World Autism Awareness Day 2024: 8 Effective Educational Strategies for Children with Autism | Health

World Autism Awareness Day 2024: Full of talent and potential, many autistic children fail to reach their full potential because they lack proper guidance. It is the responsibility of mentors and trainers to teach them, hone their skills, and develop them into independent, successful individuals. Given that children with autism may have developmental disorders that interfere with processing information, understanding nonverbal cues, sensory processing issues, and communication difficulties, Learning can be difficult. Focusing on your strengths can push you to do better, and graciously addressing your weaknesses can help you overcome challenges. Many children with autism excel in math, science, and music and have immense potential. (Also read | ABA Therapy for Children with Autism: 5 Ways to Help Their Development)

Autism can cause problems with organizing thoughts, planning, and strategizing, which can make it difficult for students to cope in a traditional classroom environment. . Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can limit a person’s ability to understand and respond to social cues, making it difficult for those trying to teach or interact with them. will occur.

Autism spectrum disorders are a group of developmental disorders that cause children to behave, communicate, interact, and learn differently than most other children. These children have delayed social and language milestones, which makes it difficult for them to interact with peers and communicate their needs.

Teaching strategies for children with autism

“In recent years, there has been increased recognition of autism as a developmental disorder across educational institutions, with all students starting their academic and social lives. This development has given all educators a better understanding of autism. “It is now important to develop effective strategies to improve autism.” “Meeting the learning needs of students with autism in their settings, from school to university to the workplace.” can enable you to perform optimally as a student or employee. The secret is to embrace the strategy and be willing to implement it,” says Leena Gupta. She is the Director of Learning Support at Ashoka University.

Dr. Gupta shares some important teaching strategies for children with autism.

1. Priming: This prepares autistic students for situations and challenges. Exposure to sudden changes or new additions to daily life can make you feel anxious. For example, a sudden quiz or test in class can lead to an emotional breakdown. However, if they are informed well in advance, they are likely to take any test with the utmost sincerity. Similarly, deciding on a pause signal when conversing in a group can help maintain unspoken social protocol.

2. Management of sensory stimulation: This is very important to reduce stress in the learning environment. It helps you understand your student’s discomfort with things like flickering lights, unpleasant sounds, and certain textures, and address them as needed. Follow your senses and you might want to sit in a quiet corner of the library near a teacher who smells like your mother, or you might want to hum while she works.

3. List of potential behaviors: Creating a concise list of expected behaviors can help students with autism gain control over their behavior in group settings. It’s much more effective if this list is visually displayed in front of you.

4. Flexibility: A flexible approach to reading and understanding texts allows students to continually engage with intellectually stimulating content, which is also an area of ​​intense interest for them.

5. Direct instructions: Explicit and direct instruction on the use of figurative language helps students in their conversations with their peers. They tend to interpret expressions such as metaphors and idioms literally, so it’s important to become familiar with the most commonly used figurative terms and phrases.

6. Teach according to their style. By collaborating with students on their frequency, you can reduce their outbursts. For example, don’t force them to write legibly, let them take as much time as possible to complete their assignments, and allow them to pull out of class if they feel overwhelmed.

7. Maintain a positive atmosphere: Promote a positive social environment for them by celebrating their unique strengths in front of their peers. Give them certificates for what they do best, and award certificates to their colleagues for their accomplishments. Assign responsibility for events, etc.

8. Encourage them to speak up.: Allowing conceptual understanding to be expressed in words rather than traditional written formats focuses on the value of learning rather than rigid forms of expression.

By using the strategies listed above, educators can create a safe space in the classroom for students with autism as well as other students and promote an environment that respects individual differences.