Language development:

1) Seek advice from language professionals or from written resources to help the child extend his understanding and use of vocabulary and grammar.

xA speech therapist came to work with child A and B weekly for an hour because they are non-verbal. The speech therapist had suggested that the child C’s parents spend more time talking with him to try to help him solve the problem of his stutter.

x Listened to researcher explaining about the language of friend with autism.

x Read the language development strategy in the booklet to find out how to help the children and applied the strategies by reminding them to practise their exercise from the speech therapist.

2) Extend the child’s need to use language by not speaking for him or supplying answers. Play games with him such as ‘What am I?’

xChild A did not talk in class at all but he understood the teacher’s command i.e. “Come here, Sit down, Come to get your work sheet, Paint this etc.”.

xChild B made a humming noise when the teacher or peers were talking to her. She did not look at her peer but stood nearby her peer. The first day she came to class she explored by walking around the classroom.

xTalked to friend with autism and then went away because there was no response from them.

xHeld friend’s hand and pulled

while saying “come into our class”.

x Supported the children with autism to listen to the teacher’s questions from the story.

x Stimulated children to point to parts of the body while painting and drawing on work sheet and say the word for the body part.

x Encouraged the child to sit down properly while listening to the teachers and stayed close by them.

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Strategies Children with autism Peer tutors Paraprofessional

3) Gradually extend the range of settings in which children will communicate.

xChild C was encouraged to speak slowly and repeat the sentence after the teacher to decrease his stuttering. As a result of this he can follow the teacher with short sentences.

xThese children stayed and listened to others for a short time when people tried to explain things to them.

xPeer was encouraged by teacher to play with friend with autism. However, there was no response from friend with autism.

x Hugged the child and let them sit on her lap “Come

and sit on my lap and I will

read you a story”.

4) Use the child’s special interest to extend their language uses.

x The special interest of each of the three children was assumed from observation: A liked music: he smiled, and ran around with bouncing steps when the paraprofessional took him attend music classes.

B like drawing as she drew a picture of a chicken and stayed a long time at drawing activities while C was curious about new things in class and explored them by unscrewing them.

xShowed friends with autism how to follow what the teacher said and act on it i.e. point to your eyes, nose and so on.

xTalked to friend with autism gently when they wanted them join in group activities instead of pushing and dragging them in.

xPlayed bouncing with child A.

xLooked at friend, child B drawing a picture of a chicken.

x Supported children’s

interest by turning on the music and letting child A sing along, providing paper for child B to draw a picture of a chicken with

suggestions that he might try to draw other pictures and showed child C how to discover the components of a pen by taking it apart and re-assembling it.

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Strategies Children with autism Peer tutors Paraprofessional

2.Keeping and sharing friends:

1) Brainstorm in class ‘What is a friend?’ Use the points to discuss how to maintain friendships.

xAll three of the children joined in group activities but it was observed that they hardly made eye contact with friends.

x Answered the teacher saying

“friend is a person in our class ”.

x Accompanied the child while attending the classes and joining in group activities.

2) Talk through some social stories about friendship.

x Child A and B sat on the paraprofessional’s lap while listening to the teacher telling the story. Child C sat with peers for a short time then walked around the classroom.

x Listened to teacher while they were telling the story.

x Encouraged the student to listen to teacher telling social stories by hugging child A, with B sitting on their lap. Called child C to them and let him sit with peers.

3) Encourage turn-taking, perhaps through circle time.

x Both A and B held scissors provided by the teachers to cut the bag of milk and share it with their friend.

x Sat by friend drinking milk. x Provided small scissors for child to cut the bag of milk for sharing with friends.

4) Use a ‘buddy’ system to involve other children.

x All three have several buddies, who volunteered to be peer tutors.

x Liked to be a peer tutor and come along with friends with autism but not all the time unless the paraprofessionals asked them to.

x Assisted children with autism and guided peers in class as well as peer tutors.

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Strategies Children with autism Peer tutors Paraprofessional

5) Encourage a class discussion about being friendly towards this child with autism.

x Children with autism were sitting on the paraprofessional’s lap and were quiet in the group while their peers engaged in class discussion.

xA number of lovely opinions in the kindergarten classes i.e.

“friends have to help each

other, come along with friend,

lend them a pencil” and so on

x Hugged children with autism, sat them on her lap and listened to peers discussing being a friend to the child with autism.

6) Emphasise children’s strengths and interests to the class, and, if possible, encourage children to help others.

x Helping them with their preferred activity: i.e. sitting down quietly while drawing, jumping in the music class.

x Complimented a friend with autism when they did a good job on their interest.

x Supported children in their strengths i.e. music and drawing.

x Told their peers in class the things that they are good at.

7) Try to develop situations which promote social interaction.

x Child A and B came along with peer tutors and held peer tutors’ hand for a short time but Child C wanted to go by himself.

x Let friend with autism go with them when changing to new activity.

x Used social stories to encourage children in social interaction.