Your Child and Autism

Autism And Instruction Methods That Work Best In School

Autism and instruction strategies in children must be individualized in order to gain the greatest degree of success. Children with autism frequently struggle to learn at the same rate as non-autistic children, and therefore very specific modifications must be made for autism and instruction methods to cater to the autistic children?s unique needs.

The following list includes autism instruction strategies that have been known to help autistic children in the classroom. These are only broad descriptions as any practiced strategies must be child-specific, depending on the individual?s needs, symptoms, and strengths.

1. Autistic children tend to be visual learners. Therefore, a visual structure to the overall learning environment should be carefully designed in order to allow the child to clearly see and comprehend expectations of him or her. This should include clearly defined workstations and other basic elements of the classroom. Visual schedules are also an important part of the classroom?s visual structure, as they allow the autistic child to benefit from a predictable routine where the expectations are laid out specifically in a visual way. This minimizes unexpected occurrences and allows students to anticipate and prepare for transitions in their day.

2. Stimulation in the classroom ? especially visual and auditory ? should be carefully considered and controlled, whenever possible. Many autistic students can be easily over-stimulated by visual and auditory input and may have a challenging time processing their lessons should they be distracted or overwhelmed by sounds, lights, or images that cannot be properly managed. Workstations should be set away from any excessive auditory and visual stimulation (especially sounds, movements, and any flickering or bright lights) to allow for optimal concentration and learning.

3. Many autistic children struggle with ? or have yet to develop ? communication skills, especially with regards to expressive communication skills. Instruction for non-verbal students may also be required. An augmentative communication system (methods or devices to aid communication) can be greatly beneficial to autistic students of all communication levels. This could include strategies such as PECS (picture exchange communication system), where picture cards are used to express words for objects, feelings, concepts, places, and other areas where words would typically be helpful.

4. Instruction of social skills has typically been among the more challenging aspects of the curriculum. Overall, it is best to teach social skills very directly. Autistic students will not normally develop social skills through simple interaction within social environments. Instead, they must learn their social interaction skills in the same way that other academic topics and skills are taught.

5. A high priority should be placed on instruction of literacy. The reason for this is that many autistic students often depend on one form of communication for another, even if they are capable of communicating verbally. Frequently, a kind of back-up form of expressive communication is required especially for when the child is feeling upset or overwhelmed. Though PECS is effective, with literacy in the student, communication ? even non-verbal communication ? can occur at a might higher level, as it opens up a greater vocabulary for expression.

Autism and instruction strategies are exceptionally unique. Before beginning to work with an autistic child, it is important to be aware of the individual needs of that child, and the characteristics of autism exhibited by that child. Instructors and other school staff working with the child should be provided with training about at least the basic features of autism. Every member of the team working with the child should understand the child?s needs as well as teaching strategies such as those listed above, so that they may maximize the child?s potential for successful learning.

Grab your free copy of Rachel Evans' brand new Autism Newsletter - Overflowing with easy to implement methods to help you and your family find out about the most appropriate Autism and instruction methods.

MORE ARTICLES:

Autism Behaviour in Childrens
Autism is a developmental disorder and the specific cause for autism is not known. It is believed that some biochemical imbalance would have caused autism and some believe that it is a psychological disorder.

Exceptional Risk Advisors, LLC Releases Disability Income Limits To $150,000/Month For Physicians, Surgeons, & Specialists.
Exceptional Risk Advisors, LLC announces the launch of "Physician's Edge365", providing Physicians and Surgeons with increased disability income protection limits to $150,000 per month, filling a deep market void.

BloomingKids Software Releases Eight More Educational Programs for Children with Autism/PDD and Special Needs
Blooming Kids Software (BloomingKids), a company that creates computer programs designed to teach children who have Autism, PDD and other needs requiring early intervention, has created eight additional educational programs. These programs were made in response to requests from parents and educators who asked BloomingKids to extend their product line in particular directions.

How to Live with Autism  Some Measures to Cope Up with Autism
Autism can be defined as a brain development disorder. The disorder tends to impair social interaction & communication of the individual. It also causes restricted & repetitive behavior. Unfortunately, the disorder traits starts even before the child is three years old.

Autism And Society
Almost everyone knows something about Autism, heard the name or read something about its symptoms, but the true fact if the matter is that autism is not known and that it is kept only for the friends and families of those how are and have been affected by this condition.

DailyStrength Provides Support, Advice for Caregivers of Those Affected by Autism
As April marks National Autism Awareness Montha nationwide effort addressing the continued need to improve the lives of those affected by autisma range of new online resources has become available for people looking for support and help. DailyStrength is one such resource, a health-focused social networking site that serves as a home for support for families and caregivers of individuals with autismpart of more than 600 communities that provide real help and support for a broad range of health, social and personal issues. In DailyStrength's popular Autism/Autism Spectrum support community, parents and caregivers discuss their challenges and successes in caring for autistic kids, share advice, and report on the effectiveness of therapies.

Disability Insurance As An Income
Financial experts confirm that a solid income foundation includes disability income insurance. This strategy comes from the obvious need to protect your future income and yourself in case of an accident or death. During your working career the chances of getting injured are something to take notice of.

Autism, Learning Disabilities and ADHD Experts Convene at the Help Group Summit
Two-day seminar for professionals and parents to present cutting edge information in research and best practices.

Pregnancy Disability Insurance ? Protect Your Income For a Truly Safe Pregnancy
Missing work during and after pregnancy has become a common occurrence According to a 2002 study, 29% of short term disabilities (180 days or less) and 12% of long-term disabilities are due to pregnancy

Autism Expert, Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen to Present at the Help Group's Distinguished Lecturer Series
The Help Group is pleased to announce that Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, Professor of Developmental Psychopathalogy at Cambridge University, a Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge and Director of the Autism Research Centre (ARC) in Cambridge will be the first speaker in its 2008 Distinguished Lecturer Series. Dr. Baron-Cohen is scheduled to present, Empathy and Systemizing in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Relevance for Education on Monday, January 14 from 2:00 to 4:00pm at The Help Group's Sherman Oaks, CA Campus.