People With Autism Need Specialized Educational Services
It takes extraordinary teachers to teach the extraordinary children with autism.
Erin E. Barton and Beth Harn, authors of Educating Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Guide for Teachers, Counselors, and Psychologists, draw on current research and practices to help prepare educators not only for teaching children in the classroom but also for providing families with the tools necessary to continue the educational process at home. Topics discussed include:
- Improving communication and socialization
- Developing instructive lessons
- Assessing students’ progress
- Including families in educational goals
- Finding students’ special interests and using those to help facilitate learning
- Managing challenging behavior.
Teachers may have to innovate teaching techniques and adapt materials in unique ways, as Walter Kaweski, a master educator, advises in Teaching Adolescents With Autism: Practical Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom. Kaweski believes that the teacher must believe in the capacity of students with autism to achieve and not be influenced by disability labels.
