Teaching Kids with Autism: Words are Not Enough

Chances are, if you have a child on the autism spectrum, he or she learns in many different ways.  She may learn visually or aurally.  He may learn through hands-on experience, through music or through nature.  But the fact is, most kids with autism do NOT learn well through conversation, lecture, or reading aloud. 

There's a simple reason for this: autism, by definition, involves language and communication deficits.  Even people with Asperger syndrome can have a tough time interpreting the underlying meaning of words, stories and tone of voice.  People with moderate autism take a longer time than most to interpret and respond to spoken or written words, and may find it challenging indeed to make sense of implied or symbolic meaning.  Of course, people with no spoken language at all will find it nearly impossible to learn entirely through words.

Unfortunately for our kids, schools (after preschool and kindergarten) teach almost exclusively through the use of the spoken and written word.  Children with autism, when they're included in general education classrooms, must grasp teachers' directions instantly, and respond within seconds.  If they don't they're quickly left behind.  Even with an aide, kids simply can't process and respond to verbal cues as rapidly as their typically developing peers.

Fortunately for our kids, however, schools aren't the only place where our kids can learn.  In fact, throughout history, verbal skills have only been a small part of the picture.  All around the world, kids learn by watching, imitating, trying and doing.  They learn through apprenticing, modeling, and direct instruction.  Whether they're learning to care for critters, use a paintbrush, zip their pants or hammer a nail, words are only a very small part of the teaching and learning equation.

How does your child with autism learn?  Where might he find instructors who teach as he learns?  Think outside the box of school, and consider the wide world of informal education.  Might your child learn best with whole-body experiences - through athletics, dance, martial arts or tumbling?  Through hands-on experiences - through exploring a nature center, fishing off a pier, or sculpting with clay?

The world is a very big place, and the possibilities are endless.  School and word-based learning are not enough.

In the photo: Tom Cook meets Peter the Rabbit at the Greenbriar Nature Center in Sandwich, MA.  Following this class, our family became volunteers at the center.  All four of us (sometimes with friends) fed and exercised the tortoises, turtles, hedgehog, guinea pig and rabbits once a month for two years!).