Effective Teaching Strategies for Students With Autism

Teaching in a classroom setting with students diagnosed with autism can be a challenging task for the teacher as well as the student. This developmental disorder affects a child’s ability to effectively communicate and often interferes with the ability to interact with other people. By making some changes in the classroom, autistic students' educational experience can be improved and teaching them can become more productive.

Consistent Routines

• Develop consistency in the classroom by making each day’s activities routine. Provide frequent breaks from work, and structure the entire day to mirror the last as much as possible.

  This consistency provides students with a clear understanding of what is expected and will reduce the child’s anxiety and give them a better opportunity to be independent and function normally in the classroom, according to the Child Autism Parent Café website. This technique is effective since autistic students tend to lose focus and have more trouble learning when stress levels increase.

Visual Instructions

• Autistic children often benefit from the use of visual instructions since they often have to constantly refer back to the instructions due to being distracted. Seeing an example of a task or having information or symbols posted to represent academic and social expectations is helpful to the autistic student, and will help him function independently and behave in accordance with the rules.

  A visual classroom schedule should also be posted so that students can look at what is coming up during the day, and be completely aware of what they will be doing and where they will be doing it. This may simply be a grid that shows the starting time of certain activities and where those activities will be completed.

  Other visual aides could include signs that indicate different work stations within the classroom or where to find certain supplies.

Develop a Calming Area

• Stress and anxiety are common amongautistic students. As mentioned above, increased stress levels make it more difficult for the student to remain focused and learn effectively. The teacher should keep an eye out for signs of anxious children and recognize when stress levels may be leading to problems in the classroom. Some kids will cover their ears or rock back and forth or do other repetitive behavior when they are feeling stress.

  Developing a calming area for these times can be another effective way of helping the child deal with stress. This area can include a space in the classroom where the child can go and calm himself down. Rubber balls, headphones with music or other relaxing items should be available to help the child reduce the stress.

Minimize Distractions

• One of the biggest challenges for teaching autistic students is getting them to remain focused on the work until it is completed. Minimizing the distractions in the classroom helps keep students on task. This may include painting the entire room a muted color such as beige. Eliminate clutter and excess decorations. Store unnecessary items out of sight. Adjust blinds and allow in an appropriate amount of natural light. The room should not be dark and should not be flooded with direct sunlight. Also, avoid the use of fluorescent lighting if possible as it is often distracting in appearance and sound. These modifications will decrease overall distractions in the classroom, according to the Special Education Services website.