Teaching Strategies For Autistic Students – I started my first self-contained classroom in the middle of the term…and it was tough. Routines and procedures are written in stone and you have to get in and rock the boat. So what do you want? All you need is this handy list of teaching strategies for students with autism.
Hearing or reading about how to do something is a very different learning experience than doing it yourself. When I need to learn a new skill, I look to YouTube to see if someone can show me how. Same thing here. Model what you want the student to see, so you can benefit from the visual demonstration. Another thing you want to model, especially for students who are more functional but struggle with social skills, is self-talk.
Teaching Strategies For Autistic Students

When you decide what to do, you create a whole narrative in your head. For example:
Autism Teaching Strategies For Your Classroom
Me… in my head: “I’m hungry. I eat a lot, so I’m not hungry at dinner. I have better lighting. what do I have Maybe the fruit will be good. What fruit is in the kitchen? Ah, an apple. That yes”.
Basically, we model how we draw conclusions and make decisions (rather than acting on impulse or repetitive behavior).
It should be part of your weekly routine and included in your curriculum. This includes role-playing, where students can practice social scenarios so that behaviors and scripts are familiar in the real world. You can also use social stories. Want to read more about teaching social skills to students with autism and developmental delays? Click here!
Focus on skills such as self-management, waiting time, and turn-taking to build continued independence. Remember, when our students move out of the K-12 education system and into adult services, they need to build some level of independence…and better.
Classroom Strategies For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder
I remember being in a classroom where a new teacher was worried about a student who could talk without engaging in the lesson. I see the Teacher asks a question, waits about 3-5 seconds for an answer, asks questions again, waits 3-5 seconds for an answer… and then moves on to another.
“Look,” he said. “He wouldn’t answer and I knew he knew the answer and I knew he could talk.”
I tried it. I asked him what I knew. And then I waited, looking directly into his eyes, and with a hopeful face. He looks at me, looks away, looks at me, looks away… and this goes on for about 10-12 seconds (too long). Finally, he answered the question.

The teacher looked at me as if I had broken the code. Just waiting. He looked at me confused – “I always keep you waiting!” And it’s true. He gave her time to wait, but she never waited for an answer. He thought she would leave if he didn’t answer. And he did.
Pdf) Visual Teaching Strategies For Children With Autism
Moral of the story: Don’t disable your students by training them to be disabled. Always work for freedom.
We are all creatures of habit, but students with autism don’t just depend on them, they become addicted to them. This confidence is a great way to build good practices (eg homework, transition time, socialization time), but it can also improve a student’s ability to be independent by learning what to do.
Be sure to preload custom mods! Relying on routines and procedures also means that if you change a routine or general procedure, you must communicate the change or specifically designate a break in the routine (eg instructional procedures for fire drills, fire rallies and test days). . You can also point to the -ish idea…things don’t happen in a specific second. If I go to the doctor for an appointment at 9:00 in the morning, I will inevitably be back before or after 9:00. Teaching our students to stay calm with a 5-10 minute swing is very important to prepare students for late or early arrivals.
You must understand the functions of the behavior and know the antecedents… to avoid hitting or getting angry. If you need more guidance on dealing with behavior problems, read this article here. Always do your best not to fall into the behavior trap and let the student choose your battles. And deal with the behavior, but with a well-thought-out plan and according to the BIP. Here’s more on writing an effective BIP.
Pdf) Strategies For Teaching Children With Autism In Physical Education
And that also means avoiding stereotypes. If you say it’s raining cats and dogs, the student can see the animals. Literal thinkers can’t stand it. But use it to your advantage by including specific examples in your instruction. If you’re talking about double counting, create some manipulators to make it meaningful. Images, visual and tactile tools are essential!
Be careful using ‘rules’… In line with your literal thinking, if you say it’s a rule to always raise your hand before using the bathroom, I can do it myself waiting for you to accept your hand. in the year As opposed to telling someone to run to the playground or to the bathroom on time. That’s where self-talk and ish come into play.
I had a student during his 10 minute recess, which was at 10:45, I told him he could do whatever activity he wanted. He quickly went back to work and I decided to “win” myself. Suddenly, while he was working, he started crying, threw all his things and hit his head. After 20 long and violent minutes, he finally calmed down enough to talk to me. I demanded to know what happened. I finally know he’s upset because he looks up and it’s 10:47…he thinks he missed his break. Silly me- I set a rule and wrote it in my strong mind. Know the rules.

Build success into your work cycle… because success begets success. Think about the last time you played a video game, maybe Candy Crush. Consider the first level – pretty simple, right? Well, that’s the point. If you win, you will be motivated to keep going and you will think that you will succeed. Even when things get tough, you’ll keep going because you have a history of success.
Essential Books For Teaching Kids With Autism
In the classroom, you need to create opportunities for students to succeed and experience. Now this doesn’t mean you celebrate all mediocrity, but make sure you have plenty of positive learning experiences every day.
Choose…and do it as often as possible. How many choices did you make before you went to work this morning? I see it a lot.
The average adult makes about 35,000 choices every day, 200 of which are about food! Now think about some of your students: how many choices do they make in a day? We decide when things will happen, what the student will do, when and what he will eat and sometimes even what he will wear. With so much to take in, we have to be very keen to build our selection whenever possible.
Even if it is a choice between two tasks, the student can decide what to do first. Some options Any choice!
How To Teach Turn Taking To An Autistic Child
Be aware of your work schedule…and make sure you take breaks between work tasks. This means matching the amount of work time with the student’s behavioral avoidance support.
We have a student, you know who he is. No matter what activity you throw at it, it’s always over in less than 5 minutes and then becomes a walking/bent/confused wreck. But they are not the problem, we are. We have to plan the time they work. Plan the work they need to complete the lesson.
At the other end is the student who has to write his name on the paper and after 75 minutes he still hasn’t done it. When the activity is finished we must be ready to end the activity; don’t drag things forever while the student works slowly. Be quick, make changes or adjustments, and help students learn about deadlines.
Establish writing opportunities to demonstrate learning and understanding. Our students struggle with traditional writing. I have a little boy in second grade who is an incredible writer. It hurts a lot. It hurts a lot. He is a poor reader and bad at math. Whenever there was an assignment that required holding a pencil, it was a mess. Assessment is difficult because many assessments are given in a paper-and-pencil format and are not interesting even when we change the way we answer. Now, he’s looking back
Behavior Strategies For Children On The Autism Spectrum
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