The spell framework services to understand and respond to the needs
of children and adults with autism recognizes the unique needs of each child and emphasizes that all planning and intervention should be organized on this basis. SPELL stands for Structure, Positive, Empathy, Low arousal, Links. Positive approaches and expectations seek to
establish and reinforce self-confidence and self-esteem by building on natural
strengths, interest and abilities. Empathy is essential to underpin any approach
designed to develop communication and reduce anxiety. The approaches and
environment need to be low arousal: calm and ordered in such a way as to reduce
anxiety and aid concentration. Strong links between the various components of
the person's life or therapeutic programmer will promote and sustain essential
consistency.
TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped Children): This approach is widely used within special schools and can be adapted for use within a mainstream setting. It focuses on altering the environment and using visual supports, such as timetable and schedules, to help provide structure, reduce stress and improve understanding. Children are given clear instructions for every stage of an activity, usually presented in a visual way.
The preceding examples are some of the things that you could do to help a kid with autism out in the classroom. In the next section I am going to talk about how you can work with an autistic kid with challenging behavior in a classroom.
The preceding examples are some of the things that you could do to help a kid with autism out in the classroom. In the next section I am going to talk about how you can work with an autistic kid with challenging behavior in a classroom.
Behavior: The behavior of some children with autism can be very difficult to deal with. It may not always be immediately obvious why the child is behaving in a particular way, and it can be hard to control the situation without knowing more about what lies behind it and what kinds of strategies to use. With limited verbal communication, a child with autism may, for example, not be able to express their feelings of anxiety, discomfort, or frustration except in an outburst of unwanted behavior. They may have learn from experience that such behavior generally achieved their desired object. Therefore the teacher needs to analyses what had been going on before they outburst that might have upset the child, and teach them some other way of communicating what they want.