Integrating children with autism into the educational environment is one area in which many strategies and innovations have been developed. Teachers have learned to identify and to develop specific tools that often help many children with ASD, even with widely varying manifesting symptoms:
Using pictures as a direct representation of the day's schedule, rather than abstractions such as words.
Providing clearly defined working environments for each activity.
Using stories as behavior modeling tools for children to learn how to better interact socially.
Controlling the environmental stimuli such as lighting or noise from other classrooms.
Providing a flexible learning environment able to adapt to varying learning styles, such as kinesthetic learners being able to walk around their desk while taking a test.
Sticking to a clear schedule with as much forewarning of variances (such as field trips) as possible.
These are only examples – many conferences and professional journals discuss what techniques work and which don't. There are also many books by pioneers such as Dr. Temple Grandin also help adults understand the disorder and therefore develop better strategies of treatment.
The one thing that needs to be remembered is that the prime motivation for working with autistic children needs to be the welfare of the children. With this objective in mind, everyone is working together toward the same worthwhile goal! -Gray Miller
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