Thank you to Maureen from Autism Corner for this guest blog post! Claire

1.         Visuals, visuals, visuals

• A lot of children with ASD think in pictures and may communicate using pictures.
• Use visuals to label things around the classroom to help the children navigate the classroom e.g. where the children’s lunch box, school bag, coat will go.
• Think about the kind of visual schedule that might work for each of the children in your class e.g. actual photographs, visual icons, words, or concrete objects (this is using the TEACCH approach)
• Use visuals to label where classroom resources belong to help children when tidying up or looking for an item.

(If you’d like to know more about visuals and structuring the classroom have a look at the TEACCH website, there is lots of info and some free courses.)

2.         Follow the Child’s Lead

If I could only give one piece of advice, this would be it. If you can find something that motivates the child – half of your work is done. 
I worked with a child previously who loved baking. We included this as a target for them and they absolutely excelled and loved it. We were able to introduce teachable moments during baking and the child was eager to engage. You can introduce Maths, English, SPHE, SESE and Art!

• Find out what motivates the children you are working with, equally find out what they dislike. For example; if a child dislikes music, is there a different activity they could be scheduled for while the other children participate in a music lesson?
• Teach to the children you have in front of you and follow their interests.

3.         Continue Professional Development (CPD)

• Working in an ASD class is almost like a whole new job in some ways, do as many CPD courses as you can before starting (if possible) and while you’re in the job. Meeting other teachers and sharing ideas is an invaluable resource as well as of course the content of the courses.
• Have a look at the NCSE and Middletown Centre for Autism websites for lots of courses that are being run online at the moment.
• Some courses that may be useful if you’re starting in an ASD class with the NCSE: Introduction to ASD, TEACCH 2 Day Course, C-ABA (5 day course), Sensory Processing, Puberty, Relationships, Sexuality and ASD (this course is suitable for all age groups as it begins with teaching about public and private places), any ASD specific assessment courses: ABLLS and VB-Mapp, PEP-3.
• Don’t underestimate asking advice from other teachers and don’t be afraid to ask, people are so happy to help others starting out. We all have to start somewhere and we are all still learning. You are not expected to know everything in your first or even fifth year in an ASD class.

4.         Be Adaptable/Willing to Change Plans

• So often, we might spend a lot of time planning a lesson and resources for it all to go belly up on the day. It’s absolutely fine to completely change the lesson based on the children’s interests on the day.
• If something is going really well and the children are interested, why not extend the lesson for a longer time on that day or over a longer period than you originally planned.
• If a child is tired or not themselves on a particular day, change their schedule for the day to ensure they have more breaks/fewer demands etc. This is where communication with the parents is invaluable, if you know that a child is feeling off before they arrive at school, you can have their schedule changed before they even get in the door.

5.         Independence

• Ultimately, this is the main goal for each of the children we are working with. It is so helpful to keep this in mind when planning targets and lessons.
• Always think of how you can adapt this activity/lesson/skill to promote more independence for the child?
• Teaching independence may need to be approached differently for each child. What is most important for the child at the moment? E.g. toileting, using a spoon, making a sandwich etc. Again, chat to the children’s parents/guardians to find out what skills they feel their child needs to learn or would benefit most from learning.

If I could add a 6th Top Tip it would be communication – This includes the child, the SNAs, mainstream class teacher (if applies), parents/guardians, speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, ABA therapist, psychologist etc.

I hope these tips have been helpful, if you’ve any questions or would like to read similar posts have a look at my Instagram page @autism_corner_ or website www.autism-corner.com

Maureen