As a parent, you want your child to have the best education possible. For neurodivergent kids, school can be tough. That’s where autism inclusion comes in. By making schools more inclusive, students with different learning needs can do their best. In this guide, we’ll talk about the good things that come from autism inclusion in schools and give helpful tips for teachers. Let’s learn about inclusive education and see how it can change the lives of neurodivergent kids.
Table of Contents
What is Autism Inclusion?
Autism inclusion means helping students with autism and other learning differences join regular classrooms. This philosophy is based on the belief that all kids can learn and do well in a supportive and inclusive place. Here are some important parts of autism inclusion:
- Personalized help: Each student gets teaching and help that fits their needs.
- Teamwork: Teachers, parents, and other staff work together to make learning great for the student.
- High goals: All students are pushed to do their best, no matter their abilities.
- Making friends: Students with autism get chances to talk and make friends with other kids.
By understanding these key principles, schools can create a more inclusive environment that benefits all students, regardless of their abilities. Here are 5 autism teaching strategies for your classroom.
Goally | Visual Scheduler for Autism
Does your child struggle with getting ready in the morning independently? Goally’s routine app on the best tablet for kids breaks down large tasks into small, achievable steps for autistic kids. Create custom routines with your own videos & pictures for every step.
Good Things About Autism Inclusion in Schools
Autism inclusion is good for both neurodivergent kids and other students. Here are some of the best things about it:
- Better grades: Studies show that students with autism in regular classrooms often do better in school than those in separate classes.
- Learning social skills: Inclusive schools give students with autism chances to practice social skills and make friends.
- More kindness and understanding: Other students learn to see the good things and challenges of classmates with autism, making a kinder and more inclusive community.
- Getting ready for life: Inclusion helps students with autism learn skills they need to do well in a diverse and inclusive world.
With these benefits in mind, it’s clear that autism inclusion is a win-win situation for everyone involved in the educational process.
Read more: ADA Accommodations
Read more: Visual Schedules for Students With Autism
Helpful Tips for Teachers to Use Autism Inclusion
Making a classroom inclusion takes planning and teamwork. Here are some helpful tips for teachers to support autism inclusion in their classrooms:
1. Learn About Your Students
Knowing each student’s strengths, challenges, and how they learn best is important for autism inclusion. Spend time getting to know your students and work with parents and other staff to make learning plans that fit each student.
Use this information to create a supportive environment that caters to each student’s unique needs, ensuring that they feel valued and included in the classroom.
2. Make a Supportive Classroom
Make a welcoming and inclusive place by helping everyone understand and accept neurodiversity. Talk openly about autism and other learning differences, and show how to use kind words and actions.
Encourage students to ask questions and share their thoughts about neurodiversity, creating a classroom culture that values and respects all individuals.
Read more: What is the Equality Act?
3. Teach in Different Ways
Change your teaching to fit the needs of all your students. This might include using pictures, hands-on activities, and giving extra help or changes as needed.
- Use visual aids to support understanding.
- Offer hands-on activities to engage students.
- Provide extra support or accommodations when necessary.
4. Help Students Support Each Other
Put students with autism together with kind classmates who can be good examples and help during group activities. This is good for the student with autism and helps other students learn empathy and understanding.
Encourage peer mentoring and collaborative learning, fostering a sense of community and belonging among all students.
5. Check Progress and Change Strategies
Keep an eye on how students with autism are doing and change your teaching and help as needed. Work with parents and other staff to make sure each student’s needs are met well.
Regularly assess progress and adjust teaching strategies to ensure that each student continues to grow and succeed in the inclusive classroom.
Goally is a great tool for kids with ASD who are looking to improve their life and language skills. It can be used in the home or clinic, and it is tailored to the individual needs of each child. Goally is a digital therapy and teaching assistant that can help kiddos with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Goally can help children with a variety of tasks, including:
- Learning New Skills: Goally’s video classes helps children learn new skills, such as: how to follow directions, how to interact with peers, and how to make a sandwich.
- Increased Communication: Goally helps children effectively communicate wants and needs while also teaching them their first 50 words, allowing children to participate in the world around them.
- Behavior Management: Goally helps children manage their behavior, both in the classroom and at home by rewarding positive behaviors created by parents and teachers.
Goally’s distraction-free kid’s tablet can be used as a therapy tool to help teach executive function, language, emotional regulation, finger dexterity skills, and more!
Autism Inclusion: Good for Everyone
Autism inclusion in schools is good for students with autism, other students, and teachers too. By using this approach, schools can make a more inclusive and kind place for all kids to learn and grow. Let’s work together to make the most of autism inclusion and change education for neurodivergent kids.
This post was originally published on 05/02/2023. It was updated on 11/03/2023.
Goally
We help parents teach their kids life skills, like doing bedtime and morning independently. Backed by science, we incorporate evidence-based practices and expert-informed designs in all of our apps and content.
