I have only been teaching for two years. I have never taught a student that has been diagnosed with autism. One of my co-workers was given a child who was diagnosed with autism in the middle of the school year. She had never taught a student like that before. She was afraid because she had no idea what to do. I would like to be prepared as possible when this day comes.
http://www.theautismprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/top-ten-things.pdf
http://www.theautismprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/general-calming.pdf
http://www.theautismprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/successful-transitions-final.pdf
http://www.theautismprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/ten-lifetime-goals.pdf
What a great idea, Jahmarkus. And it is so good of you to take the initiative to be prepared for that situation. What a good teacher you are! I actually have worked with students on the spectrum a number of times, with no training to do such. My first job as an art teacher was in a school that had a learning center. There was one boy with Asperger's and most others had ADHD symptoms.
ReplyDeleteThen when that school closed, the Director of it opened up a new school that only served students on the autistic spectrum. She asked me to come teach art there once a week. It was definitely eye opening. I have no special needs training. However, because art is easily accepted by a lot of students, my job was pretty easy.
But, I had a number of down syndrome and autistic students this year as Mary B. Austin's art teacher. And I would say that one thing I have done is be very open and allowing for their differences. For instance, there were three students that always did work, but never what we were doing. I never sweated having their artwork resemble the other's or trying to make them conform. I gave them the materials, and as long as they were using their scissors or their paint or their crayons, whatever, I just let them. They were doing what they needed to be doing to develop their skills, on their level.
Having said all that, I would love to and need to learn more, as all teachers do, because of our school's inclusion.
I loved the first link, with the 10 steps. Fabulous outline. I would print this out and hang it up in my classroom if I had an autistic student.
Thanks for the info. I think it is important! Good work you are doing!
I agree. You have to understand how they are different and allow them to be themselves. We can challenge them, but not pressure them to be like others. Let them know that being unique is a good thing.
DeleteA good resource that I absolutely love and a go to for including students with autism in the classroom is at paulakluth.com. She offers so many strategies for differentiating instruction. She also provides a tip of the day.
ReplyDeleteI think you will be just fine because you are already seeking out information to meet the student's needs and asking for input from others.
No one can ever truly be prepared, but I do think that it is important to research. Great website!
DeleteAwesome idea to try and get prepared for possible situations! I taught an inclusion class where I had three children with Autism. They were somewhat violent and we never had a boring day! Just like other students, children with Autism are all very different. However, there a few strategies that work well with most of the autistic population. These students tend to need a strict routine and schedule. Changing up the daily routine with out a previous heads up could get a little nasty! Visual schedules are something that also help these students know what they are doing, what they will be doing next, and what they will be doing in 3 hours. A visual schedule is a schedule that has the time, name of activity, and picture of an activity, for each movement throughout the day. For example, a schedule could have a picture of food, say 10:00 and snack underneath the picture. Another important strategy is working in free time to earn preferred activities. One of my students had an obsession with paper wrappers that candy came in. This provided stimulation for him. We built this into his schedule SEVERAL times a day, and also listed it on his visual schedule, so that he knew when he would be able to interact with his preferred item. Last but not least, iPads are a major preferred item for many students with Autism!
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of your tips! It's great to hear them from someone who has first-hand experience. I have heard that schedules and routines are extremely important. I also liked the idea of a visual schedule including pictures. Great tips!
DeleteJahmarkus,
ReplyDeleteI have had experience teaching a kindergarten student last school year that was diagnosed with autism. With students that have been diagnosed with this disorder, it is important to keep them as close to their schedule as possible. They have a very difficult time with changes to routine and interruptions in their regular schedule. If you do have to change their schedule, they should be prepared for that in advance and know exactly what to anticipate. It also helps to provide them with visual pictures though teaching. They learn best from a multi-faceted experience. Also, keep in mind they every student is different!
Thanks. I have heard of the importance of warning them of changes in advance.
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