While all children are unique and have different ways in which they learn best, children with autism may need a special approach to learning. If you’re trying to help your autistic child perform better at preschool or primary school, here are a few tips you can try at home that may be helpful:
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental impairment that can result in substantial social, communicative, and behavioural difficulties. There is frequently nothing about how children with ASD look that distinguishes them from others, but children with ASD may communicate, interact, conduct, and learn in ways that most other children do not. Children with ASD have a wide range of cognitive, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities, ranging from gifted to severely impaired. Some children require a lot of assistance in their daily life, while others require less. Although each autistic child may respond differently to teaching approaches, there are a few ways that are commonly used to assist autistic children in achieving educational goals, namely:
Keep the environment consistant
Due to the fact that autistic children frequently struggle to cope with changing situations or chaotic spaces, it’s best to teach them in the same environment. Create a separate and defined teaching room in your home with stations such as toys, crafts, and dress up. Put physical markers of specified sections on the floor, such as mats for doing creative arts, a taped square outline for a reading area, and so on.
Make a schedule that is predictable
Many autistic children thrive on routine, so providing them with the security of knowing what to expect each day is important. Tape graphics that depict the day’s activities and the times they occur to the wall, together with a clearly visible clock. When mentioning the time that activities will take place, refer to this clock.
Find out what your child gravitates towards
Autistic children can learn just as well as non-autistic children. They merely need to develop a plan for effective information intake. Take note of which objects your child gravitate toward. Is it necessary for them to walk to list the alphabet? Does holding a blanket make it easier for them to read aloud? Allow your child to learn inside their own framework, whatever that may be.
Teach social behaviour
Many autistic children struggle to recognise emotion, intentions, and other social signs that are instinctive in non-autistic youngsters. Read stories to demonstrate appropriate behaviour in various settings. To teach your autistic child how to recognise emotions, read a story about a sad child and point out a frown or tears as signs of sadness.
Make use of fixations to aid in the learning process
Many autistic children become fixated on specific items, which can be exploited to their benefit while teaching. If your child is obsessed with cars, for example, use the cars to teach geography on a map by “driving” the car to other nations.
Good to know: If you have any concerns about your child’s educational techniques, always consult with his or her doctor.
