Added: 10/04/2006 |
Trends In Teaching Autistic ChildrenTeaching autistic children creates a variety of challenges for parents and educators alike. Typically, autism in kids creates a lack of communication, and this is the biggest hurdle the educator must overcome in order to teach the child. Locked in the mind of the autistic child is usually a level of intelligence beyond the normal student. The goal of the educator is to break through the communication barrier to access this intelligence.
Teaching autistic children at home can work quite well. Parents who have the monetary ability can hire tutors to come to their home and help with teaching autistic children in the environment where they are the most comfortable. Some parents are able to teach their autistic kids at home, if the level of autism is not too severe. The ability to teach the children at home really depends on the level of autistic disability the child exhibits.
The biggest challenge in teaching autistic children is communication. Autism usually affects the ability to communicate, and it is the goal of the teacher to get the child to learn to communicate effectively.
Another popular method for teaching autistic children is teaching them sign language. Autism in kids often leads to a difficulty in learning to speak. Children who are delayed in their speech development can often learn sign language easier than spoken language. There seems to be indication that autistic kids focus on the hands of people more than faces. There has been much success teaching children with autism to sign rather than talk.
Mainstreaming is possibly the most common trend in teaching autistic children, especially those with mild levels of autism. Mainstreaming refers to the practice of putting the disabled child into the normal classroom. The idea behind mainstreaming is that the child will be held back if educated apart from their non-disabled peers. Proponents of mainstreaming for autistic children point to the fact that mainstreamed autistic kids usually end up having better communication than their secluded counterparts. Opponents point to the fact that with mainstreaming, the autistic child cannot have the level of structure and routine that they need. The success of mainstreaming will depend greatly on the level of autism in the child. Most often, children with autism are taught in the normal classroom with some time spent in the special education setting to work on social skills. This arrangement seems to give the best of both worlds to the mildly autistic student.
Facilitated communication is the most controversial idea when it comes to teaching autistic children. Facilitated communication is usually used with severely autistic kids, and involves a facilitator holding the child’s hand, giving support, while the child points to letters on a keyboard or other type of device. Why this form of communication is controversial is often in these settings, accusations of abuse come out. There is no way to know if the child is communicating independently or if the facilitator is guiding the child’s choices. Tests have not been able to render accurate results to determine whether or not facilitated communication is legitimate.
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