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Classroom strategies for autistic children

Joshua is seven. Like most first graders, he goes to school every morning. Unlike most first graders, Joshua has been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. He has a demonstrable lack of social and communicative skills that have, at times, proven to create difficult days for his teachers, his parents, and himself. On any given day, there are forces from at least three varying dynamics in play, any one of which could serve as the catalyst for disrupting the day.

The first dynamic is the school and the rules imposed by that construct: the need for a general calm in the classroom to enable the teacher to teach, the necessary scheduling of repetitive activities and the forced, societal peer pressure of peacefully coexisting with other children.

Obviously, these rules affect all of the children and not just those with disabilities like Joshua. For autistic children, these regularly scheduled events and activities serve as touchstones or anchor points of familiarity throughout their day, helping them to stay focused and on task. In cases where that routine is disrupted, the potential for chaos looms large.

Secondly, is home life. Again, disruptions to schedules or changes in the routine can spell disaster. Adherence to a routine, because of how that dovetails into a set of memorized, oft practiced rules and restrictions generally lessens the fear and apprehension of an autistic child.

The third dynamic is the autistic child, them self. Some days, for no apparent reason, all of the painstakingly taught and learned and reinforced lessons, the hard fought forward progress simply vanishes. Parents find themselves reinforcing rules that have not been broken for months. Teachers may find it necessary to retreat to earlier concepts and building blocks of learning that the child had demonstrated an acceptable grasp of previously. With no warning, no indication prior to it happening, the throw back days can mushroom out of control rapidly.

Given the difficulties, what strategies can we use in the classroom to help keep the high-functioning autistic, elementary schoolchild focused, and learning at an acceptable pace?

Establish a sense of order

A clearly defined set of rules and a schedule is a must. The rules need not be overly long or complicated and the schedule could be as simple as recess is after we do math. For the younger elementary school kids, visuals and manipulatives can help; a clock face taped to the student's desk with movable

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