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Article Series: Autism
Autism Causes, Signs & Treatments
Autistic
Children: A Family Guide For Going To School
For parents with an autistic child one of
the greatest challenges is to see that they are provided with
a proper education. Some children may have milder aspects of
autism and may be able to attend regular school and exhibit
only a little discomfort in doing so. Others may be faced with
greater obstacles. In either case it is good to be conscious
of the fact that a child with autism is not comfortable with
change. It is often a source of great anxiety. Parents will
benefit from searching out ways to reassure and comfort their
child through this transition.
So
to help their child deal with this change in their routine,
parents will need to prepare well in advance. It has been suggested
that visual aids help the child to become acquainted with the
school, his classroom and his teacher. Some have used videos
to show the route, the school and various classrooms. Others
have included a brief interview with their teacher. It can
be profitable to walk through the process - going to the school
and classrooms well before that 'first' day arrives. And other
members of the family can discuss their own experience with
a positive approach. Still others have suggested using a large
calendar with the special day marked in and have the young
one mark off the days leading up to the event as this may help
to build an anticipation or at least an acceptance.
Acquainting the teachers involved with the strengths and vulnerabilities
of your child can also help to mitigate any potential awkwardness
or problems. What will help the teacher is finding out what
you have observed about 'how' your child learns best. What
kind of talents or hobbies interest them? What might be things
that easily scare or upset them? And is there a subject that
they may be curious to learn? Can you provide some examples
of their efforts in drawing and writing? All of this provides
a groundwork on which to build. In dealing with a child with
autism it has been said that working from their strengths is
far better and successful in the long run than trying to push
them to conform to some other regimen.
And once school has begun it is important to bear in mind
that a regular, dependable routine is comforting for children
in general but even more so for children with autism. So both
teachers and parents need to plan ahead for any upcoming changes
and to go over this with the children well in advance.
As an alternative some parents may choose instead to home
school their child. They may have done this even if their child
wasn't autistic. Others may feel that their child will be more
comfortable in the home environment and that doing so assists
with any special dietary efforts they are implementing.. This
will require a certain measure of discipline in having a set
curriculum. There are, as well, some on line resources that
constitute a 'virtual school' and provide a certain valuable
structure. And the Charlotte Mason method of instruction is
a popular program used for children with special needs that
uses a literature based method of teaching. Of course it is
important to check with your state or province's guidelines
concerning homeschooling before opting for this choice.
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by SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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