
With the correct supports, children who have mild autism, can live lives where most people will never know that they have it.
Some signs of mild autism are:
- Anxious in social situations
- Doesn’t like change, even minor changes.
- Have a need to control (example, lines up toys or items) and gets upset when the order is altered.
- Hyper focuses on specific topics of interest.
- Straightforward when engaged in conversation (struggles to filter thought process)
- Finds it difficult to talk about feelings
- Focuses on specific parts of an object, such as the screws.
This is not an exhaustive list but it’s a good starting point for teachers who are wondering if their student has mild autism.
The following four strategies will help you and your student understand and respect each other. These strategies should be personalized to individual students and used in conjunction with their Individualized Education Program (IEP).
Keep in mind that a child’s abilities may change depending on their age, the level of support they receive, their environment and stress level.
Actionable Steps:
#1. Emotional Engagement
Understanding, reading and communicating emotions can be a very difficult concept to many, especially for your children who have mild functioning autism.
Here’s a simple way to start teaching about different emotions to your students.
- You’ll need one of the following resources.
Depending on the level of your students, I’ve also created a resource that will help you differentiate for them:
- Using the visuals, show your children what different emotions look and feel like
- Have them physically do all of the faces.
- Ask them to look around so that they can see what each of the emotions look like on different students.
- Then talk about the similarities between each of them.
These activities will provide them with an outline or starting point so that they know what specific images look like.
#2. Timely Transitions
When your student is focused, it can be really difficult to get them to switch topics. It’s important to use visuals to show students what they should be working on now and letting them know what they’ll be switching to after. If possible, use a timer that the students can see and hear so they know when to start and stop a task.
You’ll need to practice with your children but this will become automatic for them. It helps children move from one task to another rather effortlessly as they know what the expect next.
#3. Intriguing Interests
When possible, try integrating a student’s interests into the curriculum so that they can learn more about their topic while keeping them focused on the assigned task.
For example, if your student likes cars, can you seep it into your writing, math or STEAM lessons?
#4. Constant Conversations
Teach children to converse with each other. These lessons will benefit everyone in your classroom. I call this segment my “Make a Friend,” lesson as it teaches children how to make friends and maintain friendships.
Explain how to talk to others, how to read body language and other cues, and give them specific prompts to get them started. As children become more familiar with this lesson, you can pull way from giving them prompts so that they can start putting their learning into practice while you observe them.
Recap:
Let’s recap really quickly. Today, we looked at the following:
- The signs of mild autism.
- The relevance of applying the above mentioned four strategies.
- The four strategies are: emotional engagement, timely transitions, intriguing interests, and constant conversations.
Free Resources:
In the mean time, if planning so that you’re ahead is not your jam, then check out the following: FREE MASTERCLASS: Systematic Plan to Super Passionate.
Next Steps:
You’re also welcome to join us inside ADHD and Autism Self Regulation by CLICKING HERE or on the fallowing image.
If you found this video beneficial, would you do me a favor? Share this with your family, your friends, your loved ones, your co-workers or someone who you think could benefit from this. Thank you!
I’ll see you next Friday at 5:30pm PST.
Until I see you next time, remember to create, experience & teach from the heart.
Take care,
Charlotte
Disclaimer: I’m a teacher and a parent. I’m not a medical professional, so please don’t take this as medical advice. The advice that I provide in my videos and online are strategies that I have used in my own class or at home that have worked beautifully. Since mental health is a spectrum, make sure to adapt these strategies for your individual child. Thank you!