Teach Secondary 13.8

(oppositional defiant disorder) is often linked to ASD, but that’s not to say the two are always linked. Defiance can be the result of frustration at not understanding instructions or social context. Avoid vague terms. For example, when asking a girl with autism for a range of examples, you need to give a firmnumber. Youmay find yourself needing to rewrite instructions to make certain expectations and parameters more clear. Above all, be sure to break instructions down. Some students might need to be provided with one requirement at a time, while others can handle more, so familiarise yourself with howmuch your ASD students canmanage. Tell themwhat they’re going to do each lesson and how the course builds. Year plans can be particularly useful, and be sent home so that parents can help to prep the students over the coming months. Give examples where you can – such as how to lay out their work – so that students can see exactly what will be required of them. Reticence in class While delayed speech is part of autism, the worry of not understanding cues, questions and implied expectations means that talking in class can entail huge additional stresses for an ASD child. Among girls, the extra effort that goes into masking awareness – if not practical understanding – of social expectations can turn speaking up into a terrifying experience. Which is why these students should never be put on the spot. Flipped teaching can give ASD girls questions in advance, allowing them to select which they would like to answer. If needed, they could write their answers out beforehand and once in class. They or you could then read the answer out, removing the fear of them forgetting or tripping over their words. Techniques such as Think, Pair, Share will allowASD girls to work with others and share their ideas in groups, thus avoiding the stress that might come when addressing the whole class. I’m also a huge fan of the personal whiteboard. Using them to write answers down and display them, rather than voicing them aloud, will ensure that everyone is still able to contribute to whole class activities at all times. Another approach can be to use Post-it notes, or organise silent debates, where ideas and questions regarding the lesson content can be collected without a word being spoken. Difficulty expressing emotions To properly understand and express your emotions, you have to first be able to identify and label them– a huge challenge for many on the ASD spectrum. Often, the more emotional an ASD girl becomes, the harder it will be for them to actually express what they’re feeling. We mustn’t fall into the trap of believing that a failure to show emotions is the same as not feeling emotions. Red/amber/green-rated armbands can be a useful tool for communicating emotions non-verbally. These can let autistic girls signal, for example, that they’re ‘feeling fine and are happy to be involved in the lesson’ (green); ‘happy to be there and work, but reluctant to work with others or be asked too many questions’ (amber); or ‘ I’m struggling and may need to leave the room ’ (red). I’ve found this to be a great way of letting students silently let me knowwhat approach to teaching and questioning they canmanage ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hannah Day is head of art, media and film at Ludlow College Perfectionism • Introduce time limits and word counts • Refer to work as a draft • Point out your mistakes Change • Give info in advance • Be clear on what they need to do and what will be down to you • Allow them to see new spaces beforehand – digitally, if doing so in person won’t be possible Difficulty with instructions • Avoid vague language • Break down instructions • Share course structures so they can see at a glance what to expect • Use examples of past work. Speaking in class • Don’t put them on the spot • Use flipped teaching to they can pre-prepare answers • Think, Pair, Share. • Whiteboards and Post-it notes can be a substitute for verbal answers Difficulty expressing emotions • RAG-rated armbands Difficulty starting projects • Avoid demanding terms • Encourage one task at a time ATAGLANCE Place this chart somewhere you can regularly review, allowing yourself to become familiar with these key recommendations each lesson – sometimes with bands changing midway through a class. Difficulty starting tasks This can be one of the most frustrating aspects of ASD, and not just for teachers. Like many aspects of autism, it can overlap with a possible diagnosis of PDA (pathological demand avoidance) – but whatever the cause, building a relationship based on trust will need to be your foundation. Avoid demanding terms, such as ‘must’, ‘now’ or ‘need’. Instead, try to present options, such as a choice of which task to do first, which pen to use, or if possible, whether to attempt a task by hand or by using a computer. This can give the ASD girl a sense of control. Encouraging one small job at a time – even it’s simply adding a title to a piece of work – can help the student to focus on each successive stage, rather than the whole task at once. This is obviously time consuming, however, so if possible, enlist a TA to break those tasks down and prompt the student as needed. The approaches outlined here – some of which have previously been suggested to me by students or their parents – have helped us to become a more inclusive and effective college. We hope to continue on this journey, to ensure all students, including our ASD girls, can truly flourish. 67 teachwire.net/secondary S E N D