Tips on how to teach autistic children

1. Welcome to the 2012 national Teacher Seminar! Tips on how to teachautistic children Picture provided by autismspeaks.org Presented By: Ashley Hayes

2. What is autism? • Autism is a brain disorder that affects visualization skills, communication skills, behavior skills, and social skills. This condition is seen starting at the ages of 2-3 three years old. • In the United States alone this condition affects over 2 million children • “An estimated 1 out of 54 boys and 1 in 252 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States” (autismspeaks.org) Picture provided by autismspeaks.org

3. Introduction • The goal of this presentation is to help you as the teachers understand how to deal with these very underestimated ,intelligent students on a day to day basis. In this presentation we will cover everything from the room set up, interacting with the children, learning each individual child, snacks, play time activities. • NOW…LETS BEGIN!!! Picture provided by: http://www.autism-explained.com/living-with-autism/

4. Setting up your room • First thing first it is very important to make sure the room is nice and neat. Autistic children like every other child gets distracted easily! It is okay to have educational posters and art work but make sure everything is tidy and uncluttered! • As you will come to realize autistic children have obsessive traits like for example not being able to have scrunched up napkins on the table. Do your best to work with the children and do everything you can to make them happy (to a certain extent of course). But always remember you are the teacher and although sometimes they may get upset you make the rules. • When seating the children you should make sure there are enough children at a table to give them the extra social skills they may lack but not too many where they start getting very anxious. Picture provided by:http://strengtheningwomen.org/2011/07/practical-skills-for-sunday-school-with-an-autistic-child/

5. Learn your children • Since autistic children are in a specialized class it gives a good opportunity for all the teachers to learn the children. This is very important because these children need the extra attention and one-on-one interaction to improve their skills. Also be patient many of these children have behavioral and developmental skills that need to be addressed. • Never think of the children as different because they will see this. Although they are diagnosed with a condition you will find that most of these children are smarter than children not diagnosed with any condition. • Learning your children is an important tool to help not only you succeed but the student as well. You will need to know what obsessive traits they have and what sets them off. When finding these out you must recognize them in order to help the children past the obsessiveness but also so you know what to avoid. • Once learning your children you will find your job to be easier! So take your time learn them as individuals and teach, teach, teach! Picture provided by : http://www.cafepress.com/+autism_teacher_keepsake_box,121585094

6. Snack time! • Autistic children like every other child loves snack time! It is important to make sure they are eating healthy snacks and drinks to help them develop. No junk food!! Once in a while it is okay to give them a little reward but remember you are there to help them grow and develop healthy! • Make sure you are aware of allergies and also make sure the other student’s parents are aware of other allergies as well. Picture provided by: http://flatbreadco.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/yummy-healthy-kid-friendly-snack-recipes-with-julia/

7. Daily Activities • Here are a list of activities that will help these children develop and learn: • Interactive computer programs have been shown to help the students comprehend what exactly is going on. Now depending on the age group maybe this is something we can look into getting for the children. Anything to help them develop! • Coloring / drawing- giving the students the opportunity to express themselves • Musical activities- it is important to get the brain thinking and the juices flowing. Also this is a good way to incorporate social skills • Puzzles- Another good way to get the brain thinking and solving problems. Remember the age group will affect the certain activities! • World sentences- Try having the kids say funny sentences to get them to not only have a good time but work on their communication and verbal skills. • It is important to let the children know that there are rules to these activities that need to be followed, this will help them develop and learn to follow rules in life. Picture provided by: http://www.vector-clip-art.com/2012/06/art-activities-for-autistic-children.html

8. Conclusion • I have confidence that you all are perfectly capable of teaching any children whether they are autistic or not. Although sometimes it may get tough just remember the impact you will have on these children. Not only will you touch their lives but they will touch yours as well. • Thank you very much for coming and listening to my presentation!!!!!! • this information has been provided by www.autismspeaks.org and also my cousin Joshua Cohen who has taught me how to deal with autistic children just like himself. P.s over time he has gotten over his dislike of scrunched up napkins! Picture provided by me. This is my cousin Joshua who is autistic.