Simple Life

 

Chances are an autistic child who is in mainstream education will not require special education, which means they are unlikely to have obvious learning disabilities. But that said they will still have special needs.

The first thing as a teacher you should do is to speak to other members of staff and the SENCO in your school. Make sure that everyone understands what autism is and that they are aware of how this will affect the child’s behaviour.

Sometimes it is helpful to explain to the other children within the class about autism. This will help to prepare them for the autistic child starting school. It will be helpful to explain that the new class member may act differently or strangely - for example they may shout out unexpectedly or laugh at inappropriate things.

You ought to explain that although the autistic child may act inappropriately that this is not intentional and they too have feelings like everybody else. This is an important thing to stress as it will be very easy for the autistic child to become, the focus of taunts, bullying and teasing if the other children in the class and school do not understand the autistic child’s behavior and mannerisms.

Probably one task you should undertake before the autistic child begins in your class is to take a note of all the classroom accommodations.

Autism classroom accommodations to consider:

Makea note of the autistic child’s special need’s for example going to the bathroom, with autism going to the bathroom can be an issue, find out how the child copes with this and if necessary add signs at the bathroom, (small picture cards with text) to avoid embarrassment and allow the autistic child to identify the bathroom.

Ask the parents for a meeting and try to identify the autistic child’s strengths and weaknesses. You can build on the strengths and encourage these.

Sometimes it may be necessary to appoint a helper (LSA) or classroom assistant, to help the autistic child within the classroom.

The autistic child’s helper’s role should be to encourage the child to be more independent, work on task’s and to mix with other children.

It will probably especially at first to keep an eye on the child at break times and during recess, when they might spend a lot of time on their own.

Autistic children tend to like prefer their own company, however older children and teens may feel left out or lonely. Sometimes it can be helpful to structure breaktimes to avoid any problems.

Try and avoid metaphorical speech, for example “wait a minute”, autistic children tend to very literal and will not understand. Avoid sarcastic language, or exaggeration, and nick names, both when you are speaking to the child and to the class as a whole. Always be aware of what you are saying and how it might be misunderstood by the child.

You may need to repeat yourself during lessons and keep checking the autistic child is still listening, their attention span can be short especially when something is not of interest to them.

When you are talking to a group, make sure you have the child’s attention. Especially young children they may not understand that they are included in the group, so you may need to include them by talking to them directly ie by saying their name or talk first, then to the whole class.

As with listening to a foreign language or something you really have no interest in, we all tend to shut off to it. An child with autism is no different, as soon as a couple of sentences go over their head they will shut down their auditory system and stop listening reverting back into their own world.

Try using visual aids when teaching a subject that requires abstract thinking. You could maybe use photographs or pictures to help keep the autistic child’s attention.

Even at secondary school, it is still possible to use visual aids for example illustrations or diagrams could be added to worksheets.

Visual timetables are used with a great success, the autistic child can quickly recognise what is happening as has a visual cue for the various different times of the day, like break times, recess, pe lessons, hometime etc.

You may want to include time for the bathroom as this is a confusing time for most children with autism.

You may also want to think about the use of autism social stories as a tool for helping the autistic child keep on task and understand what is expected of them throughout the day and what they should expect from other’s.

Autism social stories are used with great effect in classrooms and can be like a favorite friend to an autistic child, and teacher a like! Used in conjunction with a visual timetable and set behavior plan, autism social stories will become invaluable.

 

That’s right, autistic kids grow up. This entire text has been devoted to the autistic child, but what about autistic adults? What kinds of difficulties do autistic adults have when they are in our society, at the workplace, or raising a family of their own? Many autistic adults work, go to school, and live a semi-normal life. There are autistic professors at universities, autistic doctors, and there are some autistic adults that work at Burger King. Remember each autistic person is an individual and has different abilities according to their autism.

One of the challenges the autistic adults have the face is assumptions about their ability to do a task. An employer or co-worker will not assign a specific work related task to an autistic adult employee because it is assumed that they cannot do the task or will not do it correctly. These assumptions are picked up by the autistic adult and emotional pain is felt when they are judged by their peers. They have a want and a right to try any task that is put before another peer and not be prejudged.

The world also has trouble with the autistic adult not being able to initiate a conversation or other social interaction. Most autistic adults have trouble giving eye contact and in the work place there are people that do not understand this and will be offended because of it. Shaking hands and other social gestures are sometimes difficult for them. Some adults will even avoid using the bathroom because the interaction in a closed public restroom is to much for them to bear. The employer should be educated on the behaviors of their autistic employee and precautions should be put in place to avoid embarrassment and miscommunication.

Hygiene is another problem for the autistic adult. Some autistic adults have a hard time combing their hair or brushing their teeth. Sensitivity in these areas cause them to avoid grooming or bathing all together. Some avoid and some just give up. They know they have problems and after awhile it is easier to ignore them than to face them at all. Simple chores like laundry may be ignored and the employees and other adults in the workplace can make some pretty cruel comments about the cleanliness of the adult.

Eating and nutrition are sometimes a problem for the autistic adult. They will refuse any food that offends their senses or gives them a bad feeling. Sometimes they will not know how to prepare food and will eat less nutritious foods in substitute. The act of deciding what too much food is and what is to little is another issue. Sometimes an autistic adult will gorge themselves when eating, while another individual will eat just enough to stay alive. Some autistic adults have quirks about what and how they eat. Foods sometimes need to be separated from other foods or a mixture of foods will cause a bad reaction.

If you have an autistic child that is an adult or you are an autistic adult reading this, the only way that the uninformed public to understand what autism is and how it affects the individual is awareness and education. Hopefully the world will learn and understand the special nature of an autistic child and adult and they can embrace the uniqueness and understand their issues.