Autism: Remove Excess Stimuli
Working with Autistic Children:
Remove Excess Stimuli
A child with autism can easily become overwhelmed as a result of excess stimuli. When there is too much going on, either visually or audibly, the student may shut down and resort to calming techniques including rocking, repeating the same word or phrase and other behaviors.
By reducing unnecessary stimuli, teachers will help keep the student engaged and on task while reducing unnecessary behavior problems at the same time.
When the student seems to become overwhelmed, the teacher should quiet the class and if possible, slow down the pace of the activity. This is when the teacher may go back and repeat a couple of steps, or ask the class to review what they have already done.
It may be prudent to allow the student to move to a designated quiet area of the room and continue working there in order to remain calm. Make this place in the room special and reserved for the student to use whenever he wants to.
Ask students with autism simple questions and provide options. Open ended questions are often difficult for autistic students to answer. It is important also for teachers to remember to give more wait time for the student to answer a question.
It is vital that the rest of the class be under control and respectful as they wait for the student to answer the question.
Next page: using simple vocabulary
