Autism, or as it is more commonly known, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a broad range of conditions. These conditions are generally characterized by social skills, behaviors, verbal and non-verbal challenges.

According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 54 children in the US is affected by autism.

Autistic children often struggle to deal with day-to-day tasks, including learning lessons.

 

Typical Challenges For Students With ASD

As already mentioned, children suffering from autism often find it challenging to communicate and understand things around them.

It is noteworthy that one of the most common triggers for such behavior is the noise around them.

Autistic children are often distracted by the noises around them.

Other triggers may include social gatherings, intense sensory stimulations, and changes in routine.

Moreover, autistic children often experience flashes of anxiety when they come across any unfamiliar situation.

As a result, it becomes challenging for them to learn new lessons.

So, what is the solution here?

One of the possible solutions may include special education programs.

 

What Is Special Education Program?

Speaking generally, students with special needs do not fit in nicely with the regular schooling curriculum.

To help special needs students, a personalized curriculum is needed.

Such a curriculum is designed keeping in mind the individual needs of the students.

For example, a student suffering from speech disability might be given lessons that do not require them to speak up.

The same goes for autistic children. Special education programs ensure that students are delivered their lessons in familiar environments where they feel comfortable.

In a way, special education programs are designed to deliver one-on-one lessons to students with special needs.

It is worth mentioning here that it is not only the teachers who need to take special care when it comes to special education. The parents, indeed, can also play an essential role in education for students suffering from autism.

And this is precisely what you’ll find further in this article.

So, keep reading to know what techniques as a parent you can use to help your child with their education.

 

Avoid Sensory Overloading

As you may know, students suffering from autism are easily distracted. For instance, fluorescent lights can create a distraction. Likewise, a specific smell, or as already mentioned, unnecessary noises, can also create distractions.

Although it might not be possible to eliminate all distractions. But, what you can do instead is keep these distractions to the minimum.

For example, you can create a relaxed and calming room for your kid to study in. You can use colors like blues and greens that give a sense of belongingness.

The other thing that you can do is keeping the walls bare, as much as possible. Too many wall arts can easily distract students suffering from autism.

 

Deliver Visually Appealing Lessons

Another practice that you can take up to help your child with their studies is using visual content.

To your surprise, even autistic children who can read can benefit from visual content. You may even consider Online Reading and Writing Tutoring for your child. Perhaps, it should also help cater to your child’s personalized needs for learning new lessons.

Visuals can be reminders of classroom rules, primarily when no physical classes are being conducted.

In addition to this, you can use pictures and live or working models to help with the explanation and understanding of the concepts.

 

Play Predictable

As mentioned already, being in unfamiliar situations can trigger anxiety in autistic children. And this also applies to being in an unpredictable position.

Being predictable can help ease anxiety in autistic children.

As a parent, you can play some fun prediction games with your child. But keep in mind that you stay predictable.

For example, you can ask questions about lessons that your child has learned. Keep the questions simple and straightforward. In other words, try not to put up questions that would force your child to brainstorm a lot.

Although it might seem a little challenging for you to find out what your child is expecting, you might excel at it with practice.

Besides, being predictable would also induce a sense of familiarity in your child. As a result, they may find it easier to remember the lessons that they learn.

And, gradually, you can help them learn to face difficult life situations.

 

Use Concrete Language

As a parent, you might find it easy to use figurative speech, especially if you have more than one child.

But, with the one suffering from autism, you might find it difficult to tell them what’s right and what’s wrong if you use symbolic speech.

From experience and years of studies and data accumulated, we know that autistic children usually overhear anything that may sound like a daydream to them.

When explaining real-life situations to your child, you can try to use concrete words. For example, if you’re to tell your child that drinking alcohol is harmful to health, you must do it as is. Try to be as elaborative as possible.

Meaning, you can tell them what could be the aftereffects of consuming alcohol. Or how it can damage their body and so on.

Being specific with what you say could mean a lot to your child.

 

Teach Social Skills

This one is more of a hidden curriculum than a straightforward program.

You must tell your child things like what behaviors can trigger what emotions in another person.

For example, if you’re trying to teach them to be polite, you might need to show them how being rude would feel.

The idea here is to teach analogies so that your child learns how to behave and how it would help him survive through his life.

 

In A Nutshell

Children affected by autism are like normal kids, but they need a little more effort than others. Meaning, sometimes even the simplest of things might not be easy to teach them.

Being assertive and optimistic about dealing with their behavior and reactions could help them learn a lot quicker than you might think.

Besides, education is a collaborative effort between the teachers and the parents.

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July 9, 2021