Communication and Autism Every autistic child communicates. Some use a lot of spoken language, some use very little, and some use none at all, relying instead on gesture, expression, behaviour, signing or AAC tools (augmentative and alternative communication). If you know more than one autistic child, you already know how Read more
The concept of ‘like’ and ‘don’t like’ Like any abstract theme, the concept of ‘like’ and ‘don’t like’ can sometimes be challenging for children with autism to understand. Therefore, it is important to ensure a child really understands what it means to ‘like’ something. A successful strategy is to model Read more
Emotional regulation In order to be ready to learn, children must be regulated and have their physical, sensory and emotional needs met. Let’s face it, a child is not going to learn anything if they are, for example: Over stimulated Under stimulated Very tired/hungry/thirsty Need the toilet If a child Read more
From left to right: Myself – Steph Reed, Jarymke Malijaars (Ku Leuven), Pat Quigley (The Garden Head of School) and Beth Junor (Specialist ASD Speech and Language Therapist). I was very grateful to attend the ComFor training held at The Garden School in January. The ComFor assessment is a tool used Read more
Intensive Interaction I highly recommend the Intensive Interaction approach to learning early communication skills. I have had many positive and rewarding interactions with my pupils through using the Intensive Interaction principles. “Intensive Interaction is an approach to teaching the pre-speech fundamentals of communication to children and adults who have severe Read more
Choiceboard Creator: Review ChoiceBoard Creator is a great resource for creating your own customisable choice boards. This could be a choice board for giving a child a choice such as what they want to eat for lunch or to use as part of a comprehension activity such as answering “which Read more
The School Setting: A school setting for a child with autism should be highly structured and have familiar routines that the child can anticipate. Communication should be encouraged through speech as well as sign, symbols, photos and objects, depending on the ability of the child. A classroom set up specifically Read more
Attention Autism After using the idea of an ‘attention bucket’, I looked further into the Attention Autism approach. The Attention Autism approach focuses on developing attention and listening skills and giving the children “an irresistible invitation to learn”. ‘Attention Bucket’ An ‘attention bucket’ is a bucket full of motivating and exciting toys and Read more