Autistic Children in the Classroom
According to Autism Speaks, one out of every 110 children has an autism spectrum disorder. With so many children living with autism, it is not surprising that many of them attend school and classes with nonautistic children. Despite the difficulties that autistic children face in terms of social interaction and communication, they can thrive in a classroom environment if parents, teachers and classmates work together to support them.
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"Stimming" and Other Behavioral Issues
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Many autistic children develop "stimming" behaviors, which are self-soothing or self-stimulating, repetitive behaviors that they engage when they are bored, anxious, confused or overwhelmed. These behaviors could be anything from repeated movements, such as snapping or waving, to rocking back and forth, continually repeating a word or phrase or retreating to a corner or other space. Even though stimming can be distracting to other students, autistic children should never be punished for it because the behavior is often out of their control. Parents of autistic children should train their child's teacher to recognize stimming and provide strategies for handling it.
Individualized Education Plans
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If an autistic child attends public school, the school is legally bound to provide services in accordance with the child's Individualized Education Plan. Parents, case managers, school officials, teachers, physicians and therapists work together to develop the IEP, and outlines the services that the autistic child will receive or be offered from the school. The IEP helps set educational goals for the child, but it also creates more work for the classroom teacher because she often needs to adjust her teaching methods and classroom time to accommodate the IEP. However, when executed properly, an IEP can help autistic children thrive in a traditional classroom environment.
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Accommodations
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Many autistic students do best with a mixture of traditional classroom environments and special education classrooms. With this arrangement, autistic children can get the individual attention they need to learn some skills, while capitalizing on the areas where they excel in the regular classroom. In any class time arrangement, though, even high-functioning autistic students may need additional support and accommodation in order to succeed in school. Some of these accommodations might include more explicit instructions for assignments, modification of assignments, specialized computer programs and the help of a tutor or aide to complete assignments.
Routines
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Establishing a consistent schedule is key for helping children with autism function in the classroom environment. Autistic children thrive on routine and consistency, and disrupting the schedule could cause anxiety, behavioral issues or meltdowns. Establish the schedule and routine early on, and reinforce the schedule on a daily basis. Writing out the daily schedule and posting it where it can be seen is helpful. Even more important than establishing the schedule is keeping the schedule, and if the routine has to change, autistic students should be prepared for the change as soon as possible to keep the classroom on track.
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- Photo Credit An image of nice little girl in classroom. image by Mykola Velychko from Fotolia.com
