed. So, any experience becomes the schema. So it's kind of important for us to know that because sometimes as adults, we kind of take for granted that learning happens naturally, but it doesn't for some kids and some of the kids that struggle the most with learning are kids with autism.
 
 Dr. Smith
 Maddie and I used to love to go to see Tetelestai. And she would still want to go if it wasn't for the COVID era this point in time. She just loves to go to see it, but one of the things that really stuck out to her was, they would bring the children up to the stage that were in the audience. I think they're like 10 or below, and explain to them how the crucifixion scene worked, so that they wouldn't, you know, have a negative impression, or wouldn't be scared. So I kind of think about this like, trying to set the stage for children who are trying to understand what's going on around them at that moment.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And those very responsible theatrical folks that run Tetelestai understand how kids process information, and that's evident by their proactive, intentional description of what they were about to see, but let's just kind of entertain for a moment what would happen if they didn't. Those schemas, those associations for something as intense as the Crucifixion scene, would be potentially very scary for the viewer for these children. But if you do what they did, which is bring information to the child's brain, instead of just the experience being what brings information to the child's brain, then you're preparing them. And what a powerful tool for especially teachers and parents of kids with autism, if they could just be ahead of the game and help the child be ready to take and make sense of what they're about to see or learn, the world would be a much better place for kids who are trying to learn, who happen to be on the autism spectrum.

Dr. Smth
Right. So this whole thing is natural for everyone. What does it look like for children who are on the spectrum?

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
Well I think to understand that we should probably talk a little bit about how it looks for kids who aren't. And so if you think back to our early theorists, you know Piaget, understanding a lot about assimilation accommodation -- words that teachers and psychologists know -- what happens is the brain that gets exposed to a concept, and if very, very young in development, that concept is something like cup, then the child will associate the cup with what's in the cup, which makes sense. And so, we also know, through accommodation assimilation that when information is had, like cup and what’s in it, that things can be expanded upon, so schemas can change. So one day as opposed to a cup, it might be a bottle, or it might be a tumbler cup, or it might be a wineglass. So all these different things that are vessels to carry liquid in or to drink liquid from, have sort of different names, but they all kind of serve the same function. So, our brains sort of assimilate and take in new information to build on what we originally found, or what we originally came upon. 
 
And that process is very normal, spontaneous. And it's kind of semantic, it is sort of sequential and semantic meaning that it's very much has to do with words. And so I always use this example and people who take my class, really appreciate this example because I think it makes a lot of sense. If a child who is three or four first comes to understand the concept of “trunk” in the context of an elephant. And then someday Grandma comes and takes her luggage trunk, out of the car trunk, and stays for a while, that word has new meaning. And so our children who don't have autism, or who, we would say neurotypical, sort of understanding context, that although the word is saying the same, it's still trunk. Grandma's talking about something that has nothing to do with elephants.
 
Dr. Smith
So, looking for the elephant in the room… [pun intended] …laughter
 
 

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 [Laughs] Yes, you actually have a sound effect for that! 
 
 But I feel like if we understand that, and as parents of kids who don't have autism, we can understand the natural, or automaticity, we would say the automatic nature of learning, it just happens in context. And we take that for granted. 

So when we are exposing children with autism to new terms and ideas we have to understand that they're going to kind of grab on to the first way they learn or hear something, because they don't have that flexibility of thought. 
 
So to kind of get back to your question: How do children with autism form schemas, or how are they maybe differently forming schemas? That has to do with how they encode memory. So let's talk a little bit about memory and storage because it's a brain function. 
 
Again, we're not in the brainstem, we're done with sensory integration and that automatic process. We are now in the thinking centers of the brain, in the cortex, the executive functions way up high in the cerebral cortex. And this memory process is very distinct. There are certain memories that we would say are episodic. And so that information is stored about events that are specific to an episode. Like if I say honeymoon, there's episode of a honeymoon that a married person will understand and relate to. 

And then there's more semantic memory, which are little schemas about little events or little words or little concepts. So I might say the word ring, and ring sort of has to do with the honeymoon in most situations, but we also have lots of many understandings of the word ring, different schemas ring-around-the-collar wedding ring, ring of fire, all sorts of ring, ringing on the phone, ringing in the ears, so we don't over associate the word with an episode, we understand the word has different meanings like the grandma, and the trunk and the elephant.
 
 Dr. Smith
 I just go back to when I graduated last March with my doctoral degree, and people were sending me cards and it said Dr. Smith on there. And Finn [Dr. Smith’s son] looked at the word “doctor” and I was like, yeah I just received my doctoral degree. And he goes, “Doctor, you know I've been having this pain in my back…” and I said, “No, no, no, not that kind of doctor, son, I'm a Doctor of Education, not of the body.” That is information processing. He assimilated the fact that doctor must be “medical professional.”
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 That's right. It's the same thing that a toddler will understand beautifully the concept of doggy. And then they go to the Farm Park and they see a sheep, and they say “dog.” And you might say, “Well it reminds you of a dog, you but we call it a sheep.” And that's all it takes for kids who are neurotypical. They just need to hear that new word and they can assimilate what they already understood in the past. It's like your drop-down box of things that have four legs and could be white, right, expands; and so that's the beauty of natural, normal learning.
 
 Kids with autism don't have that automaticity to their learning, and it's because of their neurology. It is because how the brain is wired. And that is why it is critical for every teacher out there, especially those who are teaching children with special needs and autism specifically, to understand that kids with autism really function more from episodic memory. They're going to memorize things as a whole and not really get the detail parts of it, per se.
 
Dr. Smith

Yes, there is this whole new push in education.  I don't know how new “new” it is, but it's definitely seen a resurgence because of COVID, it’s this whole idea of “relatable learning”-- so taking learning and relating it to practice -- to make it more meaningful for them. Something that they can then assimilate to that learning later on is a little bit like the information processing,
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 It is, and I think with a new theory, you're talking about nicely addresses that we didn't really hit very hard is, interest leads to attention and application of the thinker. And so, if you like what you're thinking about and learning about it stands to reason you're going to take in more about it, but we don't always have that luxury in the early stages of learning. You have to kind of learn what you have to learn in first grade to get to the second grade, and second grade kids to get the third grade. So, this progression just loads more and more and more concepts on us and when we struggle with the basic concepts, the more sophisticated ones that come in second, third and boy, third and fourth grade, when things become really abstract. Those are hard concepts to build, when you have a weak foundation. We don't want that foundation to be unsettled, or holey as we say. We want to fill it and make it solid, and the only way to do that for kids with autism is to make sure that they have all of those assimilations and accommodations happening, as well as possible. But that's where expert teaching comes in, you cannot teach a child with autism the same way you teach your child who does not have autism, it just doesn't work. 
 
Dr. Smith

As a parent who has a child on the spectrum, one of the things, the best way, is to pre-plan the trip. So if you're going to go to a concert, then tell them, “Here's what to expect. You're going to see lighting.  You're going to hear music and loud sounds you might not understand. Are there any other strategies that we can offer to help prep those parents with a child with information processing issues?
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And we can. It's a lot of work. In fact, I was just talking to a young couple that has a four year old who came in to get some ideas because their child is struggling behaviorally, and here's why.
 
 Schemas, when they aren't actualized, like when they're just in the kid's head, and then life evolves in a way that doesn't match that schema (doesn't match what that child has in their head) it causes them to become upset. So our kids on the spectrum have a behavioral response to a mismatch in their schema, which makes life very difficult for parents and families who live with children with autism because the smallest thing can set them off. 

I want to use a very important example that I often use in my class. In my class it's very deep and rich with more theory, and more understanding, and more terms, and a lot more, you know, hands-on application; but in the podcast, it's kind of nice to talk about the highlighted examples and what I always talk about is, birthday parties. So most two and three year olds will go to a birthday party, and they'll have a good time, they'll probably have sensory overload because that's just normal for everybody, but there's a lot to take in and a lot to enjoy.  They'll understand coming away from that event that it had to do with a birthday cake and a little boy or girl who was celebrating, probably presents, maybe some games, that sort of thing. And maybe there was a theme, let's just say it was Ninja Turtles. So if that's the normal experience, then we can say that child came away really understanding birthdays. They kind of participated in singing and maybe had a piece of cake, and all that. But when a child with autism goes to that same birthday party, they may not be taking in the same kind of information. They might have gone away with just Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And so when that episode is done, and it's stored in episodic memory. And another birthday party comes up three months from then, the child goes to that party, remembering Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But if the theme is Frozen, and there's not a turtle in sight, the child doesn't perceive that as a birthday party because there's like this steel-trap memory about Ninja Turtles. And so, that's what we call a Gestalt learning style. It's sort of children process of episodic memory, these, these episodes literally the whole episode kind of gets memorized versus the pieces parts that make it a birthday party: the cake, the presents, that sort of thing.
 
 And so that's an awful surprise to a parent who doesn't know that their child is a Gestalt learner and Gestalt meaning whole, they kind of memorize the whole, minus the tiny pieces of the whole. And they're going into this birthday party with the Frozen theme and their kid is not even stepping over the threshold off the door, and no one can understand “why” and they start to melt down, or start screaming about turtles or something. And so, people say, “What is going on? There are no turtles here. I don't see turtles. And then they start to think, did he get bit by a turtle? Was it by a fish tank?” You start to just wonder, you kind of, you know spiral yourself into what is going on, not knowing that he's having a memory, an episodic memory events of that first birthday party two and a half months ago that you won't even remember the theme from.
 
Dr. Smith

There's a disconnect that's happening because in their mind, it should be in place.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And it is neurologically wired that way. These children are not choosing this. They're not rolling out of bed at eight o'clock in the morning saying, “Today this birthday party. I'm going to make a scene and scream about turtles.” They're just not that intentional. If they were that intentional and deliberate, they wouldn't have autism, you know.
 
Dr. Smith

And I think about how triggering this is in schools, you know, if you having events like fire drills or tornado drills, or whatever the case may be rapid dismissal, or active shooter, and they're associating something negative, then, with that event if it's not prepped ahead of time.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 One of the blessings that we enjoy here at Integrations Treatment Center is being on a campus where some of that is just less likely to happen just no matter how you slice it, not a public Ed domain and it is what it is, wherever your child is we have to make the most of it; but a lot of our families say they appreciate that sort of isolated sort of “safety net” as they call it, but it nonetheless we still practice with our children because that is responsible. And there may be a tornado that affects everybody, you know, that doesn't matter where you are -- if it's come through, if it's coming through your area, it’s coming through your area. So we do have to have some of these experiences, and try to give them a proactive plan to stay calm and follow, so that they can get through whatever is expected of them, because it is out of the ordinary, it doesn't match their schema for what school is all about.
 
Dr. Smith

Right, and I hear administrators now, and teachers now, that when they do have these types of drills that are scheduled will tell the student: here is what you're going to hear.  Here is what you do, here's what we're going to see as we're going through this drill just to kind of prep them a little bit, but it's still a little jarring for him.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And that jarring is sort of a natural response for everybody, everyone's kind of hyped a little bit; but children with autism are excessively hyped, and usually, you know, kind of water over the dam -- like it's just flooding up the gates, I should say, because you can't pull them back if they're that surprised because they are in what we learned in the Readiness Lecture, they're in “fight, flight, freeze” and those are very autonomic (meaning automatic) the autonomic nervous system kicks in for that fight, flight, freeze, and there's this reptilian sort of response where they, they can't cope because they are not able to think they're not able to use their cortex, whereas everyone else is problem solving, they're still hyped, but they're able to engage that cortex and our kids just are cut off from it, literally.
 
Dr. Smith
Wow, so in talking about this, since it's something that we should all know, working on some of these goals with our students, is this something that every teacher, every person who is in a profession should know. 
 
Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
It is. Gestalt learning style, again, a very valid learning style just like semantic learning and sequential learning like we've talked about. It's very valid, but a lot of families tell me that when they came to know The SUCCESS ApproachSM was the first and only time they've ever even heard the term Gestalt learning style, and actually many professionals have told us that as well. So I can't speak to that. All I know is, you know how we operate here, and how we cross train and role release to all of our professionals and aides here. It is part of our class and we do teach it and every parent and professional who takes the class has that advantage. But I think that, you know, I think parents really should ask that question, you know, “How are you familiar with Gestalt learning style? This is my child's learning style, so what's your experience with teaching to it?”
 
Dr. Smith

I can speak from experience because this is a whole track has developed a Gestalt with this system and you don't have to be “in person.” We've got the amazing online training now that people can go to if you go to our website. We'll put it in the show notes. You can take the course in your time and really learn and develop. Anyone who is in education really shouldn't be taking the time to look at this online course for your own developments, for your own lesson planning, for your own prowess and working with the students who have diverse learning.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And I think parents shouldn't be intimidated by the theory part, either. In fact I know no parents and professionals who have taken it together on behalf of the same child and oh my goodness. Are those little teams really dynamic. Little dynamos, with new things coming out for the kids new activities new materials, everyone's on the same page and guess what's getting better, faster? So it's just not rocket science to kind of collaborate and do what's best for the child, but to do it across settings so the teacher can do at school. Parents can do it at home, grandparents are doing it on the weekend and, however, whoever is involved with their child's life. If you understand how schemas form and how your child learns, and some of these tricks of the trade for autism at least, to try to help schemas be more stretched, or more generalized, these kids get better faster -- and that's what it's all about.
 
 Dr. Smith
 What are some of the other ways that you've seen or practice prepping children with these schemas?
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 One way that we try to help our kids to understand concepts like opposites, is to not teach them at the same time. It sounds kind of silly, like well how can you not teach them at the same time if you're trying to show an opposite? You know, you have to kind of show what it isn't. And I feel that that's confusing for kids with autism. They have to understand sort of one thing at a time, but then slowly get, or quickly get, experience with how to apply that many places. So there's a thing called generalization. Generalization happens naturally. It's when we apply knowledge out of the context when we first learned it basically. And I think one of the things that happens with our kids is they may in one context, depending on what intervention they're getting, they may look like they know something, and then as soon as they leave that environment, they can't apply it. And that happens a lot with these kids. Not at Integrated Treatment Center, certainly not with anybody using the The SUCCESS ApproachSM, because The SUCCESS ApproachSM takes care of that by teaching in generalization ways. So what that means is if we're going to talk about a trunk, we're going to help the child know the first time they hear “trunk” that there's different kinds of trunks. That's how you do it. You help them know up front that, “Today when I say trunk I'm thinking about elephant, but sometimes we say trunk on the body, I'm going to twist my trunk, bend, bend, bens, bend my trunk. Let's open a suitcase, let's open that trunk. Giving them lots of synonyms, so to speak, in context so that we have that expansion. Now that is exhausting. 

Dr. Smith
 Yeah, if you're trying to prep for every possible scenario.

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 Exactly, Rich, that's the problem and it's very, very intentional the way we do it in The SUCCESS ApproachSM, it's built into the curriculum, it’s built into our conversation, into the activities. So the kids understand that proactively and parents, you know who catch on to this, are naturally good at it, and will do that, you know, in the store when there's a can, a can of beans, a can of pop, a can of this or that. So that they know that cans have different terms and different ideas, I should say, or what's in them is different, so the more you understand how a Gestalt learner, which again children with autism tend to be Gestalt learners. They see the whole and not necessarily pay attention to the pieces parts that make the whole (like the birthday theme) the more you can help them understand holistically and then generalize what they know when things are a little different, out of their original context.
 
 Dr. Smith

And that's impressive. You’re right, it is exhausting at that point. So what are some of the takeaways that we can layer on from Episode Three where you talked about sense making?
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 In sense making from Episode Three was about the Gestalt theory, how we make contact with ideas, and therefore we have since make them because we've experienced that item or that concept the way it was intended to be experienced. But in this case, schema, by way of information processing theory, is more of a cognitive process of learning. And sense making is tied to learning so there is a parallel. I think the Gestalt theory helps us know more about “readiness for learning” and making contact, joining a child who's unready to make contact with a concept or thing. Whereas information theory is more about helping the child to understand what something is and what something isn't. It's more cerebral, than it is readiness and movement to making contact with life. 
 
 Dr. Smith
 More of a cognitive process.

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 Exactly, like Piaget has talked about it for forever. That it is very methodical, very linear. A one year old will know something very different than a three year old who will know something very different than a five year old. It's very linear, and I want parents to remember that, because just like you have to stand before you walk, you have to understand certain things like up and down before you can be chosen on a soccer team. It just doesn't work that way to have skills before readiness and developmental experiences there. And so, we can do something about that through play, so let's just revisit quickly and we have lots to talk about, and our developmental theory coming down the road. 
 
 Right now if people understand that play could be a great way to set schema, then that's a great takeaway. You can play with your child. So even if they are a Gestalt learner, through play, you can help them learn the concepts of up and down and left and right and all sorts of things that can come to life by using everyday fun things vehicles and airplanes, trains and the train going up, the train going down, the train stopping. Like all these concepts that we just expect kids to know can really be brought to light through play, not necessarily worksheets and drills.
 
 Dr. Smith

So we've talked a lot about generalizations and relatability and the ability to process the two. How does a student or a child with autism, relate to perspective making or understanding where someone else is coming from. 
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 Well, that's a big, big struggle with our kids. Well, the idea of perspective taking involves what we call “theory of mind” and theory of mind is pretty well researched. It's been in the literature a while. In fact, I can read something from my class that might be helpful for the audience from Premac and Woodruff 
 
 “Theory of mind is the ability to attribute mental states, beliefs, intense, desires, pretending, knowledge, etc, to oneself and others, and to understand that others have beliefs, desires and intentions that are different from one's own.” 
 
 That means that I have a brain. I know how I think and feel. You have a brain, you must think and feel too, and that's okay if it's different.

Dr. Smith
 That's a big struggle.
 
 

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila

Big struggle, and it's because they don't have Theory of Mind, Rich, they don't know that someone else's brain is in charge of the way that person thinks. All they know is their perspective. Their schema for life is their schema for life, they don't know that other people have other schemas, and other ideas, so it makes it very difficult to do things like have a conversation, because if they want to talk about license plates, or state capitals, and the person they're talking to is bored to tears, that doesn't allow for very good engagement with those two human beings. And so it becomes almost a social problem because no one wants to talk to the kid who only wants to talk about license plates.
 
 Dr. Smith
 And think about the struggle that, if someone who's not on the spectrum, and we struggled with that as a society in general with the onset of everything, and then someone who's trying to process all of that on top of it.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And so theory of mind is an important thing to not take for granted. And so what we can do, because we're oftentimes afraid of hurting someone's feelings, especially for a child with autism, one of the best things we can do is help them know that their idea is different from your idea and it doesn't have to be mean. We do this every day in The SUCCESS ApproachSM. 
 
It is very simple. I can even give you an example, if a child is working on coloring, for one of their IEP goals. And we're introducing the crayons, and the material to color, and we ask them for color and the purple crayon reminds them of Barney, or something, and they start talking about Barney, and then start talking about BJ his little sidekick. We might very simply say if this conversation starts to kind of spiral, and the child's talking more and more about something that's not present. We may say something as simple as “You're thinking about Barney. I'm thinking about coloring. Let's try coloring.” 

Just validate what they're thinking about, and help them know what you're thinking about to try to get them back in contact with -- this is where the Gestalt cycle of experience ties with information processing -- bring them back to the here and now, present-centered focus through the validation technique of “you’re thinking about this, but I'm thinking about that” and “that” is right here, “Here's your purple crayon, and your paper. Let's color, and if they don't, you can start to color for them, with them, and they'll join you. That's more Gestalt than information processing, but that child got off track because information processing was at play, and that Gestalt learning style, that schema that association for purple, triggered a distant recollection, you might say an old memory, that we can't see Barney right there, but we sure can see purple. And there's nothing wrong with associations, unless they stop you from doing what you're supposed to do, right,
 
Dr. Smith
And I think the beauty of that is the acknowledgement part. It's not so much that you've identified that they're not on task or that they are having a behavior issue, but you have acknowledged what's causing them to be stuck, right, to draw them back in.
 
Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
Right, well there's actually some technologies that people make use of in autism where, that's actually :
 
“Stop”  
“No” 
“Finish”  
“No”  
 
 

They're actually shut down a little bit there, instead of being joined, you know. Like I just said there's nothing wrong with associations, I have them all day long, but they don't derail me. Or if I do, I will say “Before I go on I’ve got to tell you this joke I heard.” And then I'll out with it, you'll validate it, we'll laugh and then we'll get back to task. I can do that sophisticated mental work. Tell you I'm going to take us off task, bring you on my journey of that humorous joke, and then come back to task. These kids can't do that because the purple crayon is all they need. 
 
 Dr. Smith
 And proof of that is if I ever released the outtakes of the podcast, I mean we're laughing all the time! 
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 For sure, but that's not for everyone to hear. But these kids that are at, you know, distracted by their internal thoughts and having schemas and associations, they're legit real true learners. They really are, but they learn differently and so every special Ed teacher, at least dealing with autism, really should specialize in Gestalt learning style and Gestalt teaching, because that's where these kids really need that individualized plan for lessons. And if they don't get it, it's really very limited way that they can progress in their academic areas.
 
 Dr. Smith
 Well, and you’re right, because the whole idea of the individual education plan is to differentiate it for those students need to learn differently, and that's not necessarily what's happening because we take those IEP goals, and then we tend to try to pull them in where we can to our general lessons for the class, and I think that's where we fall a little short in professional education trying to assimilate everyone into one classroom.

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 I wouldn't agree.
 
 Dr. Smith
 Wow, there was a lot to process with information.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 And that is so “tip of the iceberg.”
 
 Dr. Smith
 Right, well hang on guys. We're going to listen to Dr. Lynette's challenge for you for this week.
 
 Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
 So the challenge for today, I would like our listeners to try their best to understand how your child learns and processes information. And try to answer the question: “What kind of learner are they? Are they a sequential learner? Are they a Gestalt learner? And try to teach to that learning style, and ask others to do the same.
 
 Dr. Smith
 So as we begin to close out this episode on information processing, I just want to remind our listeners that the biggest tip I can offer is to be intentional in helping your child process what may be coming as much as possible. It's a lot of extra work, but my wife and I are having a lot of conversations as of late, nightly, about how we're preparing our oldest for the next steps and how to address college readiness as part of that as well. And just adding that to the list of preparations and things to do and the intentionality is key to help make connections for your child with autism.

Dr. Smith
So Lynette, what are some of the other key takeaways from today's episode.

Dr. Scotese-Wojtila
Well I think first and foremost, we all want to respect the fact that people learn differently. They have different ways of coming to the same kind of knowledge, and that's okay. We should also remember that schemas are natural and normal how they form through experiences, and that both good and bad experiences can result in schema development, so be careful about what we're introducing the kids to. It is just as easy to learn the wrong thing, as it is to learn the right thing, especially for kids with autism.

Another important thing for children on the spectrum is to help them know what is salient about a topic or an event. If they can't make sense of something as it is, help them know what is salient about it, like the birthday party idea.  Make sure they go away knowing that a birthday party is really about a couple things: a kid is getting a year older, a birthday cake, and probably a song – that’s about what birthday parties are all about. So they come away with the right information. Help your child to take perspective, by letting them know that you have ideas too and it's okay if your ideas are different from theirs.

 Dr. Lynette Scotese-Wojtila

We hope that you learned something today to help you on your journey with autism. We'll share more on our next Connect with Success Podcast. Until then, expect success!

 Dr. Richard Smith

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