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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