Teaching Children with Autism 2

Continued from here

Step 6: Manage Behavioral Challenges

For students with autism, problem behaviors may be triggered for a variety of reasons. Such behaviors may include temper tantrums, running about the room, loud vocalizations, self-injurious activities, or other disruptive or distracting behaviors.

Because children with autism
often have difficulties communicating in socially acceptable ways, they may act out when they are confused or fearful about something.

Your first challenge is to decipher the cause, or function, of a particular behavior. Look for patterns in these behaviors such as when they do, or do not, consistently occur. Communicating with families and other team members, and observing the behavior in the context in which it occurs, will be an essential part of learning the function of a specific behavior.

It’s important to use consistent, positive behavioral reinforcement techniques to promote pro-social behaviors for children with autism. This process involves
providing reasonable alternatives to undesirable behaviors.

Teachers may choose to ignore other negative behaviors or give predetermined consequences. The key is to be consistent with how you react to the behaviors over time, and to use as many positive strategies as possible to promote more desirable behaviors.

As you follow these steps and learn more about children with autism, you will become a mentor to other educators when they face similar challenges for the first time. Your curiosity will fuel your education about autism, and your communication skills will help you create a meaningful alliance with parents.

Most of all, you will be able to effectively collaborate with a team that will support a child with autism throughout the
course of the school year. Your patience, kindness, and professionalism will make a difference in the lives of all
your students.

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Courtesy: www.researchautism.org

Teaching Children with Autism 1

Your classroom is already a diverse place. With the rising inclusion of students with autism in general education settings, the challenges associated with managing a classroom will grow.

This section outlines a simple and highly flexible six-step plan you and your teaching team can use to prepare for the inclusion of a child with autism in your classroom.

Step 1: Educate Yourself

You must have a working understanding of autism and what that means for your students. Sometimes children with autism may behave in inappropriate or disruptive ways, but their behaviors are more related to their autism than they are deliberate, disrespectful acts.

Learning about autism and about how it specifically affects your student is the first step to success. Your education about autism will evolve as your
relationship with your student and their family develops; your knowledge about the disorder and skills in dealing with its impact on the classroom will also continue to grow.

Maintaining an open attitude to learning and working closely with the parents and school team will help you (and your student) succeed in the long term.

Step 2: Reach Out to the Parents

Parents are your first and best source of information
about their child. Step two is all about establishing a
working partnership with the families of the students
you serve. Not only will you meet before the school year
begins, but it is critical to establish methods and
patterns of communication for which there is mutual
agreement.
Building trust with parents is essential. Communication
with families about the progress of the student should
be ongoing. While the information you exchange may
often focus on current classroom challenges, strategies
employed, and ideas for alternative solutions, do not
forget to include positive feedback about
accomplishments and milestones reached.

Step 3: Prepare the Classroom

There are ways you can accommodate some of the needs of students with autism in your classroom that will enhance their opportunity to learn without sacrificing your plans for rest of the class.

Of course, there are practical limitations on how much you can modify the physical characteristics of your classroom, but even a few modifications to support a child with autism can have remarkable results for everyone.

Step 4: Educate Peers and Promote Social Goals

You must make every effort to promote acceptance of a student with autism as a full member and integral part of the class, even if that student only attends class for a few hours each week. As a teacher, you must create a social environment that encourages positive interactions between the student with autism and his or her typically developing peers throughout the day.

Children with autism, by definition, have difficulties with social skill development and understanding language and social cues. With appropriate assistance, however, children with autism can engage with peers and establish mutually enjoyable and lasting interpersonal relationships.

Research shows that typically developing children have more positive attitudes, increased understanding, and greater acceptance of their peers with autism when provided with clear, accurate, and straightforward information about the disorder. Assuming there are no
restrictions on disclosing that your student has autism, educating your class about autism and how it can affect their classmate can be an effective way to increase positive, social interactions between the child with autism and his classroom peers.

Remember that many social interactions occur in settings outside the classroom. Without prior planning and extra help, students with autism may end up isolated during these unstructured times.

You may want to create a “circle of friends,” or a rotating group of
responsible peer buddies for the student with autism; they will not abandon him or her, serve as a model of appropriate social behavior, and protect against teasing or bullying. This strategy should also be considered for use outside of school.

Read more about Autism here

Courtesy: www.researchautism.org

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Global standards for teaching and learning

HEAD of School, City of Knowledge Academy (CKA), Ogun State, Abiola Lamikanra, has urged education managers in the country to
incorporate global techniques in the routine of teaching and learning in all schools.

This, she said should be in tandem with regular training of teachers in contemporary trend and practices, arguing that they are the group that transfers knowledge to the students.

Addressing reporters shortly after a facility tour at the school, located at Itanrin, Ore-Sagamu expressway, Ijebu-Ode, Lamikanra stressed that the objective of every school should be, among others, prepare students that are global in orientation and at par with their counterparts around the world.

According to her, “Teaching children about global issues is very imperative and raising a child in a 21st century requires a common sense; one century is not different from another,
the only thing that happens now is that we are more global in perspective, we are all very connected, whatever happens in Australia in one minute, the whole world knows the next minute, so to be able to get our children participate globally we have to be very active in the use of technology and this should be the target of all education managers.”

“At CKA, while grooming our students with our ethical pillars which is culture, character and confidence, we also explore other avenues.

There is a programme we call Physical, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education, where they discuss personal responsibilities and other life skills.

“We pay a lot of attention to the acquisition of life and organisational skills, time management and interpersonal relationships. There are other programmes they take in conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and fixed mindset versus growth mindset.

All these are designed to ensure our students are well equipped to cope
with future academic requirement, they are not examination subjects, we are simply teaching them the ABC’s of this life,” she said.

She further stated that there are virtual learning platforms, where teachers engages students and parents could as well access it, urging school managers to make effective use of such platforms.

She said, “In CKA, technology is used as a tool not for decoration, when the children are in class they make effective use of the interactive board, they have their netbook with them and as the teacher is interacting with them, they are exploring the Internet together.”

On the ethical pillars of the school, she said, “Our emphasis is also on culture, character and confidence. We have explored the dimensions of character in today’s world, in terms of accountability, honesty, responsibility and leadership. Having good character is important
to us all in maintaining a good position in a society.”

“For the culture, we do not want to produce children who do not have a trace of their culture, not just their culture but to also have respect for other people’s culture. On the aspect of confidence, our children have confidence in themselves, they can go anywhere in the world and participate actively in any programme.

We build their self-esteem and that is important in educating a child in today’s world.

However, after the tour of facility, which
revealed that the school is indeed a home of knowledge, some parents of the school who were present at the school’s open day ceremony, expressed joy at the tremendous academic and infrastructural achievement of the school.