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For this week's prompt #41, I want to share my experience with kids who are on the autistm spectrum. I do not have any family member or friend who has autism but as a teacher I have worked with some students who are on the spectrum and it has been an amazing journey so far. The kids are usually unique and fun to work with
Children who are the on the autistm spectrum have their own unique traits which may not seem generally acceptable so what we do is to help manage them and help them fit into the society. They have different strengths and behaviours and it is something that we should appreciate and work on rather than trying to change them. For instance autistic students have passionate interest for specific topics so what I do is incorporate their interest into their learning or their social behaviors. This will help them to learn faster and integrate with others in the community.
A particular boy I taught some months back was so interested in numbers he would always go to number charts and number toys, he will come with number stickers from home and the likes, so because he liked numbers we made his learning Numeracy centered we would incorporate Numeracy in almost everything he was learning this helped him to learn faster. To help with his social skills, we will put number toys around other kids so that it would make him interact with them since he had few words and loved to isolate himself. They would have to do the hands on activity together.
Another child liked cars, he was so obsessed with cars but he hardly spoke to anyone except when prompted but this was once in a while so because of his love for cars I would bring all the toy cars in the class put them around the other children and this would make him interact with them because he saw something he was particularly interested in, so we focus on their interest and bring them out using that.
Autistic children also thrive with routines so I'd make visual timetables or schedules to help them especially for children who had little or no words. This helped to create structure and stability for them, and if there are to be any changes in the routines or schedules, we have to prepare them for that we can use countdown or stories or continuous promts in order to help them see that the routines have changed.
Some autistic children experience sensory overload that means that they can be overwhelmed with loud noise, bright light or certain images. It could also be a sudden change in routine or even a person they are unfamiliar with, so what do to help to create a friendly calm environment where they can thrive in their learning without throwing tantrums as a result of sensory overload
Autistic children sometimes have delayed speech, some use few words when speaking, some are nonverbal and some can be very formal, while some just echo what you say. Many autistic children are also visual and writing learners they are always drawn to what they see that interests them while some love to draw, write, and others are drawn to technology. To help them we use visual materials, a sign language or tech devices in order to help them to learn and focus while learning.
Autistic children also have challenges with social cues like eye contact, taking turns following simple rules and interpreting facial expressions. To help them we teach this social skills through modeling role play, continuous redirection, step by step guide, prompting and repetitive learning.Therapists and specialists also help kids with autism to thrive and build behavioral skills.
To summarize, autistic people should be understood, respected and loved. With love and patience they can flourish in an inclusive environment so everyone should do their part in showing love to people on the autistm spectrum. They are different not less!
Thanks for reading through 🙏