Attention and concentration

Points to note

• A child with autism can be very easily distracted. He may find it hard to concentrate if he is disturbed by background noise, flickering lights or the movement of other children about the room. Classrooms that are very bright and colorful can overload a child with visual information. Many children find it particularly hard to ‘filter out’ background noise and visual information.
• Stress and anxiety will affect concentration levels. See the Behaviour Management section for more information.
• Strong perfume or deodorant may be overwhelming to the child, leading to an inability to concentrate.
• The student may have trouble understanding what he needs to focus on; he may be unaware of the ‘big picture’, concentrating instead on small, irrelevant details.
• The student is likely to have an obsessive interest that can intrude on his thoughts. He may pay little attention to an activity that does not fall into his particular area of interest.
• The student may ignore group instructions because he doesn’t realise that he is actually part of the group.
• Attention may be poor where there is a receptive language difficulty and the child does not understand what is being said. He may just ‘tune out’.
• The child may have difficulty predicting how long an activity will last; this uncertainty may cause anxiety which will affect his concentration.
• During an activity the student may get stuck but won’t ask for help and starts doing something else. Teachers may interpret this as poor concentration.
• It is common for children with autism to be very rigid and selective in their choice of food, ie. they will only eat foods of a certain texture or color. A diet that is nutritionally inadequate could result in tiredness and poor concentration.
• You will find that the student is far better at absorbing information from a documentary program or using educational software than listening to a teacher in class.

What you can do

• If appropriate, play background music to mask out unwanted noise.
• When demonstrating an activity you’ll need to remind the student what he needs to focus on. He may need frequent reminders. Visual cue cards may be more effective than verbal cues.
• Try to incorporate the student’s particular topic of interest into activities to increase his attention and motivation. This could be as simple as placing a sticker related to the child’s interest in the corner of a worksheet.
• Use the child’s name frequently when addressing the class as a whole. This will help him recognise he is part of the group. If the child has an aide, ask them to repeat the instruction to him individually if necessary.
• Keep your language clear and uncomplicated, giving one instruction at a time. Give the student sufficient time to process the instruction, then check that he has understood.
• Try to keep tasks as relevant and functional as possible. Children with autism tend to lack motivation when given tasks that have little relevance or meaning to them personally.
• Make sure the student understands the activity and knows how to start and when to finish. Use a kitchen timer or clock to show how long the activity will last; this will help him develop a concept of time.
• Place a visual cue card on the student’s desk as a reminder to ask for help. It doesn’t necessarily have to say ‘help’ as long as the student knows what it signifies.
• If concentration deteriorates throughout the day, it could be due to low energy levels. If you think the child’s diet may be poor, talk to his parents and suggest they consult a dietician.
• If all else fails and the student just won’t pay attention, he may need some time out. Remember we all have our bad days!

Creative writing and literacy

Points to note

• The child may acquire reading ability without fully understanding the process, which relies on the integrated use of visual, meaning and structural cues. It is typical for children with autism to have an uneven developmental profile.
• The child may be very good at reading because he has terrific visual learning skills. However some can decode words beyond the level of their comprehension. This is known as hyperlexia.
• Some children may have more difficulty learning to read. He may learn the names and sounds of letters by rote but may not understand how these sounds fit together to make a word.
• The child may refuse to read anything but non-fiction; this allows him to gather facts and knowledge on his preferred interest.
• The child may have an excellent rote memory. He may appear to be a competent reader but might actually be recalling a story he knows by heart.
• Most children with autism are visual learners. When learning new words, it is best to take a ‘whole word’ approach rather than a phonetic approach, as this may teach the child only to sound out the word, not the word itself.
• Comprehension can be difficult for the child with autism because of his‘theory of mind’ deficits. This means he has difficulty understanding the motivations and intentions of others, and hence the characters in the books that he reads. He may have an understanding of the story but is unable to answer questions about it. ‘Why’ questions are particularly difficult as they require the ability to reason.
• In creative writing, the child with autism can lack imagination, he may have difficulty getting started and organising his thoughts in sequence. He may not provide enough information to ensure reader understanding, assuming that the reader knows as much about the plot and characters as he does. He may only write on a limited range of topics. He may be unable to write about anything outside his own personal experience.

What you can do

• If the child is stuck reading books on one topic, encourage him to try books on related topics.
• Home made books with familiar photos and stories about the child’s family, pets and activities can be more meaningful than story books.
• If the child has poor imaginative skills he may have difficulty relating to fantasy stories and prefer to read about things he is interested in.
• If the student knows some books by heart, photocopy the text, cut it into sentences and ask him to put these in the right order to develop comprehension.
• Computer programs that teach comprehension and creative writing will be of great benefit to the student and encourage him to work independently.
• Encourage the student to make his or her own story using computer images, photos, pictures and drawings. Encourage him to describe what is on each page, writing the words for him if necessary.
• Practise sequencing using images that show a sequence of events. Ask the student to retell the events in his own words. This will help the child to develop an understanding of questions such as “What happened before …?” and “What happens next …?”
• After reading a story ask the child ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ questions. Many will find these questions confusing, so it may help to provide two alternative answers to prompt the correct response. As the student’s verbal ability and comprehension improves, you could introduce ‘why’ questions, again giving the child prompts to develop his understanding.
• In creative writing, allow the student to write about personal experiences. Then in order to develop creativity, pose questions like, “What would have happened if…” and have the student write an alternate version.
• If the student has difficulty starting a creative writing task, try getting him to draw pictures or cartoons first to aid organisation of thoughts.

Effective rewards and motivators

Points to note

• Children with autism usually do not have a built-in desire to please others.
• Rewarding positive behaviour helps children with autism understand what is acceptable behaviour.
• The child might become anxious when asked to do something that is unfamiliar, preferring the activities he knows becuase these make him feel safe and secure. This is why it’s important to identify and use appropriate rewards and motivators.
• The rewards that motivate normally-developing children often do not appeal to a child with autism.
• The usual things we say or do to praise a student for a job well done may have no real meaning to the student with ASD. For example, "Nice job" or a pat on the back.

What you can do

• Assess the child’s interests to establish what will be the most effective rewards and motivators. Conduct regular reviews as the child’s interests can change over a period of time.
• Creative teaching staff can work the child’s preferred interest into lessons.
• Young children will need to learn there is a connection between rewards, praise and good work. Give praise immediately, remembering to look and sound happy so that the child understands your meaning even if he doesn’t understand your words.
• Allow the child free time at his preferred interest if he completes his work before the other children.
• Give the child ‘Behaviour Bucks’ as a reward for good behaviour. Photocopy dollar ‘notes’ that can then be used to ‘buy’ a larger reward. A great method for teaching money maths.
• Another tangible reward system is a sticker card with a grid of squares. The child earns one sticker for good behaviour. When the grid is full it can be traded in for a reward. Use stickers that relate to the child’s interest.
• When the child is working toward a reward have a picture or photo of it as a visual reminder. Make sure the child understands exactly how many points he needs to earn his reward. A social story can help the child understand the reward system. See Social Stories.
• Use a communication book between home and school to report on progress, skills learnt, behaviour etc. This will give parents the opportunity to learn about and praise their child for good behaviour.
• Initially offer the child frequent rewards to improve motivation - you can be more selective later.
• Change the reward system regularly to keep up the student's interest and motivation.
• A child with challenging behaviour may hear nothing but negative comments, so be quick to praise even minor improvements in behaviour. This will help improve self-esteem.
• Make your praise meaningful. Instead of "Good job" or "Well done" try these;
• You've certainly worked hard.
• Good remembering.
• You must have been practising.
• You're really learning a lot.
• Now you've worked it out.
• You're doing much better today.
• That's a real improvement.
• I'm happy to see you enjoy working.
• You're getting better at it every day.
• You remembered everything!
• You're very good at that now.

Handwriting difficulties and note taking

Points to note

• Many children with autism have fine motor difficulties that it make it hard for them to write neatly. They may not have enough control in their hands to hold a pen properly.
• Some students are perfectionists who insist on always forming their letters perfectly. They may become so obsessed that they constantly erase their writing and start over, never completing an activity. Other students may be extremely slow writers, or they may write well at the beginning of an activity but quickly tire.
• Sometimes a child with autism will insist on writing all his letters in capitals.
• The student’s handwriting may suffer if he is anxious about writing well or stressed by some other issue.
• The student may have difficulty taking notes from the blackboard, as this involves reading the words, keeping them in his memory momentarily, writing them down, often while listening to verbal instructions from a teacher! It is very difficult for a child with autism to attend to more than one stimulus at a time.
• It can be difficult for a child with autism to make the change to cursive writing after he has learned to print.
• Sometimes a child will be so self-conscious about his poor handwriting that he is too embarrassed to hand in his work.
• Some children with autism have great difficulty reading the handwriting of others.

What you can do

• The child may need to use paper with larger lines to keep his writing even and uniform.
• The child who insists on writing in capitals may have learnt to write this way prior to school entry and has become ‘stuck’. It is up to the individual to decide whether to tackle this issue. There are many other ways of recording information.
• Some children will benefit from a reference close at hand. Keep a laminated alphabet card inside the child’s folder cover or taped to his desk.
• Show the child how you handle mistakes when you are writing.
• Sometimes a child will write better if you tape his page to his desk so that he doesn’t have to hold the page with his spare hand. Some children might just need a prompt to ‘use your helping hand’ to stop the page moving while they write.
• Sometimes a child writes better if his writing surface is raised to a 15-degree angle.
• While handwriting difficulties need to be addressed, consider alternative methods of recording such as using a laptop or mini tape recorder. These can be useful when the student needs to record a lot of information.
• Advise the student of how much he will need to write at the beginning of the lesson so that he knows what is expected of him.
• Assign a note taking buddy – have another student photocopy his notes to ensure the student with autism has a complete set. Provide a handout with a summary of key points
• A social story could help to teach the child that it is OK to make mistakes. See the page on Social stories.
• Allow the student to type written work. Ask the student’s parents if they can transcribe the work if the student is not a competent typist.

Improving numeracy skills

Points to note

• Children with autism usually find it easy to learn by rote, so you may find they are very good at reciting times tables. Times tables are predictable and never change; the child is likely to be reassured by this and may really enjoy learning them. Some children learn timetables by rote but don’t really have the comprehension to adapt this to a real life scenario. For example, the student can recite times table but can’t answer the question, ‘If I had 12 boxes with 8 chocolates in each how many chocolates would I have?’
• Another confusing aspect of numeracy is the perplexing array of words that mean the same thing. For example, when talking about subtracting you may say ‘minus’, ‘less’, ‘take’ and ‘take away’. When adding, you might say ‘plus’, ‘and’, ‘add’ etc. Just as it can be difficult for children with autism to learn that some words have more than one meaning, they can be confused to learn that one concept can be described by so many different words. Avoid using just one term, thinking that this will avoid confusion. The child is likely to become ‘stuck’ and have even greater difficulty later on.
• Some children have difficulty with concepts like more, less, half, double, quarter.
• Some children with autism like the rigidity of maths; working through the same problems over and over and getting the same answer.
• Some children will quickly grasp the concept of a maths exercise after doing a question or two – they won’t see the point in doing an entire page of sums and may refuse to do so.

What you can do

• Use the student’s special interest and meaningful, real life concepts to help motivate the child to learn mathematics.
• Teach the student to generalise information and think flexibly by making a dictionary of math words that have the same meaning. Put this on the wall or stick a list inside the child's workbook as a visual reminder.
• Computer programs that teach mathematic skills can help with motivation. Many children with autism are very competent using computers; they like the fact that computers present information in a logical, predictable sequence without the confusing social aspect of formal teaching.
• You might reduce the amount of work the child has to complete if you feel he has quickly grasped the concept of the exercise.
• To assist in development of concepts, some students may need to continue to use concrete, manipulative materials such as M.A.B., number cards, bead frames or an abacus to give visual support to written equations.
• Continue to display maths charts that show numerical, geometric and spatial information, eg Maths Manager posters.

Improving organisational skills

Points to note

• Children with autism tend to have poor executive functioning skills. This means the student might have difficulty with organisation, task sequencing, planning, prioritising and getting started.
• The child may become easily overloaded and confused by having to cope with the social demands of school life. Increased anxiety will affect his ability to organise himself.
• The child may not see the point of being well organised as he may have little motivation to please others or master new skills.
• The child may have particular difficulty remembering which items to bring from home and what he needs to take home each day, the materials required for certain classes, knowing where to put answers on a work sheet and finding his way around the school.

What you can do

• The child will benefit from having a map of the school. You could use highlighters to color-code play areas, home room, canteen, etc.
• Use a book or diary to record details of homework assignments. This should clearly state what is expected as well as listing the books and resources needed to fulfil the requirements. Have the child's parents check and sign the book and copy important dates on to a calendar.
• Encourage the child to use a calendar at home (preferably one related to his special interest) as a constant visual reminder of important dates, assignments due etc.
• Talk to the child’s parents about providing a suitable place at home for the child to complete his homework. It is essential for a child with autism to have a space that is free from distractions.
• It is important that children with autism have time to ‘unwind’ at the end of the day so you may need to lower your expectations regarding the amount of homework the child is required to do. You could even set aside some class time for the child to complete a homework assignment. See also Homework.
• Use a visual or written timetable that shows the items that are required for each lesson.
• Enlarge worksheets onto A3 size paper and using a highlighter, mark the spaces for each answer.
• Allocate a time each week for 'housekeeping' and a general tidy up of the student's work area, locker etc. The student may also benefit from having a larger locker if this is possible. While the extra space may assist with organisation, remember his executive functioning difficulties could make him incapable of determining which materials are essential, useful or unnecessary, so he may need assistance with this.
• A child with autism may need some help getting started with an activity. A physical prompt may be necessary. Or you could provide a list sequencing the tasks to reach the goal of the activity.

Learning to ask for help

Points to note

• A child with autism will often have difficulty asking for help; he may continue with a problem until he becomes so frustrated he has a tantrum. Children with autism don’t seem to appreciate that other people may be able to help them.
• In children with autism, there is impairment in their ability to recognise the thoughts and intentions of other people. The child may not understand that someone else might be able to offer a solution to his problem.
• Even a child with good language skills may not recognise the need to tell someone that he is frustrated, that he wants something, or that something is troubling him. He may think that others already know what he thinks or how he feels without having to verbalise his thoughts.
• A student who is being harassed or bullied may not complain about or report incidents because he is unaware that teaching staff actually need this information in order to take action (he may just assume they already know).
• A student who appears lazy or avoids his work may in fact be unable to get on with the task because he is stuck.

What you can do

• A child with autism needs help to understand his own emotions and how to convey them.
• If you ask an open question, the student may say 'no' when he means 'yes'. For example, instead of saying "Are you too hot?" you might say, "If you are feeling too hot then you need to take off your jumper." Instead of saying "Do you need help?" say "If it's hard then you need to say 'I need help'".
• Be aware of the tasks that cause the most difficulty. Work alongside the child and help him to recognise when he is having difficulty. Teach a standard phrase to use, such as “I’m stuck” or “I can’t do this.” Older children who don't want to draw attention to themselves could use an agreed signal to alert their teacher that they need assistance.
• Appoint an understanding peer or staff member to counsel and debrief the child following an incident.
• There may be a tendency for the child to apply one problem solving strategy and apply this rigidly. He will need encouragement and assistance to think 'outside the square'.

Literacy and comprehension

Points to note

• Children with autism tend to be fascinated with numbers and letters from an early age. Some may teach themselves to read by the time they reach school.
• The child may acquire reading ability without fully understanding the sounds that different letters make. It is typical for a child with autism to have an uneven developmental profile.
• The child may be exceptionally good at reading. He may decode the words but does not understand what he has read. This is known as hyperlexia.
• Another child may have much more difficulty learning to read. He may learn the names and sounds of letters by rote, but does not understand how these sounds fit together to make a word.
• The child may only read non-fiction; this allows him to gather facts and knowledge on his preferred interest.
• Some children have excellent rote memories. They appear to be competent readers but might actually be recalling a story they know by heart.
• Most children with autism are visual learners. When learning new words, it is best to take a ‘whole word’ approach rather than a phonetic approach, as this may teach the child only to sound out the word, not the word itself.
• Comprehension may always be difficult for a child with autism because of his ‘theory of mind’ deficits. This means he will have difficulty understanding that other people (including the characters in story books) have motivations, intentions and beliefs different to his own. There is difficulty in understanding questions, in particular ‘why’ as this requires reasoning.
• In creative writing, the child may lack imagination and have difficulty organising his thoughts in sequence. He may not provide enough information to ensure reader understanding, assuming that the reader knows as much about the plot and characters as himself. He may only write on a limited range of topics.

What you can do

• Some young children will need encouragement to develop an interest in books. Try lift-the-flap books, noisy books and books related to the child’s preferred interest. To make sure the child does not get stuck on one topic, try to expand the child’s interest toward related topics.
• For early readers choose books with repetitive, simple stories. There is no point reading a story with complex sentences if the child does not have the language skills to understand the story.
• Home made books with familiar photos and stories about the child’s family, pets and activities can be more meaningful to a child with autism.
• Help the child to understand that words have meaning by attaching labels to items in the classroom. Encourage the child’s parents to do this at home too.
• A child with a poor imagination may have difficulty relating to fantasy stories and will prefer books that are more meaningful to him personally. A competent reader may be more interested in reading non-fiction so that he can improve his knowledge of things that interest him.
• If the child knows some books by rote, photocopy the text, cut it into sentences and ask the child to put these in the right order.
• Computer programs that teach sounds and word recognition will be of great benefit to children with autism and encourage the child to work independently.
• Encourage the child to make his or her own story using computer images, photos, pictures and drawings. Encourage the child to describe what is on each page. Write the words for him if necessary.
• Practise sequencing using sets of cards that show a series of events. Ask the child to retell the events in his own words and help him to understand phrases such as “What happened before …?” and “What happens next …?”
• After reading a story ask the child ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘how’ questions. Many children with autism find questions confusing, so it may help to provide two alternative answers to prompt the correct response. As the child’s verbal ability and comprehension improves, you could introduce ‘why’ questions, again giving the child prompts to develop his understanding.
• In creative writing, allow the child to write about personal experiences, then to expand the activity and develop creativity, pose questions like, “What would have happened if…”
• If the child has difficulty getting started in creative writing, write the first sentence for him.

Memory recall and reflecting on learning

Points to note

• Children with autism can easily recall established facts and general knowledge. They can have excellent rote memories.
• According to some theories, many learning difficulties experienced by children with autism arise from their failure to develop an experience ‘of self’. It is as if they have difficulty experiencing events as happening to themselves, as if they are watching a video of life. This lack of experiencing self has a profound effect on the child’s ability to process information.
• Children with autism may have difficulty accessing and retrieving memories without a specific cue. The child may not have a meaningful framework in which to link events and personal memories.
• Children with autism have difficulty responding to open questions, such as “What did you do on the weekend?’ but they are able to answer questions when given alternatives, such as, “Did you go the park or the beach on the weekend?”

What you can do

• Be aware of the child’s difficulties with open questions, only use these if you feel the child will be able to give a correct response. Otherwise, ask questions that give the child a cue as to the correct response.
• There are several strategies to try that may help children with autism to memorise specific information.
  These include:
  1. when talking about experiences, discuss the child’s personal response, ie. how he felt and what he was thinking. Most children will need assistance to identify these feelings,
  2. working the information into a diagram or picture form,
  3. helping the child to establish links between new information and information he already knows.
• When a new skill has been learnt it is helpful to reflect on this learning before moving on.
  This can be done by;
  • identifying key points,
  • asking the child to clearly state what he thinks he has learnt,
  • make connections between what has been learnt and prior knowledge in the subject,
  • make a judgement about how this new skill or information will be useful in future.

Modelling and prompting

Points to note

• It is hard for children with autism to acquire new skills by being told what to do; they rely more on modelling and prompts.
• The child may be unable to imagine what it would be like to master a new skill; that is, to imagine himself performing the activity and the feeling of pride and sense of achievement associated with learning that new skill.
• The child may have poor imitation skills. He may not ‘pick up’ new skills by simply watching another person. He may focus on irrelevant details and miss the point of the demonstration. He might miss the ‘big picture’.
• The child might have quite good modelling skills and may be able to copy what you do. However he may still require a physical or verbal prompt in order to complete an activity because he gets ‘stuck’ and forgets what he has to do.

What you can do

• When teaching new skills, use a simple verbal prompt accompanied by a physical prompt (as long as the child is comfortable with physical contact.) Physical prompts should be withdrawn quickly but gradually, otherwise the child will come to depend on it. The verbal prompt can then be gradually withdrawn and replaced by a sign or gesture.
• Hand over hand modelling is a useful way of teaching physical skills, particularly those that require fine motor skills and manipulation, such as removing lids, threading beads, using pencils or painting. This method will give the child a ‘physical experience’ of performing the activity. This assistance can also be withdrawn gradually by allowing the child to complete more and more steps of the activity on his own.

Physical education

Points to note

• Many children with Asperger’s Syndrome or other autistic disorders have some degree of motor clumsiness. Some have an odd gait when walking or running. There may be a lack of co-ordination between the upper and lower limbs.
• The child may have poor ball handling skills, particularly if visual perception is a problem. For example, he may be unable to anticipate a ball being thrown in his direction. A child with poor ball handling skills may be ridiculed by his peers and excluded from school ground games. Unfortunately, when this occurs the child has limited opportunities to practise his skills and enjoy the social aspects of sporting activities.
• A child with tactile problems will dislike the physical contact of team sports.
• The child may have a very strong sense of justice; he might get very upset if he believes someone has cheated in a game. Some cannot bear to lose a game; they cannot handle the outcome being other than what they expected and they are often perfectionists.
• Proprioceptive difficulty leads to an inability to judge the position of one’s body in space. The child may not be very good at imitating. Balance may also be affected.
• The child may have auditory sensitivities; acoustics in a gymnasium can be unbearable to children with autism. The sound of whistles, bouncing balls and children’s voices echoing off the walls can be horrendous.

What you can do

• A physiotherapist or occupational therapist can put together a remedial program to assist with co-ordination.
• Ball handling skills can greatly improve the child’s acceptance by his peers. He may never be an outstanding player but ball skills can be improved through a regular physical education program.
• If auditory sensitivity is a problem, the child may prefer to wear ear protectors. Have an agreement that the child can remove himself from the gym is he is feeling overloaded.
• Use a social story to teach rules of games and develop an understanding of fair play.
• Always use teacher selected groups to ensure the child with autism is not left out. Due to the child's difficulties with motor skills he may be among the last to be picked by his classmates.
• The ability to swim does not seem to be affected greatly. This can be one area where the child can develop competence and be on a par with his peers. See the Recreation section for tips on teaching Aquatics to children with autism.

Transfer of learned skills

Points to note

• Children with autism are often rigid in their way of thinking. He can have great difficulty transferring the skills learnt in one setting to another, similar setting.
• Problems with memory recall lead to difficulty searching the memory for useful information. Unless they are specifically cued, children with autism lack the ability to spontaneously search their memory for knowledge that can be transferred to a new situation.
• The child may be unable to display certain skills at school yet they can perform them independently at home, or vice versa.
• This inability to generalise skills can be a big problem if the child’s teacher is unaware of just how rigid the child can be.

What you can do

• It is important to always generalise what is being taught with a range of examples and situations. Children with autism need to be given the opportunity to learn the same thing in different situations to encourage flexible thinking and transference of skills.
• Practise each new skill with a range of practical examples in different settings. Then move on to more complex ideas.
• There needs to be good communication between home and school. Keep a record of skill development in a Communication Book and send it home with the child each day. Newly acquired skills can then be practised at home.
• When a new skill has been learnt, reflect on the learning experience by talking about what has been learnt and how this skill might be used in the future.
• The student should also be given the opportunity to enjoy what he has learnt. Reflect on the child’s achievement, pointing out he is happy, proud etc.