Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Structured teaching (TEACCH Method)
There are five elements to structured teaching:
Routines: positive habits that can be generalized
Physical Structure: organizing the environment in a way that makes sense to the child with autism
Daily Schedules: an individualized timetable depicting daily events
Work systems: strategies to help independent work (One of the problems of people with autism is the strategies of work. They often have the skills to work but do not know how to organize themselves)
Visual Structure: helps children capitalize on their strengths
Visual Instructions Visually gives the sequence to help complete the task
Visual Organization Organizing materials and space
Visual Clarity Visually highlighting the important information.
(Children on the autism spectrum typically do not pick out what is relevant.)
An ultimate goal is to develop independence
There are five reasons for using structured teaching
Why use structure in the classroom?
It helps the child with autism to understand
It helps children with autism to be calm
It helps children with autism to learn better
Structure is the prosthetic device that will help the child with autism to achieve independence
Structure is our form of behavior management.
1. Routines
Children on the autistic spectrum may find it hard to organize themselves. They need to be taught these skills.
Routines
Top to bottom
Left to right
Start and finish
First and then
Checking schedules
Using work systems
All of these are positive routines that can be generalized. Many children with autism have not learned these strategies and have developed inappropriate routines that once established are hard to change. They have discovered communicating by tantrums is very effective.
Structure clarifies what is expected and is a form of behavior management.
2 Physical structure
Physical structure refers to the way that the teacher sets up and organizes each area of the room, where one places the furniture and materials. Autistic children may know the details, but not how they fit together.
1. Clear Physical and Visual Boundaries
Boundaries help the child understand where each area begins and ends. Boundaries help establish context and segment the environment.
2. Minimize Visual and Auditory Boundaries
Help the child focus on the concept and not the details.
3. Develop Basic Teaching Areas
· Snack
· Play
· Transition
· Work: Individual workstation (one to one)
Every autistic child is unique. They range from prodigious speakers to the non-verbal, from very disruptive to quiet and reserved. Each child must be assessed on their own merits. Some will need more physical structure than others.
3 Daily schedules
Schedules are part of the structure needed by children on the autistic spectrum.
Many children have problems with sequential memory and organization of time.
Receptive language problems can also make it difficult for children to understand what they should be doing.
Schedules can help children predict and organize daily events.
Anxiety is lessened by knowing what will happen next.
Transitioning independently between activities is made easier.
Students using objects in their schedules work at an earlier stage of development than those using symbols.
The daily schedule visually tells the child in a way that he/she can easily understand what activities will occur and in what sequence. We use the concrete reference of the schedule in order to teach flexibility.
Schedules should be arranged top to bottom or left to right. Each child should have a way to manipulate the schedule in order to indicate that each activity is finished.
Types of Schedules
1. Object/Object Sequence
2. Single Picture
3. Picture Cards/Photograph Cards
4. Pictured Written List
5. Written Cards/Written List
Individualization
As with all teaching methods, success lies with the adult's ability to individualize for each child. Perhaps even more essential to the teaching of children with autism than with typically developing children, gearing strategy to the individual often determines their success or failure.
4 Individual work systems
This is a systematic way for the child to receive and understand information. By following the work system, the child is able to work independently.
The individual work system answers four questions for the child.
What work?
How much work?
How do I know when I am finished?
What happens next?
A Types of work Systems
Left to right – Finished box
Matching (Color, Shape, Alphabet or Numbers)
Written System
The work system clarifies the meaning of finished and the staff’s expectation.
B Individualization
Not all children with autism will need work systems. However teachers may encounter children who will do the same jig-saw over and over. He/she cannot put an end to the activity because they do not understand “start” and “finished”. They may need direction to move to another puzzle.
Work systems make the concept of "finished" concrete and meaningful.
5 Visual Structure
Teach children using visual methods to capitalize on their visual aptitude and strengths and minimize their deficits of auditory processing.
A Visual Instructions
Visual clarity tells the child the sequence to complete the task. Visual instructions help the child to combine and organize a series of elements to obtain the desired outcome.
B Visual Organization
Organizing materials and space to modulating the sensory input.
Container Organization
Limiting the area
C Visual Clarity:
Visually highlighting the important information. Visually clarifying the relevant concepts. Emphasizing specific parts of the instruction. Highlight what is relevant and useful.
Color Coding
Labeling
Use visual instructions to teach flexibility and generalization. To make the activity meaningful:
Let the materials define the task
Cut outs
Pictures
Written Instructions
These are clear, structured and meaningful tasks. Once the child learns the process of following the direction and looking for the visual clue; the teacher can transfer visual systems to any part of the classroom/school.
Doherty , K (2008). Autism and Structured Teaching. Retrieved November 3, 2008, from www.specialschool.org Web site: http://www.specialschool.org.uk
There are five elements to structured teaching:
Routines: positive habits that can be generalized
Physical Structure: organizing the environment in a way that makes sense to the child with autism
Daily Schedules: an individualized timetable depicting daily events
Work systems: strategies to help independent work (One of the problems of people with autism is the strategies of work. They often have the skills to work but do not know how to organize themselves)
Visual Structure: helps children capitalize on their strengths
Visual Instructions Visually gives the sequence to help complete the task
Visual Organization Organizing materials and space
Visual Clarity Visually highlighting the important information.
(Children on the autism spectrum typically do not pick out what is relevant.)
An ultimate goal is to develop independence
There are five reasons for using structured teaching
Why use structure in the classroom?
It helps the child with autism to understand
It helps children with autism to be calm
It helps children with autism to learn better
Structure is the prosthetic device that will help the child with autism to achieve independence
Structure is our form of behavior management.
1. Routines
Children on the autistic spectrum may find it hard to organize themselves. They need to be taught these skills.
Routines
Top to bottom
Left to right
Start and finish
First and then
Checking schedules
Using work systems
All of these are positive routines that can be generalized. Many children with autism have not learned these strategies and have developed inappropriate routines that once established are hard to change. They have discovered communicating by tantrums is very effective.
Structure clarifies what is expected and is a form of behavior management.
2 Physical structure
Physical structure refers to the way that the teacher sets up and organizes each area of the room, where one places the furniture and materials. Autistic children may know the details, but not how they fit together.
1. Clear Physical and Visual Boundaries
Boundaries help the child understand where each area begins and ends. Boundaries help establish context and segment the environment.
2. Minimize Visual and Auditory Boundaries
Help the child focus on the concept and not the details.
3. Develop Basic Teaching Areas
· Snack
· Play
· Transition
· Work: Individual workstation (one to one)
Every autistic child is unique. They range from prodigious speakers to the non-verbal, from very disruptive to quiet and reserved. Each child must be assessed on their own merits. Some will need more physical structure than others.
3 Daily schedules
Schedules are part of the structure needed by children on the autistic spectrum.
Many children have problems with sequential memory and organization of time.
Receptive language problems can also make it difficult for children to understand what they should be doing.
Schedules can help children predict and organize daily events.
Anxiety is lessened by knowing what will happen next.
Transitioning independently between activities is made easier.
Students using objects in their schedules work at an earlier stage of development than those using symbols.
The daily schedule visually tells the child in a way that he/she can easily understand what activities will occur and in what sequence. We use the concrete reference of the schedule in order to teach flexibility.
Schedules should be arranged top to bottom or left to right. Each child should have a way to manipulate the schedule in order to indicate that each activity is finished.
Types of Schedules
1. Object/Object Sequence
2. Single Picture
3. Picture Cards/Photograph Cards
4. Pictured Written List
5. Written Cards/Written List
Individualization
As with all teaching methods, success lies with the adult's ability to individualize for each child. Perhaps even more essential to the teaching of children with autism than with typically developing children, gearing strategy to the individual often determines their success or failure.
4 Individual work systems
This is a systematic way for the child to receive and understand information. By following the work system, the child is able to work independently.
The individual work system answers four questions for the child.
What work?
How much work?
How do I know when I am finished?
What happens next?
A Types of work Systems
Left to right – Finished box
Matching (Color, Shape, Alphabet or Numbers)
Written System
The work system clarifies the meaning of finished and the staff’s expectation.
B Individualization
Not all children with autism will need work systems. However teachers may encounter children who will do the same jig-saw over and over. He/she cannot put an end to the activity because they do not understand “start” and “finished”. They may need direction to move to another puzzle.
Work systems make the concept of "finished" concrete and meaningful.
5 Visual Structure
Teach children using visual methods to capitalize on their visual aptitude and strengths and minimize their deficits of auditory processing.
A Visual Instructions
Visual clarity tells the child the sequence to complete the task. Visual instructions help the child to combine and organize a series of elements to obtain the desired outcome.
B Visual Organization
Organizing materials and space to modulating the sensory input.
Container Organization
Limiting the area
C Visual Clarity:
Visually highlighting the important information. Visually clarifying the relevant concepts. Emphasizing specific parts of the instruction. Highlight what is relevant and useful.
Color Coding
Labeling
Use visual instructions to teach flexibility and generalization. To make the activity meaningful:
Let the materials define the task
Cut outs
Pictures
Written Instructions
These are clear, structured and meaningful tasks. Once the child learns the process of following the direction and looking for the visual clue; the teacher can transfer visual systems to any part of the classroom/school.
Doherty , K (2008). Autism and Structured Teaching. Retrieved November 3, 2008, from www.specialschool.org Web site: http://www.specialschool.org.uk
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
