While the issues rarely arise in reading class…Children on the autism spectrum often need a facilitator when working with a partner or  in a group.  “Teamwork”  is a difficulty for many of these students.

...is difficult for many with autism

Working in groups may feel unnatural and uncomfortable for a child with autism.  They may…

• Call out other members of the group who are not following directions
• Be distressed when others are not playing by or violate “the rules”
• Antagonize other members of the group by their seemingly hostile or unfriendly attitude
• Imagine that others in the group are harassing or picking on them (when they aren’t)
• Actually be harassed or picked on by other members of the group
• Completely tune out the group and work on the project independently
• Be uncooperative when the group elects to do something differently than they would choose to do it
• Seek an intervention by the teacher or aide to compel the group to do things their way rather than trying to negotiate a compromise or make a concession to the group
• Refuse altogether to work on the project

The teacher rarely has the luxury of spending much time monitoring any  particular partnership or group to be the moderator, make the  suggestions, resolve the disputes, calm the frayed nerves, etc.  This is where the classroom or one-on-one aide  can step in to facilitate.

As I’ve said before, I very rarely sit elbow to elbow with a child with autism to which I am assigned.  I will, however, stay within earshot when group or partner work is taking place.  When cooperation is occurring, I step far back and let it happen.  When it isn’t, I give them a few minutes to see if they will resolve the issue.  If not, then I will step in, make a suggestion, and step out again.

This won’t always work, but you must give the child with autism a chance to learn cooperation skills.  You don’t help the child who has social interation difficulties by imposing a resolution on every partner or group dispute in which you find them.

When the activity is over, you should make time to debrief with the student:

• How did that go?
• Were you able to resolve the issue about ___?
• How?
• Will you try that solution again the next time you work in a group?
• Can you think of a way to avoid that kind of disagreement?

One related tip: Many kids with autism will NOT choose a partner or a group they are not assigned to.  When asked to form groups of a particular size, or to choose a partner, they will stand up and wander around aimlessly until an adult asks if they have a partner or have joined a group and then assign them to it.

My impulse (as an advocate for my students with autism) is always to assign groups or partners.  But this, of course, is not helping the child learn to create social cooperative groups.  And I have found that there is a correlation between how confident a child is about the activity and his or her willingness to initiate a partnership.

On a new activity, the child may need help.  On an activity the child understands well, stand back and see if a partnership or group forms naturally before stepping up and helping him or her join a group.

We would love to hear from other paraprofessionals willing to share what does and doesn’t work when working with a child with autism. There is room below for your Comments.

Related posts:

1. Paraeducators need to speak for ourselves
2. Writing rules for a kindergartner with autism
3. Why I object to the term shadow

By Sara Finegan

Students on the autism spectrum don’t tend to make inferences deliberately.  It’s not that they never make them; they just aren’t aware of it and it needs to be brought to their attention before we can teach them to transfer the skill from their own lives to the written word.  It’s important to treat inferencing instruction as a process, not a project.  By this I mean that we should be patient, slow, and consistent in implementing some sort of practice of making inferences into our instruction all year long.

There is no Language Arts unit called “Making Inferences.”   There is a gradual unveiling of the skill and ongoing work in strengthening it as a reading habit.  Reading comprehension strategies should not be taught in isolation, or in compact curricular plans.  Reading comprehension is a set of practices which layer, one upon the other, to create an overlay for any book we read.

First Steps

I never begin my instruction in making inferences by teaching it.  I begin with stories.  During our early morning housekeeping, I may tell a quick anecdote about something that happened and see what conclusions the kids can draw from it.  Essentially, my stories are about a person or an event which is described but not named.

I may talk about how my daughter called me in a panic asking for the name of a good car repair shop, and see if the kids would infer that she either had an accident or that her car had broken down. I might describe the man whose office I visited, and his spotless white coat and that stethoscope he wore around his neck, and see if the kids would infer that I was at the doctor.  Or, I might talk about how my cats had suddenly started scratching themselves like crazy, and see if they would suggest that they have fleas.  Invariably, someone in the class will raise his or her hand and make a suggestion that involves an inference about the story I’m telling. And when they do, I say “excellent inference!” and proceed to restate the event, the setting, or the person I’m talking about.  It takes less than five minutes to accomplish this task, and the kids soon learn to be paying attention to my words in order to “guess” what’s going on.  Very casual, very informal.

Awareness of their inferences

The informality does not belie the purpose, which is to familiarize the kids with the concept of making inferences and an awareness when they make them. When we are supporting readers with autism in developing comprehension strategies, it’s important, though not crucial that they be able to identify the strategy and when they are doing it. (Why is it important? I believe that the children I teach need to develop an awareness of the way they think and learn. This prepares them for reflection on their progress and goals, and allows them to participate more fully in their own instruction.) The first step in teaching kids to make inferences as they read is to tell them what an inference is, and show them that they already use it to some extent in their lives.

About a month into any given school year, I add a quick routine to my morning instruction. On a series of index cards, I write word groups that are intended to provoke an inference.  I will show the kids two or three of the cards in the morning, and perhaps two or three in the afternoon, right after lunch and before we start social studies.  I simply place a card on the document camera and wait for the kids, individually or in groups, to shout out what they think the words have in common.  As with my anecdotes, the word groupings always have to do with an event or a character or a setting.  I keep it simple, and try to incorporate the kids’ own background knowledge as I write the word cards.

Tip: I have, on occasion, begun with picture cards instead of words. For a few days, I’ll show kids cards as described above, only the cards will have 3-4 pictures instead of words. Then I’ll move to word cards.

During this time, some fabulous and thoughtful discussions usually begin about the words and their connotations.  I push kids to justify their choices and explain them to the rest of the class.  If there’s a disagreement, we talk about it. My role is as facilitator, and thus I do not intervene with the right or wrong answer, but simply ask open-ended questions to help guide the kids to a deeper discussion.

Teacher: Ok, who will read the words? Sammy?

Sam:  Cake, flowers, white dress, church

Teacher:  Terrific. Who has an inference?

Jaylin:  Birthday party.

Sam:   No way.  It’s a wedding.

Jaylin:   But there’s cake.

Brianna:   I put quinceanera.

Teacher:  Three ideas! Let’s discuss! Jaylin, talk about your inference that it’s a birthday party. Tell me the words you used for that inference.

Jaylin:  Cake, ‘cause there’s cake at a birthday party. And flowers.  And a nice dress.

Teacher:  Oh, so you understood that people dress up for a birthday party, sure.

Jaylin:  Yeah. And there’s presents.

Teacher:  Oh, you used the word “presents”? Is that on the list?

Jaylin:  No.

Teacher:  Brianna, talk about your idea that it’s a quinceanera.

Brianna:  Girls wear white dresses and you can have communion at church, and they decorate with flowers.

Teacher:  Oh, so you used the word church and the white dresses and the flowers to come up with that. Have you been to a quinceneara?

Brianna:  My sister had one.

Sam:  But you don’t go to church. It’s just a party.

Teacher:  That is true in many Mexican communities, Sammy. But other cultures, like the Puerto Rican culture, often have a religious service before the party.

Sam:  Oh.

Teacher:   Sam, talk about why you think it’s a wedding.

Sam:   Because the girl wears a white dress and it’s in a church. You don’t have a birthday party in a church.

Jaylin:  Oh, yeah.

Teacher:  Ok, so Jaylin, are you adjusting your ideas now?

Jaylin:  Yeah.  He’s right, they don’t do birthday parties in the church.  I forgot that word.

Teacher:  Well, what about Brianna’s inference?

Brianna:  My sister had hers and we all went to church first.

Teacher:  So no wonder you thought “quinceneara” when you saw those words! Well, maybe we need more information to determine which inference is more reasonable. What word could we add, Sam, to make it clear that it’s a wedding?

Sam:  Wedding.

Teacher:  Well, without saying that.  How about, say, “bride” or “ring”?

Sam:   Yeah, that’s good.

Teacher:  Brianna, what word could we add to show that it’s a quinceanera?

Brianna:  I don’t know.

Teacher:  Anyone have an idea?

Stuart:  What if we say “Mexican”?

Teacher:  Do only Mexicans celebrate quinceneara?

Brianna:  No.

Teacher:  Hmmmm. Ok. Well, is there a number or a word we could use?

Brianna:  15?

Teacher:  Ohhhh. 15. Why?

Brianna:  Because that’s how old you are when you have it.

Teacher:  Oh, ok. So if we add 15, does that make people think it’s a quinceneara?

Students:  Yes.

Teacher:  And since the 15 is not on the card, what can we reasonably infer?

Brianna:  I think it’s a wedding.

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Continued: Be sure to click on the next page below!

Related posts:

1. The problem of the read-aloud
2. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?
3. Fiction with a purpose (but one at a time)

By Sara Finegan

When I began teaching in Southern California several years ago, I assumed that the fact that an entire department of my school district was devoted to autism meant that I would be able to get information on best practices and the latest research to support my students in learning.  Accordingly, I would invite people from the Autism Support Department to my classroom to observe individual students in order to help me figure out the best ways to help them access academic learning.

They came and watched and gave me odd suggestions such as “well, you could use a checklist…” or “maybe you could reward him with toy time when he finishes,” neither of which really addressed my desire to help my students with autism read better.   It took several months of frustrating interactions between me and two Department employees before one of them finally informed me, “Sara, we handle behavior.  Not learning.  The academic stuff is not what we do.”

I was on my own.

From that point on, I’ve been on a mission to discover and try out whatever instructional strategies I can find to support and shape the intellectual work of my students with autism.   There hasn’t been a lot out there.  We have research up the wazoo on autism, but most of it is wrapped around behaviors and causes, not how kids learn and what helps them learn. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that parents and teachers are on our own here, and that just as parents have been pioneers in locating therapies and supports for their children, so must we teachers with autism in the classroom dig our own trails and share everything we learn. The mind of a child with autism is the mind of a child is the mind of a learner, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to wait around for our school districts to find funding to add cognitive issues to traditional autism support.

My purpose in creating this blog is to found a forum where I can share what I learn and what I’m trying on, and parents, teachers, and other people who love learners with autism and are committed to showing them how to learn can come and get ideas and share what works for them.

Readers with autism experience difficulty with tasks such as making inferences about characters and situations in text, making predictions about what will happen next, negotiating figurative language such as metaphor and simile, questioning for meaning, and a myriad of other strategies we take for granted when we navigate through a novel or short story.

Research has shown that most readers with autism do not connect parts of text.  In other words, a child who is reading a story may not recognize that what happened in the last paragraph is related to what is happening in this paragraph, and thus will not be able to keep track of the plot at all.

Assisting a child in developing, strengthening and regularly using the strategies and understandings needed to fully comprehend text is the job of parents, teacher, and other support providers such as occupational and speech therapists, tutors, and teacher aides.   

Our job is enormous, but we must not be daunted by the size of the task; instead, we must focus on and customize individual interventions and lessons that bridge the gap between a child’s deficits and strengths.

During my teaching career, I’ve developed some interventions and instructional strategies that seem to work well with many readers with autism, particularly those with hyperlexia.  I have also used many ideas given to me by my colleagues and parents of my students, who are my best and most wondrous partners. Support providers at every level are encouraged to try them, modify or expand them, and customize them to fit the needs of their own readers with autism.  Your comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome.

Our goal is to provide Help for struggling readers on the autism spectrum.

Related posts:

1. The child in the IEP: Can we really see him as described?
2. Autism and hyperlexia, part 1: Anaphoric cuing?
3. Don’t stop advocating for the child with autism!