Teaching a child with autism?

Question

My friend works at a private school as a kindergarten teacher. This next year it looks like she will have a child with autism in her class. She wants to know if there is any advice from parents or teachers that have or teach children with autism. She is not trained in this area, so any help would be great! We have done alot of research on the net, but thought maybe someone who has actually been there could help a little better. Thanks

Answer 1

Saying a child has autism is like saying they have red hair--it's not very common, but that's about all it tells you about a person.  It will be very important for your friend to meet with the parents and any other care providers BEFORE the school year begins to learn about THIS child.  Doing research on the net is a great idea.  Perhaps your friend could observe children with autism in a preschool or day care setting to get a vague idea, but again, each child is so very different.  Some basic commonalities are usually (but not always) sensitivity to light, sound and/or touch, social oddities or withdrawl, and a need for routine and structure.  On that last one, your friend may want to look into a program called "Boardmaker".  It can be used for making communication devices  or a visual schedule.  I'm assuming there will be a special education teacher to help your friend with this, but thinking ahead about structure, routine, and schedules could help.  It will be a learning experience, but a lot of fun!  Congratulate your friend on this opportunity and her willingness to learn more!  Good Luck!

Answer 2

Sounds like you are all on the right track with your research.  My only suggestion would be to contact that child's parents and see what they do that is successful at home.  Many times if the parents and the teacher work together the child will see more success.  Don't forget that there is a broad range on the autism spectrum... there are very few "cookie cutter" answers when it comes to this label!

Answer 3

she can buy a book called learning to learn and that might give her some ideas but other than that just be paitent

Answer 4

She needs to ask the head of the school for guidance. School policies are different from school to school. It is possible the autism is so high functioning you won't notice. She needs to find specifics on that child and go from there.

Answer 5

Every person with autism is different. She should find out if he is verbal and how much he speaks. Some don't and some talk all the time. She should find out if he has any areas that need work. Is the kid high functioning? Do the parents want the others in the class to know (or want to try to hide it so the class just thinks he is strange)?

I go to a school for kids with disabilities and am in the autism program. I have higher functioning autism but it still causes me problems. When I was in kindergarden the teacher complained and I was withdrawn. I wouldn't sit and listen to story time. I wouldn't answer questions because I wasn't really talking at that point.

She needs to talk to the parents and her principal and director of special education in her district and seek advice on how best to handle this particular child.

Answer 6

For a start, every child who has autism is slightly different, that is why it is referred to as a 'spectrum disorder.'  However, they do suffer some common difficulties, which usually le in the areas of communication, socialisation, imagination and distortions of sensory perception.

If your friend is interested, she needs to download this book.  It gives tips on developing communicative skills, socialisations skills and minimising the effects of sensory distortions in children with autism.

You will find it here.    http://www.lulu.com/content/1225081

Also, you will find useful information and advice here.

http://www.snowdrop.cc/info2.cfm?info_id...

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Teaching a child with Autism is not greatly different from other children.  All children should be shown respect for their differences.  She needs to be aware of his sensitivities, what calms, what upset.  He should be placed in the front center of the room near the teacher.  After the first week she should select a talented student to sit near the child and offer assistance as necessary.  Meeting with parents, former teachers and the OT will be most helpful.

Answer 8

I don't actually have any real advice as I have no first hand experience with autism. However, if it helps I'd reccomend she reads "The curious incident of the dog in the night time" By Mark Haddon, it really helps you understand the condition on a new level. Other than that, she should probably be prepared to be very patient. : )

Answer 9

As the parent of an autistic child, I would have to say my number one recommendation is to meet with the parents.  They know the child better than anyone.  Find out if they have suggestions on what the child may need in the classroom and on the playground.  As others have indicated in their answers, autistic children are "consistently inconsistent" in many areas.  I am a founding member of a large support group and our autistic children run the gamut from being completely non-verbal, rocking in the corner of the classroom, to being almost indistinguishable from their peers.  

Your friend should ask the parents about how the child communicates, toileting, food preferences, sensory issues (sound sensitivity, etc), fine motor issues (holding a pencil, cutting with scissors) and if the child has difficulty with transitions.  These are probably the most urgent questions that need to be answered.  There most certainly will be more as the year progresses but having this conversation will lay thr groundwork for the MOST important aspect of a successful year....trust and open communication between school and home. I cannot emphasize the importance of this.  Your friend does need to have patience and an open mind...expecially if she has been teaching for a long time.  Some things will need to be changed for this student to accomodate his disability.  She will need to be flexible.  The child may begin to exhibit behavior issues.  This is very common for Kindergartners with autism because school puts many more demands on a child than preschool.  This can cause a child to act out.  IF the child begins to hite, bite, etc, you can do a Functional Analysis Assessment and create a Behavior Support Plan. Outside help may need to be sought by someone trained in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).  You can read more at http://www.shapingbehavior.com/images/Fu...

I would highly recommend reading about Applied Behavioral Analysis including Verbal Behavior (B.F. Skinner) and Discrete Trials (Ivaar Lovaas).  These teaching techniques can be very helpful with ALL students.

The recommendation for Boardmaker is excellent.  Visual schedules, social stories and more can definitely help most children with autism.

And tell your friend "thank you" for taking the time, energy and compassion for wanting to make this child's year a successful one!  You can contact me via e-mail or at [phone] if I can be of any help.

Answer 10

It would be beneficial for the child to have preferential seating.  They are very visual.  He will benefit from a model in order to learn new material.  He should be able to have a break card to invoke when overwhelmed.  Sticker reinforcers to keep him on task.  It helps to have a picture schedule.  It helps to have a word bank for him to write from or just sentence starters.  Autistics have difficulty with imagination and benefit from this.