These strategies can also help with building social skills for autistic teenagers and conversation skills for autistic teenagers. We need a range of high-level skills and abilities to do daily tasks like working cooperatively with others and prioritising things. These skills include:. Autistic children often develop these high-level skills at different rates from typically developing children. For example, a child might know they have to summarise a news story for geography homework, but have difficulty working out how to get started, or they might have maths and English homework and have difficulty prioritising which one to do first, or they might have difficulty coping when they make a mistake.
Some autistic children need to work hard on learning and developing these skills right into adulthood. Difficulties with high-level skills and abilities can sometimes lead to challenging behaviour. Social stories , visual timetables and other strategies can help you with managing challenging behaviour in autistic children and teenagers. Autistic children often have strengths in noticing details and patterns. For example, some autistic children might learn letters, numbers and shapes more easily than typically developing children.
And some autistic children might notice things that other children might not notice. They might notice a lot of details in a situation, but not be able to put that information together to figure out what it all means. Skip to content Skip to navigation. No one knows exactly what causes it. It probably has something to do with a kid's genes and other things that change the way the brain develops.
Doctors check babies and little kids for signs of autism at every checkup. A parent may think that something is wrong and tell the doctor. Maybe the child is old enough to speak but doesn't. Or a kid doesn't seem interested in people or plays in unusual ways. When a doctor thinks a kid might have autism, he or she will work with a team of experts to see if it is autism or something else. There is no cure for autism, but treatment can make a big difference.
The younger kids are when they start treatment, the better. Doctors, therapists, and special education teachers can help kids learn to talk, play, and learn. Therapists also help kids learn about making friends, taking turns, and getting along. A mother whose child has autism has created a how-to on creating your own calm-down cards at And Next Comes L. Each card has a helpful idea for calming down after a stressful moment. Plus, the author notes they can also be useful for children with anxiety—a great resource for your classroom to have.
Mindfulness is a technique that encourages children to keep their mind in the present and deal with uncomfortable emotions. If your student is struggling to calm down, try watching this mindful breathing video to help them regain composure. In some cases, the learning characteristics of students with autism may differ from the rest of your class. But luckily, the right teaching strategies and methods can keep children with autism on track to finish the school year strong. Try these tips, educational accommodations, and resources for students with autism to help them learn concepts that might otherwise be difficult for them to grasp.
Many children with autism have a fixation on certain topics or activities. If a child with autism loves outer space, for example, you could plan a math assignment about counting the planets in our Solar System. Renowned scientist and autism advocate Dr.
I think in pictures. Words are like a second language to me. For this reason, lessons that engage several senses like sight, hearing, and touch can make students with autism more responsive in class. You could, for example, teach children with autism how to read with magnet letters or sing a patriotic song to learn about American history. 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: [14]. 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.
In an article with Scholastic, educator Kim Greene reminds teachers that students with autism work best with a strong daily structure. Some students with autism may have more trouble with activities that require fine motor skills than others.
Temple Grandin suggests offering accommodations—like typing on a computer instead of writing—to mitigate these challenges. When it comes to specific accommodations, it may depend on the individual. April is Autism Awareness Month, a time when we celebrate neurodiversity and help students with autism feel welcome in private or public schools. Use these three games as autism awareness activities during April or whenever you want to teach a lesson on diversity.
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:.
If a statement also applies to other students like, for example, they also play the piano , 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. By reading a story about inclusiveness to your class, you can help them remember to be kind to everyone and look out for people who are different.
The last book on this list, The Girl Who Thought in Pictures , is about a famous researcher who was diagnosed with autism and has since stood as an activist for people with her condition. It is perfect for helping kids understand autism a little better without calling out a specific student.
This object lesson starts with showing your student an apple. Pass the apple around the class and, as you do, have each child insult it and drop it on their desk or the ground.
After every child has dropped it and said a mean thing to it, cut the apple in half and show your students all the bruises inside.
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