Autism & Communication Challenges - low tech AT - CARDS

Today's blog is my journey into expressing my limited understanding of the

Break Card - "Home-Made" on Word

communication difficulties a child with Autism might face. A child with Autism faces many communication challenges stemming directly from the inherent characteristics of Autism. While each child's ability to communication will vary - there will be some

degree of a language difficult. The difficulty could range from not understanding the nuance of language, inferring, or taking the spoken word literally.  Many children with Autism have difficulty reading the body language and social cues of the people around them. Children with Autism also have difficulty expresses their needs and wants; this can be from a lack of vocabulary; or at the other extreme a huge vocabulary that is content specific and does not meet everyday needs.

This link to Autism World is a great site to check out for additional information.
Autism World

Choice Cards - "Home-made" on Word

When you have a student with ASD you can investigate specific ways to help the child because there are specific skills that are involved in expressive communication. For communication to be effective there was be intent of some desired response. Because expressive communication is defined in the context of social situations you can see why a child diagnosed on the ASD spectrum would experience difficulty.

After reviewing an article by Susan Stokes (Autism Specialist) I have narrowed down her information to target a few key strategies for teaching.

Parent - What I did today

As with any instruction, begin with the child - find their strengths and interests. When you know this you will be able to target their reasons to communicate - with this motivation, you can then use these situations to motivate the child to participate. I am adding sample break cards which are an integral part of expressive communication - and a cornerstone of student involvement.

Another important part of communication for a student with Autism is their ability to "tell" their parents at the end of their school day. The teacher can write the questions on the back of an index card, and have sample pictures on the other side or on a ring. You can use the same picture icons that were used for their choice or break cards, just change the format.