- What techniques do you recommend for interacting with a person with ASD?
- What readings would you recommend to families to improve these aspects of communication and social interaction?
- What readings would you recommend to teachers to learn more about communication with students with ASD?
- How can you get a child to " listen " when they are not interested in doing so, without having to repeat the question many times or raise your voice?
- My son is 4 years old, and when he does something he shouldn't, I explain why he shouldn't do it, but I don't think he understands because he does it again. I don't know how to do it.
- How can I explain to my 6-year-old son the importance of giving other children space, not putting himself above others, and avoiding asking the same question repeatedly to avoid rejection from other children?
- I have a 14-year-old son with ASD and ADHD. How can I communicate better with him so that he doesn't become aggressive or angry every time I ask him to take a shower, do his homework, or put down his mobile phone, which he is very addicted to?
- Is it good to force children with ASD to interact with other classmates if they don't want to?
- When they are young or adults, how can we get them to leave the house if they also don't have a job? Is this isolation good for them?
- As a teacher, I struggle because with so many students, we lose sight of the needs of individuals with ASD. How can we help them and ensure they understand what we're saying?
- Can emotions be addressed with children with ASD in the school setting?
- What resources are available for adults with ASD? The few that families find are private and expensive.
- What strategies do you recommend to encourage the willingness to communicate using non-primary reinforcers in children with ASD and disabilities? Specifically, in cases of non-verbal ASD, without communication using pictograms or other alternative communication systems.
- How can we address their needs and reduce the anxiety they experience in everyday situations?
- How can you relate to a medical professional with ASD?
- What professional profile is best suited to work on communicative intent and interaction in people with ASD?
- How could the curriculum level be adapted to the profiles of children with ASD?
- How can we support a person with Asperger's Syndrome when we see that they are having trouble communicating?
As a teacher, I struggle because with so many students, we lose sight of the needs of individuals with ASD. How can we help them and ensure they understand what we're saying?
In the classroom, to ensure that a student has understood what is being asked of them, we must approach them and ask them directly if they have understood, because sometimes we assume that they are understanding us and this is not the case.
The teacher must adapt to the student, not the other way around. The classic trial-and-error method doesn't work with people with ASD. As a starting point, it's important to consider the student's own interests.
It's important to keep in mind that they have difficulty adapting to new situations and changes. A structured environment with routines and activities is essential. Using visual schedules and timetables is helpful. Provide them with all the necessary materials and resources to complete tasks and gradually increase their independence.
In these activities, visual elements should take precedence over textual ones, as this facilitates comprehension. It will also be important to work on declarative functions, such as asking for something or offering something, to help them adapt and reduce stressors.
It is important to praise him frequently and ignore some disruptive behaviors, as long as they are not self- or other-aggressive.
It's important not to constantly use the word "NO." It usually indicates that someone is angry or that something is wrong, but it doesn't offer guidance on how to do it or how to do it better. Use it sparingly and only when immediate attention is needed (in emergencies).
It is important that the teacher adapts, but also the context, the classroom and the subject to the characteristics of the student.
There are strategies that are useful in the classroom to help students with ASD :
- Seat the student near the teacher.
- Provide them with a pleasant, distraction-free workspace with enough room to work.
- Assign him a partner who can help him with communication, who can be a support.
- Use visual aids with images or drawings to help students understand what the teacher is explaining. We can even go further and adapt these images or explanations to the child's interests to capture their attention. For example, if we know the child likes trains or dinosaurs, we can make them the focus of our classroom examples (instead of saying, "a car travels at 40 km/h," we can say, "a dinosaur travels at 40 km/h").
It must be said that most of the strategies used with students with autism are also effective and helpful for the rest of the student body because they facilitate communication. Ultimately, making these adaptations is a worthwhile investment because the entire group benefits.
There are also specific communication training courses for working with people with ASD:
- Educatio is an organization that offers high-quality courses for teachers, family members, therapists, etc.
- PECS Spain offers training in communication and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems.
- TEACCH Method as a life support tool (from early childhood to adulthood).