How to Teach a Child With Autism

Autistic spectrum disorder, a complex neurobehavioral lifetime condition, it’s easy to notice that kids with this condition are quite different: they pay attention to unusual stuff, seem more interested on particular things, show different reactions to common events or behave in particular ways; the difference they have compare to most of the kids are pretty noticeable, therefore, their way to learn its different too. For this reason, it is necessary to find the best way to teach a child within the spectrum.

Teaching a child with ASD

If you have a child with autism and you want to know the right way to teach him or her, you’re in the right place; we’re going to give you a few advices to make that possible.

1) Be mentally prepared

The first thing you should do is prepare mentally, you have to be conscious it won’t be like teaching other kids, it might be harder, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, not at all, it just means it will be necessary to apply different teaching strategies depending on the kid behavior.

2) Pay attention to details

Depending on the autism level, the child will not always verbally express their doubts, nevertheless, they tend to make particular gestures that can make us realize whether they understand what we’re teaching or not. Children within the spectrum don’t have only a way to behave, therefore, you need to be patient and pay attention to the kid behavior to find a way to understand what is happening in his head.

3) Apply visual strategies

For a child with autism, understanding what other people verbally say can be complicated; for this reason, we should try to use as many images as possible. Visual aid is usually more useful than verbal. Pictures, drawings, symbols, photographs, all of these are elements that can considerably effective on kids with ASD. It is worth mention that this doesn’t mean teaching only through words is not effective, but is undoubtedly better to support words with images.

4) Don’t be afraid to use tech

Technology alternatives can be used to facilitate learning. It is easier and less tedious for a boy or girl to press buttons and touchscreens than to write with a pencil on a piece of paper; and, since we seek to make teaching as effective as possible, it is important to consider this method. Plus, in today’s world, there are many pc programs or apps that are centered on helping them to develop different abilities; so without a doubt, those are worth to take a look at.

5) Keep them motivated

They can show a lot of disinterest in learning new tasks; for this reason, it is important to make teaching as dynamic as possible. Congratulate them every time they do something well; smile constantly; show a positive attitude at all times and if the lesson allow it, carry out some kind of learning game. The more dynamic the sessions, the more motivated they will be, therefore, the faster they’ll learn.

6) One step at a time

Patience is important. Is essential not to overload the child with complicated steps to follow; on the contrary, you must teach one thing at a time, Is truth that the learning will be slower, but at the end of the day, it will also be more effective, and that’s what’s really important. Kids with autism can be really interesting people, even though on simple sight they might seem less capable, there is no doubt they can reach incredible goals, but all of that starts with the teaching.

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