Advice & Recommendations for Parents of Children on the Autism Spectrum
Communication
Your child may find it difficult to communicate and understand language in various situations - here are some recommendations that you may want to use to aid communication.
Recommendations
- Use your child’s name when speaking to them
- Use simple and clear language
- Speak slowly and clearly
- Use simple gestures, eye contact and use visual aids (such as pictures) if possible
- Give sufficient time for your child to understand you after you speak to them.
Things to Avoid
- Using difficult and complicated language
- Having a conversation in a noisy and crowded place
- Using phrases that may have multiple meanings such as “get a grip” or “put your head down”.
Social
Social difficulties are common for children on the autism spectrum, but as a parent you can provide guidance and support in developing their social skills.
Recommendations
- Reduce social stressors or triggers where possible
- Start with the basics, and progress in stages
- Practise any new social skills with your child in a number of different places, and with different people. Autistic children can find it hard to apply new skills in different contexts
- Link skills to real tangible situations, refer to examples, and use people's names
- Ask school staff, or others involved with your child, what particular social difficulties they have observed your child experiencing
- Pick the time carefully when introducing new social skills
- Avoid stressful times, or times when your child is distracted by a favourite activity
- Find apps to support your child's communication and read app reviews
- Get extra help in school with what you are doing at home and ask them to reinforce the learning. This will help your child to generalise the skills.
You may want to also have some conversation practice with your child to aid them in conversations which may be less predictable. This can help them with understanding when it is their turn to speak and how to communicate appropriately.
- Use a 'talking stick' that someone must be holding to have their turn at speaking, and timers to indicate the end of their turn
- Play board games. These help to teach your child turn-taking, as they are visual, and have real things that show that it's your turn (eg dice, counters)
- Use pictures of people and draw blank speech bubbles. The child needs to use their observation skills to establish what the context is and work out what they might be saying or thinking
- Play the 'never ending story' game. One person starts and says one word only, such as “one”. The next person says another word such as "day", and you keep going between yourselves adding one word at a time. This requires the both of you to listen to what the other person has said and tailor your response to keep the story going. These stories can end up being very silly and fun – but they can help to develop listening skills.
Education
Ensuring your child achieves their academic potential starts from the home. Here are some recommendations you can do as a parent to help your child is well supported with their school work.
Recommendations
- Set aside time after school to complete homework
- Use homework diaries or planners
- Engage with your child by providing help and support for homework
- If possible, communicate with the school/teacher to be aware of any upcoming changes or deadlines
- Discuss the individual needs of your child with your school.
Advice & Recommendations for Schools with Students on the Autism Spectrum
Social
Students on the Autism Spectrum can often have difficulties with social situations, at times not being able to understand social cues or struggling with navigating through social situations. Here are some ways that schools may support students with their social communication.
Recommendations
- Demystify and inform students about autism through teaching sessions(s) about the topic
- Involve students in role play situations such as a Christmas Nativity Play
- Provide lunchtime clubs or places where students may enjoy playing in a quieter environment
- Engage students in Peer-Mediated Instruction/Intervention
- Allow peers to provide friendly and constructive feedback to students
- Provide praise to students through compliments or gestures (E.g. High Fives).
Communication
Students may have difficulty communicating their needs with staff and their peers. To enable students to be able to properly convey their thoughts and feelings, here are some recommendations you may implement in the school setting.
Recommendations
- Use the student’s name when speaking to them
- Use simple and clear language
- Speak slowly and clearly
- Use simple gestures, eye contact and use visual aids (such as pictures) if possible
- Give sufficient time for the student to understand you after you speak to them.
Things to Avoid
- Using difficult and complicated language
- Having a conversation in a noisy and crowded place
- Using phrases that may have multiple meanings such as “get a grip” or “put your head down”.
Education
Every child requires different needs and different supports to be able to achieve their potential. This is no different for children with ASD - some of the below recommendations are useful for some children whilst others may not need them. Please assess and identify the needs of each child individually.
Recommendations
- Providing extra time and/or rest breaks during exams
- Allow the student to take the exam in a separate, quiet room
- Providing a written timetable/schedule for their daily activities
- Allow the student to leave a lesson early to avoid noisy and busy lesson changeovers
- Preparing and making the student aware when there may be a change in their regular schedule
- Ensure adequate supervision from staff that have autism training
- Use homework diaries or planners
- Communicate with parents/guardians regarding homework (such as through email) for support can be given at home
- Use clear language and state exactly what the student needs to do for their homework and when it needs to be done by
- Provide additional support in the classroom via an adult that can scaffold learning (e.g. teaching assistant)
- Provide the student with a ‘time out pass’ which they can give to you to signal they require some time away from the classroom.
Further reading
Books
- Can I tell you about Asperger Syndrome?: A guide for friends and family by Jude Welton
- Asperger’s Syndrome: A guide for Parents and Professionals by Tony Atwood
- Freaks, Geeks and Asperger’s Syndrome by Luke Jackson Social Skills for Teenagers with Developmental and Autism Spectrum Disorders: The PEERS Treatment Manual by Elizabeth A. Laugeson