Monday, March 25, 2024

How To Teach Students With Autism

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Make It Functional And Focus On Comprehension

How to Teach Children with Autism : Setting up Classroom

After all that, remember that reading is only useful if it can be used and if there is comprehension. Many of our students learn to word call where they can read and say all the words, but they dont know what they mean. Again, the SLP can help with this. Many students will need additional practice on comprehension and there are many teacher-made tools out there that can be used to practice the skill. If you are looking for materials to support reading curriculum, drop me a comment or an email and Ill send you some resources.

How To Teach A Child With Autism To Read

Children with autism face many challenges, but there are plenty of tools available to help you, if you know about them. One area many children struggle with is reading.

The best way to teach your child to read is to first identify why its difficult, and then choose tools that address these areas. Our favorite overall tool is ABC Mouse, however there are many to choose from. Programs such as Reading Eggs, Hooked on Phonics or Mrs. Wordsmith are good if your child needs help identifying letter sounds, but if your child is having a harder time with comprehension you might choose ABC Mouse. If your child wont engage in reading because of limited interest in the topics, try something that offers a broader range of subjects such as Reading IQ or Highlights.

Expert Q & A: Support For Students With Asd

Parenting is challenging for anyone, but for families with autistic children, there are additional daily considerations. We asked our experts to provide some information for parents in dealing with these challenges.

Jessica Leichtweisz, founder and CEO of Hope Education Services, who is also a speaker and author in the field of autism

family coach and motivational speaker, who has worked in K-12 public education for 18 years

What are IEP goals and how are these goals created for students with autism spectrum disorder?

Lisbon: IEP goals are based on the identified area of weakness for a child. These goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented and time bound . For children on the spectrum, these goals should be based on their individual needs. For example, if a child with ASD does well academically based on information from parent and educators but struggles with emotional regulation, IEP goals may only address social and emotional concerns to assist the child in identifying his or her triggers and understanding how to emotionally regulate in a positive manner when triggered.

IEP goals should always be child-centered. It is important that teachers and parents agree that each goal should be based on current and relevant data that address the childs strengths and needs and affords the child opportunity to make adequate progress towards these goals on a yearly basis.

What services are available to support parents of ASD children?

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Strategy #: Using Rewards And Incentives

Applied behavior analysis, or ABA, is a form of therapy that is used to help children with ASD manage or eliminate problem behaviors, such as behaviors that result in self-harm or disruptions to other children. One of the most widely-used treatments for children with ASD, applied behavior analysis therapy works by using rewards and incentives to reinforce positive behaviors.

Though sometimes controversial, ABA has also been proven effective for certain children by research. For example, a peer-reviewed study published in 2020 found that long-term, comprehensive ABA-based interventions were beneficial to lifelong development of children with ASD, highlighting socialization, communication and expressive language as being potentially promising targets for ABA-based interventions.

Only individuals who meet certain educational and professional requirements can become ABA therapists. However, all teachers can implement the basic ideas of ABA, such as positive reinforcement in the classroom . To explore these topics in depth, read about how teachers can use reward systems to encourage better student engagement, or explore our Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis, which will prepare you for a career as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst .

Dont Stare If You See Someone Doing A Repetitive Motion

Teaching Children with Autism

This can be jarring at times to other children who have never seen stimming aka self-stimulating behavior before. These repetitive movements can include: jumping, spinning, twirling, finger-flicking, hand or arm flapping, rocking, head-banging, and other complex body movements.

Colleen Wildenhaus, a mother and veteran teacher of students with autism shared additional insight about how to foster acceptance: As parents, our children are always watching us. Make sure that you are modeling acceptance, understanding, and normalcy at all times when interacting or discussing children who may have atypical behaviors. When children ask questions about the way a person is behaving, it is important that parents answer with honesty and positivity. Make sure to highlight the reasons why a person with autism may have atypical behaviors and why these occur. If you are unsure, let your child know this. Spend time together learning more about autism, learning how and why behaviors occur. The more knowledge a child has, the more apt he or she is to share that information with peers, be less judgmental, and to be more accepting.

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Breaking Up A Complex Problem Statement

Children with autism spectrum disorder often have problems understanding the complex set of instructions. You would see that your child would be much more receptive if you break up a problem statement into smaller components each of which should have a unique answer. By splitting a complex problem into smaller tangible questions, your child would be able to address each question while you can help him/her organize those thoughts in the right order or priorities. Following is a great example of how you would split a mini project assignment for school:

Fig 7

As you can see, using these Autism teaching strategies can go a long way in educating your autistic child. Everyone is a unique person with their own unique ways of learning. Also, read Autism in girls Vs Autism in boys as there are fundamental differences in how girls and boys handle situations. The best thing you can do is offer these questions as suggestions to your child and they set them in motion. You have control over how they do their homework.

Music For Reviewing Learned Concepts

Music enhances learning and memory retention. Many research studies over the years have tried to explore this phenomenon and describe it better.

If you go on Youtube, youll find a massive amount of music videos that use simple songs and rhyme to help children memorize mathematical facts and basic principles.

If the child enjoys listening to childrens songs then feel free to introduce songs that teach mathematics in their daily life.

An advantage of this approach is that the child will learn unintentionally while it plays, eats, or simply enjoys their daily activities.

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What Has Youtube Announced

In a blog post, YouTube said its new policy meant videos of very young children would automatically have the comments section disabled.

The move is likely to include videos of toddlers uploaded by parents, as well as short films featuring children by established YouTube stars.

Videos of older children and teenagers will typically not have the comments disabled, unless a specific video is likely to attract predatory attention. That could include, for example, a video of a teenager doing gymnastics.

YouTube told the BBC it would use algorithms to detect which videos contained children.

Millions of hours of footage are uploaded to YouTube every day.

Examples Of Visuals To Help Teach Self

Teaching Children with Autism

1. Boardmaker pictures

  • The practitioner can use a variety of programs to make up simple communication boards.
  • If part of your professional team includes a Speech and Language Therapist , this person would be the ideal expert to learn about and experiment with communication boards.
  • As part of a multi-disciplinary team, it is important to agree on which program you use. Consistency for the child is very important and ideally, the same visual boards will be used in all settings.
  • For example, some practitioners believe that symbols should be in colour, others believe that symbols are less busy if they are in black & white.
  • Once you have decided on the symbols program to use, you can build this into a childs education.
  • Visual symbols can be used with groups or individuals.

2. Social Stories

  • A Social Story can provide a framework of information for children with autism.
  • The child can use a Social Story to find out what might happen in a specific situation and also provide some guidelines of what behaviour could be acceptable in this situation.
  • By increasing the structure in the young persons life, a reduction in anxiety is often noticed.
  • Social Stories can be very helpful in allowing kids with autism to self-regulate.

3. Emotions thermometer

4. Fast, slow, just right visual model, eg, SticKids

5. High, just right, low visual model, eg The Alert Program

7. Just Right Kids Model which combines fast, slow, just right

Also Check: Difference Between Low And High Functioning Autism

Autism And Reading Comprehension: 7 Things To Consider

Regardless of your childs abilities, there are certain things you should be aware of when it comes to autism and reading comprehension.

Nonverbal kids CAN learn to read. If you search for autism and reading in nonverbal kids on Google, you will soon learn that even if a child cannot communicate with you verbally, it doesnt mean he or she cannot learn to read. These kids often learn to use other forms of communication, such as the Picture Exchange Communication System , Dynamic Display Devices, and/or signed speech, and even if they are never able to move beyond these communication devices and develop spoken language, this doesnt preclude them from learning how to read and write. The onus is on the parent, caregiver, therapist, and/or teacher to think outside the box and find different methods of instruction that work within their learning abilities. Read to these kids, teach them sight words, and find ways for them to engage in dialogue about the stories and books you read together so they can prove to you just how much they are taking in and understanding. I think youll be pleasantly surprised!

Kids with autism struggle with figurative language. Its no secret that children with ASD are very literal in their thinking processes, so it shouldnt be a surprise to hear that these kids struggle to comprehend literature that uses figurative language. Sticking to factual reading material while teaching reading comprehension may be more effective.

Set & Explain Realistic Expectations

Most children function better when they know whats required of them and when they have the skills to meet those expectations. Children with autism are no different, especially since they can think in very literal and concrete terms.

Carefully set realistic expectations, and explain those expectations clearly to reduce autism behavior problems in the classroom.

For example, teachers may need to show students visually what they must do and use simple instructions. Have the child repeat the instructions back to the teacher, too, to ensure understanding and reduce outbursts.

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Offer Accommodations For Students With Limited Motor Skills

Some students with autism may have more trouble with activities that require fine motor skills than others. In an article with the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, renowned scientist and advocate Dr. Temple Grandin suggests offering accommodationslike typing on a computer instead of writingto mitigate these challenges.

When it comes to specific accommodations, it may depend on the individual. Its always a good idea to reach out to a students family to determine the best resources for their child.

Board Games With A Twist

Rethink Autism Tip: Teach Your Child Functional Language ...

Teaching children manners can be a helpful way to boost social skills and explain the importance of being polite. This simple, but effective activity puts an etiquette-related twist on a simple game of chess, checkers, or mancala by requiring players to wish their opponent good luck or good game before and after they have played.

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All Children With Autism Have Intellectual Disabilities

Because autism is a spectrum disorder, it comes in a broad range of symptoms and severity. In terms of how autism affects learning in school, some students may have cognitive disabilities while others might not. The best way to know for sure is to discuss their symptoms with their parents or a school specialist.

Teaching Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Tips Resources And Information On Supporting Students With Autism

Even if you dont have a child with autism in your class this year, you will probably teach one at some point. Autism is seen in around 1 in 59 children, a figure that has risen as clinicians have gotten better at recognizing autistic symptoms. Supporting children with autism can make a world of difference in their lives, which is why its important for educators to accommodate these students as needed.

Want to better understand and support students with autism at your school? Read on to learn more about what autism is, which challenges students with autism face, and a few tips and lesson ideas for helping them make the most with their education.

Also Check: Is Autism Heritable

Just Like Me Activity

For this activity, gather all of your students together on the floor so they can all see each other. Have each child take turns sharing something about themselves, like:

  • I have a pet dog.
  • I can play the piano.
  • My birthday is in September.
  • I love to play soccer.
  • My favorite color is yellow.

If a statement also applies to other students , instruct them to raise their hands. This will help remind students that they share more similarities than differences with their peers and that they can always find something to talk about.

Strategies For Teaching Math To Students With Autism

How to: Teach Language Skills to Students with Autism using ABA

Students with autism spectrum disorder are oftentimes thought of as math whizzes and superior at math compared to their peers. But in reality, if youve met one person with autism, youve met one person with autism, as a famous doctor once said.

In other words, all autistic students are unique, and while some of them excel at math, for others, math is a real struggle.

So what can you do, as a teacher or parent, to support your student in learning math? Read on to learn about some useful strategies when it comes to math for autistic students.

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Try A Smart Goal Challenge

If a student with autism is having a hard time with school, sit down with them and pick a SMART goal to work on over the next month or semester. SMART goals are an effective way to help children with autism reach their potential, and they are:

  • Specific
  • Relevant
  • Time-bound

Suppose, for example, that your student with autism is having trouble learning how to recognize emotions. You could make a goal with them to practice flash cards with emotions on them every day for five minutes and for the student to recognize each card by the end of the month. As long as the SMART goal hits all of the criteria, it can help your student focus on ways to make progress.

Remain Calm During Even The Worst Behavior

It is important to remember that children on the autism spectrum do not melt down to cause a disturbance. Rather, they melt down because all of their senses are in turmoil and its the only thing to do. As a teacher, the best thing for you to do is to remain a calming and supportive presence. The world during a meltdown is already terrifying the child doesnt need a panicking or angry teacher to add to it.

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Teaching Reading And Spelling To Children With Autism

by For All About Learning Press

Are you teaching a child with autism how to read or spell? If so, you need this post!

Children with autism often have difficulty learning to read and spell using standard methods because their brains process information in unique ways.

For example, some children with autism think in pictures instead of words. Many have problems recalling strings of words or multi-step instructions. And differentiating between certain sounds can be difficult for those with autism, which can make learning to read especially difficult.

Fortunately, our step-by-step, multisensory techniques actively engage children in the learning process and make learning to read and spell much easier.

Tips for Teaching Kids with Autism

Following are six important tips for teaching children with autism how to read and spell.

  • Provide Concrete Examples
  • Children with autism often have difficulty processing abstract ideas. Color-coded letter tiles provide concrete examples of reading and spelling concepts.

    Also, autism can make it impossible to process excessive verbal input. Demonstrating blending and segmenting using letter tiles allows the child to understand the process without being overwhelmed with long verbal explanations.

    2. Use Direct Instruction

    With direct instruction, lessons are carefully sequenced and explicit. The student is told exactly what he needs to know. Each reading and spelling lesson should include three simple steps:

    3. Focus on Incremental Lessons

    School Context: Including Students With Intellectual Disabilities

    Teaching 6 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder ...

    Special-education classroom often gathers students with various conditions they are mostly students with ASD and students with non-specific ID . When introducing an assistive technology in special-education classroom, researchers often include both populations in their field studies. For example, Mechling proposed a literature review of assistive technologies for students with ID, which also included students with ASD. Similarly to students with ASD, students with ID exhibit limited cognitive functioning as well as limited socio-adaptive behaviors , resulting in very limited social participation . However, authors reported that socio-adaptive behaviors were more limited with ASD population compared with ID population.

    Mobile assistive technologies offer opportunities to support individuals with ID in their daily life. Specifically, such tools mainly support communication and daily life activities. New technologies allowed classical paper-based pictograms used to communicate basic needs to be enriched with synthetic voices such devices are referred to as Speech-Generating Devices . A recent meta-analysis reported the relevance of SGD-based intervention to improve communication of individuals with ID . This population can also benefit from sequencing activities into successive illustrated steps . Previous reviews revealed promising results for individuals with ID to benefit from interventions based on handheld devices to improve their communication and daily life skills .

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