Teach Autistic Children

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex and multi-layered neurological disorder that manifests differently from person to person. This creates a challenge when determining how to teach autistic children. Although each child is an individual who responds to teaching methods differently, there are a few strategies that are generally applied to help autistic children succeed in educational goals. These strategies build on the characteristics of autism, including differences in communication, social skills, behavior, and sensory issues.

Steps

Using Strategies to Help with Communication

1. Assume that all children are competent. All autistic children are capable of learning. They simply need to find a strategy for proper information absorption.
   • Learn to accept that autistic children may always have differences, and should not be evaluated on the same basis as their neurotypical classmates. Autistic children should be evaluated in relation to their own grown and learning over time.
2. Avoid long verbal commands or lectures. These can be confusing, as autistic children often have trouble processing sequences, particularly spoken ones.
   • If the child can read, write down the instructions. If the child is still learning, written instructions with pictures might help.
   • Give instructions in small steps.
3. Use closed captions on a television. This can help both those who can and cannot yet read.
   • Children who cannot read yet will associate printed words with spoken words. Furthermore, autistic children sometimes have difficulty processing spoken words, especially those from TVs, and children who can read may benefit from being able to see the words as well as hear them.
   • If a child has a favorite television show, record the show with the closed captions and incorporate the show as part of the reading lesson.

Using Strategies to Help with Social and Behavioral Issues

1. Use special interests to facilitate the learning process. Many autistic children fixate on their special interests, and this passion can be used as an advantage when teaching.
   • For example, if a child loves cars, use toy cars to teach geography on a map by "driving" the car to different states.
2. Teach autistic children through peer modeling. Many autistic children have difficulties being attuned to emotion, motivations, and other social cues that are instinctive among non-autistic children. They care about others' feelings, but don't always understand why people feel how they do. Explicitly and clearly explaining social nuances can be helpful.
   • Many autistic children are capable of learning how to interact appropriately. They may simply need to be told techniques explicitly, instead of picking them up only through observation.
   • Very young children in preschool and kindergarten can learn simple tasks like color discrimination, letter discrimination, or answering "yes" or "no" to simple questions by observing their neurotypical peers engaging in these tasks. During centers or group work, consider pairing an autistic child who struggles in a certain area with a neurotypical child who excels in that area. For instance, if an autistic student struggles with color discrimination, pair that child with a neurotypical child who excels in color discrimination. By observing a peer perform the task correctly, an autistic child can learn to mimic the targeted behavior.
   • Neurotypical children who are first grade through high school and who exhibit developmentally appropriate social skills can be trained to serve as peer models for their autistic classmates, modeling social skills for interaction such as eye contact, pleasant greetings, sharing ideas, recommending changes nicely, and talking in a pleasant voice, among other things.
3. Read stories to show proper behavior in different situations. For example, read a story about a child who is sad and point out a frown or tears as examples of sadness to help an autistic child learn how to pick up on emotions. The child can learn by memorization.
   • Some autistic children benefit from a technique known as Use Social Stories, very brief narratives that describe social situations. These stories help them by providing behaviors to model in various situations.
4. Create a predictable schedule. Many autistic children thrive on a predictable schedule, so giving them the security to know what to expect each day is beneficial.
   • Place a clearly-visible analog clock on the wall and tape images that represent the day's activities and the times they occur. Refer to this clock while mentioning the time that activities are to take place. If the child has difficulty reading analog clocks (as a lot of autistic children do), invest in a digital clock that is equally visible.
   • Picture schedules are also useful.

Using Strategies to Help with Sensory Issues

1. Delineate the teaching space. This is crucial as autistic children often have trouble coping with different environments or chaotic spaces.
   • Construct your teaching area with separate and defined stations such as toys, crafts, and dress up.
   • Place physical indications of defined areas on the floor, such as mats for each child to play upon, a taped square outline for a reading area, etc.
2. Observe the child's self-created framework for learning. In some cases this will involve particular objects, behaviors, or rituals that support learning or memory. This can vary by child.
   • Do they need to walk to list the alphabet? Does holding a blanket help them to read aloud? Whatever it may be, allow the children to learn within their own framework.
3. Accept stimming. "Stimming" is a term that refers to self-stimulatory behavior such as flapping hands or fidgeting, frequently observed among autistic people.
   • Stimming is crucial to autistic children's concentration and sense of well-being.
   • Teach the child's peers to be respectful of stimming, rather than teaching the autistic child to suppress it.
   • Occasionally, an autistic will seek stimulation from biting, hitting, or otherwise harming themselves or others. In this case, it is best to speak with the special education coordinator to figure out how to help the child use a replacement stim that does not cause harm.
4. Understand that if an autistic child is reacting to a stimulus in a way in which you or their peers may find odd, it is probably for a reason. For example, if a child panics every time someone touches their head, it may be because it is painful to them (many autistic individuals have a low pain threshold).
   • You may want to explain to other class members that the autistic student is not reacting just to make others laugh, and that they do not like whatever the stimulus is. Autistic children are often bullied unintentionally, as neurotypical children can find their reactions amusing, and do not understand when something is negatively affecting an autistic student.

Understanding the Law and Best Practices

1. Understand that every child has the right to an education, regardless of disability status. In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, enacted in 1975) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (enacted in 1990) are federal laws that require public schools to provide a free and accessible education for all individuals.
   • The laws cover children who meet eligibility requirements in one of thirteen areas, whose disability negatively affects his or her educational performance, and who requires special educational services as a result of their disability. Autism spectrum disorder is a qualifying diagnosis.
   • Not only must the state provide a free education for all individuals, but that education must meet his or her unique individual needs, which can differ from neurotypical children (that is, children who do not have a neurological diagnosis such as ASD).
   • Every child who qualifies for special education services must have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), which specifies what accommodations a student requires because of his or her diagnosis.
   • Reasonable accommodations for a child receiving special educational services can vary widely. Some students may only need extra time to take tests or assistive technology like a laptop, while others may require a paraprofessional, small group instruction, or curriculum modification.
2. Respect your student's privacy through confidentiality. It is a teacher's responsibility to accommodate a student's IEP without singling out the child or disclosing his or her diagnosis to the rest of the class without permission.
   • Students with special needs often have medical diagnoses, treatment plans, and medications included in their educational records, which are all protected under their right to privacy under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This makes you legally liable if you disclose their private information without the consent of their parents.
   • Generally, the student's right to privacy is limited by a "need to know" basis. Faculty and staff (coaches, playground monitors, cafeteria staff, etc.) might need to know about an autistic child's condition in order to understand their communication skills, limitations, fixations, outbursts, or other manifestations of their condition.
   • If you are unsure about your district's confidentiality procedures, talk with the district special education coordinator. Consider arranging a topical workshop for teachers to learn about these procedures.
   • If you need to initiate a class- or school-wide policy to protect the interests of a child with special needs (for instance, instituting a peanut-free policy at a school where a child is allergic), notify the families of the policy and indicate that it is to protect a student with a special need. However, do not mention the affected child by name.
   • Autistic students and their classmates all benefit if the other students understand an autistic classmate's diagnosis, but for privacy reasons the teacher cannot disclose that diagnosis to the class. Many proactive parents will take it upon themselves to discuss their child's autism with the class; plan a meeting with the parents early in the school year to let them know that your classroom doors are open to them if they want to do this.
3. Support a "least restrictive environment." IDEA mandates that students with disabilities are entitled to the "least restrictive environment" in education, which means their learning environment should be as similar to their non-disabled peers as possible.
   • The least restrictive environment for a given student will vary, and is determined and written into the IEP by a team of people including the parents, medical team, and the school district's special education department. The IEP will generally be re-evaluated annually, which means the least restrictive environment for a given student may change.
   • In many cases, this means that autistic children should be educated in regular classrooms rather than in a special education classroom. This can vary depending on the student's diagnosis and IEP, but in general, autistic students are placed in regular classrooms as much as possible. This practice is called "mainstreaming" or "inclusion".
   • In these situations, it is the responsibility of the teacher to make accommodations in the classroom for autistic children. Many of these accommodations will be specified on the student's IEP. But educated teachers can also adapt their teaching strategies in ways that will support the learning processes unique to autism, while simultaneously respecting the learning needs of the remaining neurotypical students.
4. Evaluate approaches and interventions on an individualized basis. In addition to a student's IEP, adaptations that are made for autistic students should be evaluated and implemented based on the individual student's needs.
   • Get to know the student as an individual. While stereotypes are common, every autistic person is unique, and will have different needs. As a teacher, you must become aware of each student's ability in each discrete educational area by assessing their current standing.
   • Knowing a student's current strengths and weaknesses will help you develop a plan to develop practical interventions. This is true in academic subject areas, as well as social and communication skills.

Tips

• Avoid touching autistic children suddenly. Touch can be extremely irritating or even painful for some autistic children. If the child has extreme hypersensitivity to touch, only touch them if it absolutely necessary (i.e. meltdowns where they're hurting themselves or others, medical emergency, etc.)
• Try to use fun and creative ways to teach the child. For more information you can get these books:
  • (For you) 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching & Raising Children with Autism or Asperger's. By: Ellen Notbohm, and Veronica Zysk. Foreword by (an Autistic person herself) Temple Grandin, Ph.D
  • (For children) Everybody is Different Written and Illustrated by Fiona Bleach.
• Do not yell at the child. Autistic kids often have hypersensitive hearing, and loud noises can cause physical pain and sensory overload.
• Autistic children are strongly sensitive to the sense of hugs, as to they can lead to meltdowns, screaming, self-harm, etc.

Warnings

• Always consult with the child's therapist or specialist if there are any concerns about teaching methods.

Related Articles

• Teach an Autistic College Student
• Reduce Sensory Overload
• Choose AAC for an Autistic Person
• Use Calming Techniques to Help Autistic People
• Understand an Autistic Person's Needs
• Handle an Autistic Child's Behavior
• Calm Down an Autistic Person
• Make a Calming Down Corner
• Teach Math Facts to an Autistic Child
• Help Autistic Children Deal with Transitions

Sources and Citations

• http://autism.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Teach_Autistic_Children
• http://www.autism.com/ind_teaching_tips.asp

See also

• Choose AAC for an Autistic Person
• Work with Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems
• Assist Teachers to Include Students with Special Needs
• Teach a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Student
• Discipline an Autistic Child
• Help Autistic Children with Echolalia
• Reduce Meltdowns and Tantrums in Autistic Children
• Be a Special Education Teacher in California
• Teach Autistic Children to Swim
• Teach a Dyslexic Child

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