AS educators we have to select and employ instructional strategies for each student as an individual. Autism is a disability like snowflakes, no two are ever exactly the same.
As an educator, I think there is a mini checklist that every teacher must make periodically and anytime a new student OR STAFF enters the room.
1. Classroom management is vital and important for any classroom, specifically for rooms with autism population. These students thrive on a well-managed room.
2. Students need to help build the classroom rules and then need to be simple, and clear! Black and white, no gray! Think of it as the 10 commandments of our classroom, never have more than ten and there are clear rules and clear consequences.
3. Add in individual needs of each student, what if a student can’t handle noise? How can you
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Every child starts on green for ready to work, a warning earns yellow, then orange, then red. Red is a call or email to the parent. The student can also move forward to blue for great behavior, purple, pink for rock star and earn a sticker on the schedule.
The school uses the code over the entire day, but in our room, a student could get green for morning work, then struggle at calendar and get orange (schedule is documented and a small interaction to discuss as needed per student), but will go back to green for lunch because maybe the outburst or moment is over and they can finish the day on task.
We also deal a lot with music, I enjoy playing the faintest music in the background and incorporating it in the day as possible. I find so many students struggle with noise and noise is such a non-controllable portion of society. I can teach a student to grocery shop but if cant shop with music in the background or a price checker makes him have a meltdown, have I taught him? These are fun ways to add individual steps for each
After recess it was the children’s “Planned review time” which is where they all spread throughout the classroom and explore in the classroom and play with toys they like and play with their friends. This is where the kids learn and practice their social skills, practice being kind to one another,
Many children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) across the nation. In fact, numerous of educators will not be able to control their behavior and it would be a struggle just to teach those children with autism. On the other hand, if a child that is diagnosed with autism take his or her medicines prescribe by a doctor educators would have less fight.
Some students don’t get taught how to understand that these kids need extra time understanding things. Some things that would help in the classroom is if the students got taught on what autism is. If every school was taught about it, they could have a better understanding what to do with it. In an article, Autism in the Classroom, it says, “Being involved in your child’s school can also help the teachers get to know you”. When getting to know the teachers you can tell them simple instructions on how to phrase instructions to your child. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is making sure that the teachers are informed about your child's needs, and what they need to do to help him/her. Also, the teachers need to inform you, and the student of any changes, so they can help them transition. If they don’t get accommodated they might get confused or frustrated with the
It is important that all students receive appropriate educational services so that they can reach their potential as individuals and as members of the wider community. There has been a continuing increase in the number of students eligible for special education services under the definition of autism. This increase has made the education of students with autism within inclusive classrooms a key priority for educators and parents. Children with autism are entitled to effective evidence-based interventions delivered in the least restrictive environment possible, and preferably in general education settings.
Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder is one of many developmental disabilities that affect students learning. In fact, in the United States, Autism is the fastest-growing severe developmental disorder (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Also, the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder is 1 in 68 children and the prevalence in boys is 1 in 42 children (“What is Autism,” n.d.). Furthermore, Autism Spectrum Disorders also affects the way a child learns and over the years, several teaching strategies have been developed to help teachers to effectively educate students with Autism. Research has also been conducted to develop and test new teaching strategies for Autism and continues in playing an important role in the education of students with Autism.
This approach may be difficult to incorporate in a large classroom with twenty or more students. More research may be needed to incorporate these instructional methods in mainstream classrooms, which could benefit students with autism by providing opportunities for inclusion and academic advancement.
There is a lack of equal primary and secondary educational opportunities for student with Autism Spectrum Disorder, in the United States. While there are policies in place to ensure the success of as many students as possible, they are limited in the sense that they generalize. They fail to take into account the unique learning styles of individual students. Pouring funding into the educational system for services gear towards student with disabilities, or in this case, students with Autism, neglects to assist students with Autism specifically inside and outside a Special Education classroom or even those in regular classrooms with Individualized Educational Program (IEP). The issue is that students with Autism have
The quality of life for a child with autism in mainstream schools is definitely at odds with how the school itself is structured. Due to changes in educational policies over the last decade, there are increasing numbers of children with ASD that are being educated in a regular classroom setting. Many may deem this inclusion as being positive for those students, but there are faults that accompany these types of circumstances, the reason being that many schools do not have the capacity to keep pace with such changes in order to include children with ASD. Many teachers find it tough to merge the academic talents of students with autism with their often severe difficulties in interacting with others socially. Those who have been diagnosed with ASD have a preference for routine, consistency and low sensory stimulation, making tough seeing that they would be expected to deal with the noisy, busy and chaotic environment of mainstream schools (Humphrey, Symes 80).
The best way to educate students with autism is to allow them to participate in partial or full inclusion / mainstream in classrooms, because it will give them the same learning experience as their peers, they will be able to interact with non-disabled peers and it will help them gain social skills. It is a great program to introduce into all schools and for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to be able to take part in and to give them a chance to experience normalcy. Partial inclusion in classrooms is a good transition start for students with ASD with severe behavioral issues that can spend part-time in a general classroom setting and then the rest of the day with their special education teachers and therapist. Full inclusion in
Nowadays, teachers are expected to work with a mixture of students, general education students and exceptional students. “The physical attributes and/or learning characteristics of exceptional children differ from the norm (either below or above) to such an extent that they require an individualized program of special education and related services to benefit from education” (Heward, 2005, p. 10). This paper will discuss autism, characteristics of autism, and educational approaches when working with an autistic individual.
Students with autism spectrum disorder can have strengths in specific areas of learning. However, they may have difficulty in other areas of learning. For instance, a student with ASD that has a strong visual-spatial ability, may learn to read words to prompt social behavior. Whereas another student with ASD may have a strong nonverbal problem-solving proficiency. This student can be easily driven by tasks that have a clear
The increase in the amounts of children with autism spectrum disorders in school has created a critical need to design an effective practices and behavioral support in classrooms
I chose to work with the disability of autism. According to the IDEA and Teaching Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings, they give out three definitions, but only one works very well. It is considered a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three that adversely affects a child’s educational performance. There are definitely some characteristics that stand out due to this disability. Students who are said to have autism usually take part in activities that are repetitive, they do not like change when taking part in daily activities, and they do not do well with experiences involving their senses (Smith, Polloway, Patton, and Dowdy
Students with autism can become overwhelmed very easily by even minor deviations from the routine. It is important to be sensitive to the way autistic children function so that their potential can be reached.
When it comes to teaching, every day is a struggle as you have different personalities you have to incorporate into your lesson plan. Somedays, the lesson will work and other days, you will have to revamp the lesson while teaching. The overall focus is the students understanding of the lesson based on their academic needs and their academic goal. As mention above, there are seven development which affects children with Autism and as an educator is important to create a plan to target each one. In addition, while exampling each development there will be a small strategy on how to apply the weakness and/or strength into a classroom for students diagnosed with Autism.