with autism, all under the age of ten.
Trust me. I lived it.
During those first few weeks, I would have given my right hand—the one I squeezed my stress ball with—in exchange for any kind of accessible, teacher-friendly material. Every book I picked up was either an overwhelming, science-journal-type of tome or a book full of therapy-style exercises designed exclusively for one-on-one instruction. These resources are valuable in their own way, but when you’re a new teacher faced with the daunting task of managing and teaching a classroom of autistic students, you have precious little time or energy to process complicated, science-based articles or plan one-on-one lessons.
I think that teachers in autism classrooms should receive as much easy-to-process, no nonsense help as possible. I created my own material, honing and fine-tuning it as I came to understand my students and their highly specific needs. This program, which includes worksheets and scripted lessons, was effective with my students, so I thought I’d share it with other teachers.
However, this is not to say that this is a one-size-fits-all curriculum. You should be aware that lower-functioning kids may have trouble with the more conceptual aspects of these lessons, such as “wh” questions, prepositional phrases, directional words, adjectives, feeling words, and prompts that require subjective thinking (e.g., “Tell me about the cat.”). Many may also lack the organizational skills to copy from the board and transfer words from one paper to another. That’s okay. Take it one step at a time, and structure the lessons as needed to foster success for your students.
I hope this manual helps you and your students not only to manage but also to learn and grow in productive, fun ways.
THE UNDERLYINC PRINCIPLES OF THE PROGRAM
Autism and Reading Comprehension revolves around what I believe are the two most important elements in teaching individuals with autism to read: whole-group instruction and reading comprehension.
It seems to me that almost every book on teaching children with autism focuses on one- on-one instruction. For a new teacher, in my opinion, it’s just not practical. You can plan whole-group instruction more easily than you can plan individual lessons. I believe one- on-one instruction isolates autistic children from their classmates and the rest of the school population. This seems to be the opposite of what we, as teachers, should be providing them. Whole-group instruction allows children to interact with their classmates and practice socially appropriate behavior, e.g., raising their hands before speaking, sharing materials, and listening to each other speak. This type of interaction should be coached and encouraged at every opportunity.
That’s not to say that I feel that one-on-one instruction is superfluous or even secondary. We need focused, intensive, one-on-one instruction in the basic skills that make whole- group instruction possible. However, whole-group instruction (as well as mainstreaming and inclusion) should never be treated as a “second-best” approach. They are equal partners, one complementing the other.
Yet with any method of instruction, the goal is reading comprehension, not just word recognition. My first couple of years of teaching, I was thrilled at the progress (I believed) I was making with my students’ reading skills. It took me a while to realize that they weren’t really reading—they were simply calling the words, without understanding the meaning. Most children with autism are visual learners. They use these visual skills, often to the exclusion of other senses, when reading. One of my students read two pages about a black cat drinking milk, playing with yarn, and climbing the curtains. His word recognition and fluency were nearly flawless. Then I asked him, “What color is the cat?” He answered, echolalia-style, “What color is the cat?” Sometimes he repeated only the last word of my question: “Cat.” This is one of the core challenges in teaching this population.
Then I began to wonder about the correlation between reading comprehension and “people comprehension.” I thought that if I could successfully teach my students reading comprehension skills, they would learn how to communicate more successfully with people. Reading comprehension, in its simplest terms, is about paying attention to what you’re reading—having an active relationship with the words on the page. If I could get the kids to listen to what they were reading, then I could get them to listen to people.
With children who have autism, dealing with people is difficult. I figured I’d start with inanimate words on the page and work my way up to people.
It worked.
Little by little, as a direct result of their success and confidence with the simple question- and-answer format of these worksheets, my students began responding appropriately to questions outside of the lessons, on the playground, in the lunchroom, and on field trips— as long as I asked the questions in the same, simple, direct manner as on the worksheets. It was clear, measurable progress.
These worksheets, and their accompanying lessons, also worked well with some of the younger ELL (English Language Learners) in my school.
It’s critical to build and sustain students’ confidence. If you start a program at too high a difficulty level, students will be intimidated and give up, failing before they’ve even begun. These worksheets start with easy questions. Then, once students are comfortable and confident within the format, you slowly increase the difficulty. You must take gradual, incremental steps to build their confidence and their skills.
Let’s get to the nitty-gritty. Good luck. I hope this program helps you and your students as it helped me and mine.
The Worksheets
There are two reading-comprehension worksheets for each of nine animals, totaling eighteen worksheets. Each worksheet has four variations. Each variation goes with a one- hour lesson. This is approximately 72 hours of instruction.
For more severely affected children, a thirty-minute or even fifteen-minute lesson may have to suffice. Even if students are able to attend for the full hour, it may be best to take a short break every fifteen minutes or so. Use your best judgment based on your students’ needs and abilities. The children should be challenged but not agitated and panicky. Customize the lessons as needed, but try to maintain a consistent lesson structure.
The lessons provide lots of much-needed repetition. I suggest teaching these lessons every other day. Then supplement on the “off” days with art projects, music, books, and instructional videos related to the animal theme. In the back of this manual, you’ll find an appendix with numerous suggestions for complementary activities for each animal theme.
Doing the same worksheet for four consecutive lessons is central to the success of the program. It gives students the predictability and routine they need so they can relax and learn. However, the colors of the objects change with each lesson. This helps the children to pay attention. This formula works for children with autism in many different settings. Establish a predictable framework, but change the details within that predictable framework. You’ll be surprised how many different ways you can work this formula into your day.
For these worksheets, I’ve used animals, food, and prepositional phrases on purpose. My students love animals and food, and any academic exercise with these two things catches their attention and keeps them engaged. Prepositional phrases are particularly difficult for autistic students to grasp, so repetition helps. You can also teach these separately using concrete objects and flashcards. Mayer-Johnson (www.mayer-johnson.com/default.aspx)
