Autistic Students Teaching and Training Strategies Can Enhance Special Needs Programs Dramatically
July 2, 2009
With autistic students a teacher must be able to be to adjust their program, even a special needs program, to meet the individual needs of these special children. They must understand that despite sharing a particular set of neurodevelopmental symptoms, each child with autism presents with their own set of what they deal with and their degree of ability will be different as well.
Autistic students have difficulty understanding emotional reactions. This includes the facial expressions made by their teachers. They do not understand changes in vocal tone or what this means when someone is trying to communicate with them. These are the normal methods by which children are taught but they will not work with autistic students. Not understanding what someone is trying to tell you is very stressful for both the pupil trying to assimilate the information and the teacher trying to explain something. So, if you are going to teach an autistic child you must rethink your teaching method.
One method used with some success is visual schedules. These are plans that the child can see so they know what happens next in their day. This is especially useful, as autistic students require structure and routine. Variations in routine can cause them a lot of stress. A visual schedule can help them to prepare for what is coming next. There are no surprises since all they have to do is look at their visual schedule and know what will the next event of their is.
Studies have shown that isolation is one of the worst enemies for autistic students. These same studies suggest trying to partner up an autistic child during part of their day at school. This guarantees them some social interaction, which even if they are not good at, can help them feel more comfortable at school. It makes them feel less like an outsider in the classroom.
A teacher’s aid can often be a good idea in helping an autistic child who is mainstreamed. They can provide consistency in class with ongoing one-on-one help or give the child the ability to rely on one person to help only when they need it. The need for routine makes an aid a useful tool in educating someone who likes things always the same. Especially if the child is high functioning they have a better chance of working at a similar level to their counterparts when they are mainstreamed if they have a teacher’s aid to offer a little extra help along the way.
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Sometimes autistic children can be aggressive and overreact when they cannot cope well in their classroom situation. Teachers must learn to develop some approaches to modifying this behavior so that there are no emotional explosions and the classroom can be a calming environment where the child can learn and develop.
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