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If you are a teacher whose classroom includes students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it’s critical that you understand ASD and its associated behaviors. What you may see as misbehavior, such as when a child with ASD does not respond to directions, ignores you, or clowns around, may very well be related to ASD. The child may be having difficulty interpreting language and expressing his or her needs in socially acceptable ways.

Creating a comfortable environment for your students with ASD will help them participate meaningfully in the classroom. These suggestions can help you do that:

• Operate on “ASD time.” Students with ASD often need additional time to complete assignments, gather materials, and orient themselves during transitions. Match the student’s pace by providing additional time or modifying requirements so assignments can be completed within the allotted time. Avoid rushing a child with ASD, as this typically results in the child moving even more slowly or shutting down altogether.
• Manage the environment. Even minor changes―unexpected changes, in particular―can increase anxiety in a student with ASD. Whenever possible, provide consistency in the schedule. Prepare the child for changes by discussing them in advance, using a social narrative to introduce the change, or showing a picture of the change. For example, if lunch is part of a field trip, provide the student with the menu in advance so he or she can plan what to eat. Incorporating student preferences may also serve to decrease his or her stress. Using that same field trip example, allowing the student to sit with friends can help ease the anxiety of being in an unusual situation.
• Create a tailored schedule. Free time—like lunch, passing time between classes, and time before or after classes—may be challenging for students with ASD because of noise levels, unpredictability of events, and social skills problems. Structuring free time when possible with prescribed activities helps reduce anxiety. Alternate between preferred and non-preferred activities and include downtime. Downtime is time set aside for the child or youth with ASD to relieve stress. Students’ downtime may include using sensory items, drawing, or listening to music.
• Live out loud. Students with ASD have difficulty distinguishing between essential and nonessential information. In addition, they often do not remember information from their past experiences and may not have what we refer to as common sense. Naming and explaining what you are doing—living out loud—can help students with ASD accurately put together what you are doing with the why and the how and helps them to stay on task and anticipate what will happen next.
• Simplify language. Keep your language straightforward, concise, and simple, and speak at a slow, deliberate pace. Do not expect a student with ASD to read between the lines, understand abstract concepts like sarcasm, or understand facial expression only. Be specific when providing instructions by explaining what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.
• Manage change of plans. Students with ASD need to understand that activities may be changed, canceled, or rescheduled. In addition, create backup plans and share them with the child with ASD. For example, if you are planning an outdoor field trip, you might tell the student that if it rains, he or she can read a favorite book or do some other enjoyable activity.
• Prepare students for change whenever possible. Students with ASD may require additional time to adjust to schedule changes. Tell them about assemblies, fire drills, guest speakers, and testing schedules. Recurring transitions, such as vacations and the beginning and end of the school year, may also cause a child with ASD to be anxious. Students may need preparation and extra time to adjust.
• Provide reassurance. Because students with ASD cannot predict upcoming events, they are often unsure about what they are to do. Provide information and reassurance frequently so that the student knows he or she is moving in the right direction or completing the correct task. Use frequent check-ins to monitor student progress and stress.
• Be generous with praise. Find opportunities throughout the day to tell young people with ASD what they did right. Compliment attempts as well as successes and be specific.

Teachers who employ the above techniques are more likely to have a successful inclusive classroom, and their student(s) with ASD will be better able to learn class material.

Note:   A special thanks to Brenda Smith Myles, Diane Adreon, and Dena Gitlitz for allowing OAR to adapt the above material for the “Educator’s Guide to ASD.”