12/02/2023
Tips for successfully supporting autistic learners.
What can educators do to support us? Ask yourself:
🔶 What barriers might be preventing us from completing the task?
🔶 Have the instructions been given in simple, literal language and have we had time to process them?
🔶 Do we have the skills required to complete the task?
🔶 Are there any environmental stressors?
🔶 Are our needs for safety and connection met?
🔶 Have there been any unexpected changes?
And respond with support and accommodations.
For more expert tips on innovations in education, register for our online conference happening Feb 23-24 here: https://gems.eventsair.com/2023-reframing-autism/
[Against an orange background with a colourful infinity symbol there is a text box titled Supporting Autistic Learners. Beneath are two columns. Under the one titled 'What helps us' are bullet points listing: Rules, instructions and classroom expectations that are explicit and have abstract phrases clearly defined.
Clear instruction on what the expectation is, what “finished” looks like and the time frame I have to do it in. Receiving verbal / non-verbal / visual cues to indicate transition. Access to fidgets and sensory comforts when I need to focus or regulate. Captioned text in videos and slideshows. The option to express our knowledge in a way that makes sense to us, for example, visually, verbally, in writing, or using technology. Under a column titled 'What hinders us' are bullet points listing: Having to focus on sitting still, looking at our teacher and having 'quiet hands' when we need that focus to listen to their words. A noisy, unpredictable environment – fire drills, school bells, flickering fluorescent lighting, scraping chairs, ticking clocks, overpowering teachers' perfume, scratchy uniforms. Feeling criticised by our teacher, or that we can’t trust them to know our needs. Being made to do group work. Reading aloud or presenting in front of the class. The demands of schedules and deadlines which offer no choice and force us to relinquish our autonomy. The Reframing Autism logo is at the bottom.]
