What is Autism?
An impairment of the neural growth – Autism, is a disease that affects a child from 18 – 36 months right after their birth. This disorder is characterized by a slightly different human behavior than the normal. Their social interaction skills and ways of communication may differ in many ways. This disorder comes into existence when the processing of information in the brain is altered due to differences in the way the nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize.
Kids who suffer from this disorder find it difficult to talk to other people and express their feelings. They normally keep to themselves and do not really like when someone approaches them or comes too close or touches them. Normal sounds in the surrounding may bother or annoy them easily leading them to cover their ears with their hands. They have trouble linking words to their meaning and expressions to feelings and have the tendency to repeat words or actions and occasionally show temper tantrums.
Education Techniques and Lesson Plans for Autistic Children:
Since all these are characteristics of the disorder special attention is given in educating them. Different ways are employed to make them understand and grasp certain concepts by practical and visual learning as well as other techniques. Working with pictures rather than words works wonders in putting through knowledge to our autistic children. Picture handouts that explain a certain word or concept makes them interpret the respective information better. Children with this disorder find it difficult to use pen or pencil for writing. For such kids the computer comes in handy. In many cases autistic children are extremely skilled when it comes to the usage of modern technology like the computer and all its functions. One can also seek other talents in them like love for music or art and incorporate related activities in their daily life.
Try to understand what fascinates the child the most and focus on that particular object and supply him more information on the same through pictures and books and also audio visuals. Teaching them various topics effectively can be done by using manipulatives, for instance, when an autistic kid is to be taught concepts of math he/she can be introduced to interesting and interactive computer programs, games or handheld electronic games. These children tend to get distracted easily by certain normal sounds and this may divert their attention from the study material thus it is crucial to take measures to ensure that their classroom are set in the perfect ambience to provide the apt study atmosphere for them.
There are innumerous lesson plans available on the internet for these children. You can feel free to ask help with these lessons online or may even offer help to others.There are many autism organizations also that lend free educational resources. These lessons can even be made available on mobile phones as per your convenience. These lesson plans may be categorized in various ways. These may include social skills that aims at improving your child’s communication and this can be done by the use of study tools like social stories, games, flash cards and activity guides. Language skills can be furbished by the use of picture cards and worksheets. Similarly, the child’s vocabulary and handwriting can be spruced up with the use of particular flash cards, charts and printable worksheets.
The child’s motor skills can also be improved by assigning to him/her jobs like cutting and tracing arts and crafts related materials or by engaging them in games that can be played indoors.
I really love these images.