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Strategies to Help Students With Autism Today

The mysteries of autism are almost continuously being unlocked by medical experts and specialized educators. So many variables--including diagnosis of a child along the autism spectrum and the degree of ability in each increment of the spectrum--create an ever-evolving formula for helping autistic children. There are some universal truths about this elusive, developmental disability that can aid parents and educators in identifying strategies to help students with autism in today's world.

  1. Use Schedules to Your Advantage

    • Students with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, function most efficiently when they are allowed to follow a strict and predictable schedule throughout their day. Diversion from the norm or unexpected restrictions can cause severe anxiety in a child with autism. If the student practices spelling every morning after homework review and so on, he can predict far in advance how his day will progress and mentally prepare himself for each step. Changing the order of activities may put a child off balance and cause a spiral of problematic feelings and behavior. In the same respect, if a student is always allowed to go the restroom whenever she needs to and then one day is told, "Hold on a minute while we finish this activity," she may demonstrate a high level of stress and disagreement.

    Use Active Learning Strategies

    • Students in traditional classrooms are expected to sit in their seats and focus on the lecture in order to learn the lesson. Students with autism have difficulty focusing when they are restrained in one spot for long periods of time. Educators and parents of autistic students can encourage more interaction during lesson times. Ask the child to get up and move to learning stations. Engage the student in a lesson-based activity or experiment. Hands-on experience helps the student to focus and retain information more easily. Try playing soothing music during lesson time or as a response to negative behavior exhibited by an ASD student. The music can help autistic children relax and center themselves or prepare them for intake of information.

    Use Creative Learning Strategies

    • Creative learning takes into consideration that not all students are alike. Although some students learn best in a lecture environment, others benefit from a more creative approach. Teaching an autistic student a song that helps them memorize a lesson is a realistic and successful approach. Using visual aids with bold images help autistic children put lessons in perspective. When writing a lesson on the board, use visual separations. Draw lines between ideas or arrows between ideas that lead to one another. These strategies can make a world of difference for an autistic student.

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