School children with autism are capable of learning and performing many of the same activities of children without a diagnosis. This includes reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art and physical education. One of the keys to working with non-verbal children is learning identify their progress when they cannot verbally share with you what they know.
Instructions
1. Have a meeting with the parents to discuss their child’s current skill level. Review their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to see the goals that they were previously working on and the progress that was made. If they do not have an IEP, have the parent fill out a survey where they can inform you of what their child was currently working on in the various skill areas. You may want to further probe with some additional questions to make sure you know as much as possible about the child. You may want to have a grade-level checklist on hand so you can verify with the parents that the child mastered all the kindergarten goals for instance, if they are sure he is at a first grade level. Also, discuss with the parents any additional goals that they would like to see their child work on. Children with autism can have delays in a variety or areas including communication, social skills, self-help skills, motor skills and academics.
2. Test the student on his current skills to make sure the information you have on them is accurate. Non-verbal children cannot easily inform you of what they do and do not know, so testing skill regularly will always be important. Gather your testing materials and take the child to a quiet area where there are limited distractions and have him perform tasks based in his current goals. If his IEP states that he knows his alphabet, have him write it for you or point to letter cards on a table. Knowing current skill levels will make teaching new skills far easier.
3. Develop ways to track her progress. If you are teaching letter sounds, have letter cards she can point to when asked. Decide how many successful trials will indicate mastery of the goal. Knowing measure each goal is essential to track performance in children with learning disabilities.
4. Make sure your instructions are clear and concise and speak slowly. Remember, non-verbal students cannot ask questions. Working one on one will reduce distractions and make goal tracking easier. Praise effort, not results to help reduce frustration and reinforce regularly. Stay flexible, if he does not seem to be grasping the concept, try to teach it another way. Children with autism have a difficult time with abstract concepts. Also, keep generalization in mind. If you are teaching colors for instance, start with colored cars but then switch it up with colored trucks or crayons. Most importantly, be patient. It might take a child with autism a long time to master a goal, but the point is that they master it.
5. Remain in contact with your student’s parents via a communication log and report on what you are working on as well as their child’s progress. Success should come more quickly with multiple people working on the same goals.
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