Teaching Children With Autism |
Being a parent of a child with autism, I can tell you the most difficult task and teaching children with autism is a challenge. The biggest challenge was teaching him how to read, without any skills or even knowing at the time he was autistic. Reading skills can be a difficult task for you and your child. There may be some children who may never read, and there are some that are higher functioning autistic that can to a certain level, then there are those like my son who become excellent readers.
Teaching children with autism how to read is going to be significantly harder than teaching the average child to read. You will need a lot of patience as an autistic child has very short attention spans. They have a difficult time with the rules of reading and grammar, as compared to children without autism.
Reading needs to be a fun learning activity for any child, but when you are trying to teach children with autism, you need to choose a method that will reach them inside. For autistic children that are musically inclined will greatly benefit by using music as a tool. There are quite a few programs that use music and singing for teaching things such as reading, math, manners and safety.
There are also games that can be used as a great method of interaction, helping them with their attention span, which you will find to be your biggest obstacle. It is important for you to remember that when teaching children with autism to read, that it will take creative thinking skills and autistic children struggle with this. So it will be best to focus on things that are reality based. Try to focus on stories that are based on real children doing normal daily things, try to avoid fantasy and fiction.
Remember to think visually as you read to an autistic child. They will be more likely to learn the words and letters through some visual stimulation. Take what they are interested in and integrate it into their learning, keeping their attention longer. Teaching children with autism can be a challenge but always very rewarding. My son finally grasped the concept of reading at the age of 18, but up to that point I had never given up. You can't give up either.
|
