Understanding how children with autism learn is essential for educating them with the same zeal as other children. This may appear to be a simple concept, but children with autism learn in such a unique way that understanding autism is essential when teaching autistic children. Teachers can better learn to work with autistic children and adults both in and out of the classroom by being knowledgeable about the disease, resulting in a more accepting world for all.
Visual thinkers are common in autistic children. As a result, teaching by speaking would be ineffective. For the autistic child to completely comprehend the lesson, teachers should mix pictures and vocabulary. For example, if you’re talking about animals around the world, you should have a flashcard with the word “mouse,” say it slowly and clearly, and show the child a picture of a mouse. Bring in a live mouse for display and discussion. Since verbs require action and may be more difficult to illustrate, nouns can be easier to teach autistic children. When teaching autistic children terms like “sit” or “stand,” you should complete these acts as well. Furthermore, because of their visual nature, autistic children often struggle to understand long sentences. They become perplexed because they are unable to decode the series. Writing instructions may thus be extremely useful when proctoring exams or quizzes.
As visual thinkers, autistic children often fixate on a specific object or image. If this is the case, consider integrating the object or image into lesson plans. If the child enjoys planes, try to incorporate planes as visuals into the lesson as much as possible. For example, when teaching math, make word problems about planes to keep the child’s attention. Autistic children are often more likely to be creative or musical, with exceptionally original drawings and above-average skill with instruments or voice. Set aside time during the day for the arts and allow children to participate in activities they enjoy.
Because of their lack of control over their hands and movement, autistic children can have difficulty writing. This is a source of frustration for both the child and the teacher. Enable the child to use a computer to relieve frustration. If you can, make sure the keyboard and monitor are close together because the child will have trouble recalling what he or she has recently typed.
By being willing to educate an autistic child to the best of your abilities, you are not only providing the best opportunity for him or her in life, but you are also serving as a positive role model for the other children in the class. Allowing an autistic child to ruin the learning experience for others is unacceptable; instead, integrate his or her peculiarities into the lessons as much as possible. The best gift you can give this child is a more prejudice-free classroom.