11 replies to this topic

[Greenhouse]

Hello
Need some advice. I have a 3 year old boy in my class who has autism. The big problem is me! I really dont know the first thing about it. He has 1;1 support but I feel I should be doing more. He is accessing none of the curriculum that I plan for the rest of the class and I need to learn more with regard to routines and general techniques to get him more involved in class life, rather than simply wander around the nursery.

Does anyone know any good websites/books/training/agencies that would put me in the know?

Heres hoping

Greenhouse

[Peggy]

Hi Greenhouse, don't think I've welcomed you to the forum yet so WELCOME.

Autism has very many aspects individual to the child, d you have an area SENCO who could come and observe and give some advice? In the mean time there have been many discussions in the forum on this topic, try this link to a few of them which I got from doing a forum search.

Topics containing the word Autism

Hope they are useful.

Peggy

[glmaidment]

Do you have an Early Years Special Needs Advisor in your area who would visit and advise? In kent we had an Autism Outreach teacher who would visit.

As far as techniques, a visual timetable is useful to show routine.

[Smiles]

Hi,
We have a 3 year old boy at our preschool also with Autism he also has one to one , we get support from our Area Senco and he has a family support worker and educational teacher who also help us. He has his own IEP plan for some of the time but also accesses the activites all the other children use. There is also some infomation here for supporting children in Early years. www.earlysupport.org.uk (hopefully the link will work). There is a specific booklet on Autism which you can download or order.

Hope this helps.
Smiles

[Wolfie]

You've probably done this already - have his parents got any info or advice that they can give you about what sort of strategies they use at home? If he has already been officially diagnosed with autism then the chances are that they may have been given some advice and support from SEN professionals- a friend of mine has a little girl with autism and she was given a lot of support by a parent partnership service in our authority such as strategies and routines to try out. Some autistic children have particular fascinations or interests - are you aware of any that your little boy has? Maybe you could use those as a starting point for activities to interest and involve him?

[hali]

hello and welcome...the best thing that helped us in the same situation was a visual timetable...a godsend and within a month (except on bad days) was a godsend.......if u want more advice i will help but your area inclusion officer should be able to advisew ..good luck

it is scary for mall staff if not aware but it does get easier honest

[Mrsb]

Having recently posted a topic on here about a autistic boy I had many replies with words of wisdom & advice......search the forum just like somebody else has already mentioned.

I have found his visual timetable has really helped.
mrsb

[Greenhouse]

Thank you all so much!
Such great advide and really speedy too!
This forum is like wavng a magic wand
Thanks guys!

[clanwilliams]

Hi I have recently had experience working with children with autism. It is very important that they have structure and a routine. This needs to be visual. I have a visual whole class timetable and an individual visual timetable for each child. The child needs to know what is expected of them regarding the class routine and you have to be consistent with this. I have used a laminated card with a picture showing table representing work, or a picture representing numeracy/literacy etc, then a picture showing a reward for completing that task. You can only expect a short attention span for a very young child, but if you show consistency the child will begin to respond. Also to use a quiet room for this or an enclosed area with no distractions except for what you want them to do. As far as whole class sessions are concerned the lesson needs to be very visual, again not expecting the child to sit for too long. If refuses to do an activity consequences also needs to be in place eg using sad faces, sitting on own, using a timer say two minutes and showing visual this first, then ... No language should be used. Also the work has to be very visual and not busy. You are basically looking at very simple quick activities that achieve your objectives with lots of rewards. The reward can be timed until you require child to do next thing on the timetable. I have fallen into this field by accident and have learnt on my feet and drawn from others' experiences. I do not know if any of this will help. I will be happy to send you some visuals for you to use and I will try and photograph the this, then that I have used.

[Marion]

Autism covers such a wide spectrum of needs it is impossible to compare different children or say how individuals will behave or respond. For example the autistic child in my class two years ago hated visual prompts refused to look at them and binned them every time my back was turned. At the time we had photographs on trays coatpegs and for milk cartons and he hated these too. I found with him I had to give very clear instructions that were directed at him rather than a group instruction. Does your LA have an Autistic Spectrum team? they will assess children and offer lots of good advice. The Autistic Society are very good too.

[katkat]

I would start by asking parents for advice, they're the experts! It really depends if the child has a developmental delay as well as autism. If so, lots of early cause/effect type activities - bubbles, pop up toys, balls etc I'm sure there must be other professionals involved, ask parents for contact details and contact them, ask if they can visit nursery. Photos work for lots of children with autism but again it depends if there's a developemental delay, you may need to bring the object to the child to show them what's happening next. Eg. Bring a cup when it's snacktime, bring a coat when it's time to go outside. The National Autistic Society has lots of advice. Good luck!

[hairymaclary]

hi greenhouse
what area you in?
as i'm currently doing an autism spectrum course and it is so helpful, this is my second time round. if yo uwas in the area there is spaces maybe you could join us.
if not ask your area senco they maybe able to help you or PLA
good luck