Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Tips for Teaching Students with Autism

Recently I received this email and I wanted to share my answer.

“I read over some of your posts pertaining to autism. I'm neurodivergent myself, so I've been pretty acutely aware of and involved with the community for a while now. I'd like to say I'm better than the average person at understanding autistic kids, but I genuinely wonder if I would be overwhelmed to have an autistic student in a classroom setting with a bunch of other kids to attend to. Do you have any beginner advice or experience to share on teaching autistic students? I know autistic traits can be wildly varying, but I know they suffer a lot in the education system, so I want to be as equipped as possible to take care of them when it becomes my job.”

First of all, I want to thank you for going into the field of education! We need more teachers who can relate to some of the struggles our students go through. I don’t think you will be overwhelmed with an autistic student along with other students because you will be focusing on each student’s needs. I explain to my students that we are like a group of people in a grocery store. We all like and need different foods and no group of people gets the same exact foods at the same exact time. In the classroom, each student may have different needs at different times so it is important that we all be patient and understanding toward each other.

Many of my suggestions would actually benefit all students and not just students with autism.

I always recommend that the first thing teachers should do is contact the parents or caregivers of students with special needs. These people know their children the best. Ask what you think the student may have the most trouble with in the classroom. Ask if they have any suggestions to help the student transition into your new classroom. I’ve had one parent actually give me a “cheat sheet” that she wished more teachers would be willing to look at. This can save you a lot of time from trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t work for that student.

Depending on the age of the student, I would also get them to fill out or answer an interest survey. What motivates them? Do they like food and if so, what kind? What kind of things do they like to do? Do they like to make things with their hands? Do they prefer to listen to audio or watch a visual?

Develop a routine for you and the students which will help tremendously for all students, not just students with autism. I always posted a daily schedule so students would know what to expect during the day. If there was a change in the schedule or routine, I would make sure to announce it at the beginning of the day so all of the students have time to process it.

I think teaching can be overwhelming so it is important to stay organized and prepared. Gather necessary materials a few days ahead of time and don’t wait for last-minute preparation. This gives you a buffer in case an emergency arises. It also gives you time to focus on the lesson rather than gathering materials.

One very effective strategy that really helped all of my students was my “help square.” It was a small 4” x 4” thin foam square. One side was red glued to another side that was green. On the red side, I wrote “HELP” with a black marker and on the green side, I wrote “OK” with a black marker. I put this with the green side up on the corner of each student’s desk when they arrived. When they were working, if they needed help, they would turn it over to the red side. I could quickly glance around the room and see who needed help and go help them. This kept students from holding their hands up and constantly trying to catch my eye so I would come to help them. After I helped them, I would turn their block over to green.

Do you have any other suggestions for this person? Please share!

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