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1. Difficulty interpreting and using social and body language
2. Staying on topic, turn-taking, and asking related or appropriate questions during conversation
3. Difficulty following directions
4. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
5. Auditory input sensitivities (i.e., covering ears during loud noises)
6. Executive functioning difficulties (i.e., dressing themselves, completing a homework assignment, tying their shoes, etc.)

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Children with ASD may struggle with interpreting texts, social interactions, abstract ideas, and understanding instructions. Sometimes autistic individuals have a co-existing cognitive delay, which can impact their learning and education. Within educational programs, cognitive delays can also be supported through various supports, such as academic services through an IEP.

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My lesson will be instructed in a classroom setting.

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The purpose of the lesson is for students to expand their knowledge of sentence building and reading comprehension.

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The goal of this lesson is for students to learn new skills in sentence building and improve upon their reading comprehension.

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Skills/knowledge the children will acquire from the lesson

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Skills/knowledge the children will acquire from the lesson

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Students will learn how to build sentences and answer reading comprehension questions about the sentences that they built. These skills will be reinforced through various practice exercises and worksheets.

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How students will be given chances to represent learning in different ways

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How students will be given chances to represent learning in different ways

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Students could use visual strategies like raising their hand to help solve a problem, this can help to encourage their classroom participation. Visual strategies help benefit children with ASD because they help improve communication, prevent problems, and guide students to participate successfully both in school and at home.

Visual supports could also be used as a form of adaptation. These allow children to participate in activities and routines. Because these children find it difficult to communicate using words, visual supports can provide them with a system for communication while also teaching them important daily activities and routines.

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How students will be given chances to engage with the learning in different ways

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How students will be given chances to engage with the learning in different ways

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Social stories can be used to help students with autism 'read' and understand social situations. Appropriate social behaviors are explained in the form of a story.

Multimedia can be used in the classroom to promote vocabulary learning. Incorporating vocabulary instruction into storybook read-alouds is a popular and effective way to improve word knowledge of young children.

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How students will be given chances to express learning in different ways

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How students will be given chances to express learning in different ways

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Students can be provided with sensory support in face-to-face instruction and may still need many of those same supports when they are learning from home.

Giving the students choices can also help make education easier and more appealing for students with autism. Choices can give students a sense of ownership for their own learning and can pique their interest in a lesson, increase motivation, and prevent challenging behavior.

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3 adjustments to the classroom environment to promote inclusive, effective instruction. 

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3 adjustments to the classroom environment to promote inclusive, effective instruction. 

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I will make alterations to lighting because of the sensory needs of my students with ASD. To do this, I will tape blue contact paper over the lights on the ceiling to make the classroom more sensory calming to my students.

I will be sure that any sound being played on the board for music and songs is always at a level where students are not covering their ears, but can still hear it, so most likely at level 3 or lower.

I will also make sure that each of my students has their own "center" where they can spend time away from possible distractions in the classroom.

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While individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unique as anyone else, some common global characteristics exist within the population. These characteristics vary in intensity, degree, and amount, and manifest differently from person to person and over time. The following characteristics associated with ASD are loosely based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5™) and should be used to gain a better understanding of individuals identified with ASD, design a program, or facilitate discussion.

Social Communication Impairments

All individuals with ASD exhibit social communication impairments. In the first few years of life, salient signs of autism include lack of appropriate eye contact and inability to initiate or respond to joint attention (i.e., sharing social experiences with a communication partner). Common social difficulties include:

Demonstrating appropriate play skills, such as cooperative play with others. Some children with ASD may appear uninterested in playing with peers.

Some may reject or ignore the social approaches of others.

Responding to and initiating joint attention for social purposes. For example, many individuals with ASD are skilled at requesting items but are less likely to communicate for the purpose of sharing a social experience. Some individuals with ASD may lack interest in conversations that do not include topics of interests.

Using and interpreting body language. For example, individuals with ASD may have challenges understanding tone of voice or facial expression in social situations.

Staying on topic, turn-taking, and asking related or appropriate questions during conversations.

Taking their communication partner's perspective, checking for understanding, or predicting what information may already be known about a concept or situation during conversations.

Speech/Language Impairments

Persons with ASD may have specific difficulties in the areas of receptive and expressive language. Receptive language is the comprehension of language (e.g., following directions), while expressive language is the ability to express desires and thoughts to other persons. Some individuals with ASD express their thoughts verbally, while others may be nonverbal and require a communication device.

Those who are nonverbal may demonstrate the following:

Delay in, or lack of, spoken speech/language, impacting approximately 20-30% of the population.

Lack of an effective way to communicate may lead to the need for the use of alternative augmentative communication (AAC), such as sign language, pictures, or a voice output device.

Those who are verbal may demonstrate the following:

Delayed or immediate echolalia as a means of conversation with others, for self-management, or for self-stimulation. For example, a dialogue from television programs or videos may be used as a means of conversation.

Stereotyped or repetitive use of non-echolalic language routines that serve various functions such as initiating or sustaining a conversation.

Use of idiosyncratic speech (e.g., inappropriate word use).

Grammatical structure which may appear immature (i.e., telegraphic speech, improper tense or use of pronouns) or grammatical structure which may appear pedantic (e.g., monologue, advanced vocabulary in an area of interest).

Abnormal use of pitch, intonation, rhythm or stress. For example, speech may be monotone or hypernasal, and declarative sentences may end with a rising tone to signal the asking of a question.

Both verbal and nonverbal individuals may demonstrate difficulties with receptive language such as:

Delayed vocabulary development;

Difficulty following directions;

Difficulty understanding abstract concepts; and

Difficulty interpreting social language, such as sarcasm and jokes.

Restricted Repetitive and Stereotyped Patterns of Behavior, Interests, and Activities

Although people with ASD may enjoy the same activities as typical same-age peers, the intensity and focus of their interests may differ. This may be due to the fact that some have a limited repertoire of alternative behaviors, or that they prefer and feel comfortable repeatedly performing certain tasks. Behavior under this category include:

Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements such as hand flapping or finger flicking, use of objects such as spinning coins or lining up toys, or use of speech such as echolalia (delayed or immediate parroting of heard words), use of "you" when referring to self or stereotyped use of words or phrases.

Excessive adherences to routines and sameness such as being distressed by changes in the schedule, insisting on adherence to rules, or having inflexible thinking.

Ritualized patterns of behavior such as repetitive questioning or pacing.

Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus. A toddler may have a parent's belt that they carry everywhere, a child may have a preoccupation with vacuums, or an adult may spend hours memorizing facts about their favorite baseball team.

In the DSM-5™, sensory differences are categorized under restricted repetitive behaviors. Individuals with sensory differences will be under (hypo) or over (hyper) sensitive to a variety of sensory inputs:

Visual input sensitivities are staring at spinning objects, being bothered by fluorescent lights, or having trouble with keeping their place when reading.

Auditory input sensitivities are covering ears during loud noises, preferring loud music or none at all in the car, or not being able to respond to verbal prompts when in a noisy area.

Tactile input sensitivities are disliking getting hands or feet messy, avoiding/preferring certain surfaces, textures, or fabrics, or finding specific types of touch aversive (light touch on the shoulder vs. deep pressure hug).

Taste/Smell sensitivities are not eating certain foods, licking or tasting non-food items, or finding strong perfume or cologne aversive.

Proprioceptive Input sensitivities are difficulties interpreting sensations from muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons (e.g., putting too much pressure on pencil when writing or falling/crashing into things).

Vestibular input sensitivities are over or under sensitivities to balance and movement sensations, such as having trouble staying seated, constantly leaning head on hands and arms, or easily losing balance.

Executive Function Impairments

Executive functioning refers to advanced cognitive skills, such as attention, working memory, planning, reasoning, sequencing, and flexible thinking. In typically developing people, these skills benefit not only social interactions but also academics, learning, self-regulation, and activities of daily living.

Individuals with ASD may have difficulty with a wide range of executive functioning tasks, such as sequencing the order in which to dress themselves, tie their shoes, pack for a trip, or complete a homework assignment.

Rigid, inflexible thinking is a common characteristic of individuals with ASD, and therefore individuals may have trouble problem-solving or generating more than one solution to a problem.

Individuals with ASD may have executive functioning difficulties at more basic levels, such as sustaining prolonged attention to an activity, or dividing their attention between two activities at once.

Common Learning Characteristics

Although no two people with ASD are alike, many demonstrate common learning characteristics. Those involved in working with the individual with ASD will need basic information about these characteristics and how they impact learning.

Individuals with ASD often demonstrate exceptional rote memory skills; however, their working memory or the time it takes to process information, especially processing several pieces of information at one time, can be difficult for people with ASD.

Many individuals with ASD are able to better process information when presented visually. They may benefit from pictures, modeling the behaviors of others, hands-on activities, and concrete examples.

Unstructured time or extensive waiting can be difficult for many. Schedules or checklists can help ease the anxiety or confusion surrounding unstructured time. Educators may also consider having a box of wait time activities, such as books, toys, or sensory items.

Individuals with ASD often have difficulty generalizing learned skills from one setting to another. Educators may need to teach skills across different settings, people, and activities.

Organization of materials and activities can be problematic for individuals with ASD. Educators may need to teach individuals with ASD how to organize their materials for different classes, keep their lockers tidy, how to use an agenda, and gather materials for homework.Individuals with ASD typically perform unevenly within and across academic skill areas.

Some individuals with ASD are high-achieving in all areas, some have high word recognition skills, but poor comprehension, others have high calculation skills, but poor applied math problem skills, and a proportion are low in all areas.

Additional Considerations

For some individuals with ASD, additional conditions further impact their ability to successfully learn and live in society. These conditions include:

Current or previous seizure activity.

The use of medication for seizure activity, mental health disorders, behaviors, or other conditions.

Eating problems such as pica, overeating, and eating only particular foods.

Current or previous sleeping or toileting problems.

Self-injurious behavior such as head-hitting, self-biting, face slapping, and severe scratching.

Pratt, C., Hopf, R., & Larriba-Quest, K. (2017). Characteristics of individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Reporter, 21(17). Retrieved from https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/characteristics.

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Dr. Cathy Pratt, BCBA-D; Updated by: Rachel Hopf, M.A., SLP-CCC, Graduate Assistant and Kelsey Larriba-Quest, M.Ed., Graduate Assistant;

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While individuals with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unique as anyone else, some common global characteristics exist within the population. These characteristics vary in intensity, degree, and amount, and manifest differently from person to person and over time.

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Your destination for the worksheets, lesson plans, visual tools, and assessment forms for quick-and-easy print!

The Autism and Reading Comprehension: Ready-to-Use Lesson Plans for Teachers book provides many tools for the classroom.

Available in print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indiebound as well as an eBook with Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Apple, this treasured resource for teachers has simplified lesson plans.

Following is a guide to the free printable tools!

Have a recommendation? Contact Us

Level 1: The Cat
Lessons Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
Level 2: The Rabbit
Lessons Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
Level 3: The Bear
Lessons Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
LEVEL 4: The Mouse
Lessons Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
LEVEL 5: The Monkey
Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
LEVEL 6: The Dog
Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
LEVEL 7: The Horse
Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
LEVEL 8: The Birds
Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
LEVEL 9: The Lizard
Worksheets Materials for Sentence Building Exercises:
*****END*****

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ARC - Autism and Reading Comprehension: Ready-to-Use Lesson Plans for Teachers

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The Autism and Reading Comprehension: Ready-to-Use Lesson Plans for Teachers book provides many tools for the classroom. Available in print at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indiebound as well as an eBook with Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Apple, this treasured resource for teachers has simplified lesson plans.

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Understanding how autism affects learning allows parents, educators, and caretakers to support autistic individuals in their lifelong process of learning.

In this blog, we'll look at the following:

Does Autism Count as a Learning Disability?

No, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not a learning disability; it's a developmental disorder. That said, around half of the individuals with an autism diagnosis also have learning disabilities. It's easy to categorize autism as a learning disability due to its impact on learning, often hindering a person's educational development.

Can Autism Make Learning Difficult?

Being a neurodevelopmental disorder, autism impacts the cognitive processes of autistic children and adults. The differences in how the brain interprets information can create barriers to language and communication skills. A child with autism may take longer to pick up new skills or need individualized approaches to learning.

Can Autism Affect Academic Performance?

Children with autism often face unique challenges in school and learning overall. They may need more time to understand concepts or an IEP (Individualized Education Plan). On top of delays in cognitive development, autistic children are affected by other hindrances, such as sensory issues and behavior problems.

Can Autism Affect Comprehension?

In learning, autistic children may struggle with interpreting texts, social interactions, abstract ideas or literary devices (metaphors, idioms, sarcasm), and understanding instructions.

If a child with autism has additional conditions, such as learning disabilities, this can create further challenges in comprehension. For example, disabilities, including dyslexia or ADHD, can negatively impact reading skills or focus.

Can Children with ASD Have Cognitive Delays? How?

Sometimes autistic individuals have a co-existing cognitive delay, which can impact their learning and education.

Within educational programs, cognitive delays can also be supported through various supports, such as academic services through an IEP.

Cognitive delays, which can also be labeled as Intellectual Disabilities, can present from mild to moderate to severe. If an autistic child has an ID, its impact on that child's life will depend on different factors, such as the severity of autism, medical and genetic conditions, and if they are attending therapy or other developmental treatments.

Why do Autistic Students Need Visual Support?

Because the brain processes information differently in those with autism, visual supports can aid comprehension of new information. While not always the case, many autistic children are visual learners. Especially when accompanied by spoken information, visuals, and tangible learning, they can work directly with new concepts.

Visual support in learning may look like the following:

How Does Autism Affect Visual Processing?

Autism and visual impairment are closely related and have been seen to coexist in individuals. Aside from actual eyesight problems, autism affects visual processing in other ways.

Visually, autistic people may struggle to understand the meaning behind their surroundings, environment, and pictures.

Does Autism Affect Concentration?

Individuals with autism tend to have a hard time paying attention to things they lack interest in. That's why individualized learning and tools like play therapy are effective in education and developing skills.

How much autism impacts concentration depends on where a person is on the spectrum. People with autism may find it difficult to concentrate because of problems with sensory processing, interpreting information, and attention regulation.

What is the Main Learning Barrier for Students with Autism?

Students with autism may need extra support in learning different subjects, possibly requiring an IEP or special education. Besides the educational aspects of a student's life, autistic children often face challenges with social skills, including difficulties with:

Picking up on social cues

Making and maintaining a conversation

Building and maintaining relationships

Being consistent with plans

Interrupting or keeping attention

Maintaining eye contact

Difficulty verbally communicating

Building connections with others and maintaining friendships during the school years is essential. While autistic students may have more difficulty with social interactions than their peers, this doesn't mean they won't find their own friendships and groups.

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Our treatments focus on building positive behaviors and improving skills used in daily life for ongoing growth and lifelong success.

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It is common for students with ASD to behave in challenging or ways that are difficult to manage. For example, children with autism may refuse or ignore requests, behave in socially inappropriate ways, behave aggressively, and hurt themselves or other children.

Children with ASD behave in challenging ways because they have trouble understanding what is happening around them, have difficulty communicating their own wants and needs, are highly anxious and stressed, and feel overwhelmed with what is going on around them.

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Many children with autism have difficulty with executive functioning. They may have trouble with certain skills like planning, staying organized, sequencing information, and self-regulating emotions. Some children have trouble maintaining their attention in the classroom or other settings. Other children may have trouble maintaining their attention in the classroom or other settings.

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Challenging behaviour in autistic children and teenagers

It's common for autistic children to behave in challenging ways or ways that are difficult to manage.

For example, autistic children and teenagers might:

refuse or ignore requests

behave in socially inappropriate ways, like taking their clothes off in public

behave aggressively

hurt themselves or other children - for example, by head-banging or biting.

Why autistic children and teenagers behave in challenging ways

Autistic children and teenagers might behave in challenging ways because they:

have trouble understanding what's happening around them - for example, what other people are saying or communicating non-verbally

have difficulty communicating their own wants and needs, which can lead to frustration

are highly anxious and stressed

feel overwhelmed by what's going on around them.

Your child's difficult behaviour might also have specific triggers, like the following.

Routines and rituals
Autistic children often like predictable environments, and they can get very upset if they can't follow familiar routines. For example, your child might be upset if you change the route you usually take home from school.

Transitions
Your child might not understand it's time to move on from one activity to another. Or like typically developing children, your child just might not want to.

Sensory sensitivities
Autistic children often have sensory sensitivities - for example, they might like feeling or touching particular surfaces or objects. Your child might get upset if they aren't allowed to touch.

Sensory overload
Your child might get upset if too much is happening around them, if they find a particular noise overwhelming, or if the light is too bright.

Unrealistic expectations
Autistic children can get frustrated if they're expected to do something they don't have the skills for, like getting dressed independently.

Tiredness
Autistic children can have sleep problems. If your child isn't getting enough good-quality sleep or is tired from an activity or situation, this can cause challenging behaviour.

Discomfort, pain or illness
This could include things like the feeling of clothes against skin, a prickly label, wet pants, a bump or pain. Check with your GP if you suspect there could be a medical condition causing your child's behaviour.

Other conditions
Your child might have other conditions as well as autism, like epilepsy, mood disorder or ADHD. These can all cause difficult behaviour. A medical assessment will help you to identify and manage these conditions.

Changing challenging behaviour in autistic children and teenagers

To change your child's behaviour, you need to understand what's triggering or causing it and what your child is getting out of it.

You can use the following steps to work on your child's difficult or challenging behaviour.

Step 1: Choose a behaviour
Choose one behaviour to focus on. For example, maybe your child yells at others when they're upset.

Step 2: Identify what triggers the behaviour and how it meets your child's needs
Keep a diary of the difficult behaviour for 1-2 weeks. It's a good idea to include two weekends in the diary. Family routines and behaviour can be different on weekends and weekdays.

Here's an example:

Difficult behaviour: got upset and yelled at brother

When: 4 pm, Monday 7 June

Where: in the car on the way home from school

What happened before behaviour: stopped at shop, intended to buy milk

What happened after: briefly tried to soothe child, then went home without buying milk

In this example, the trigger seems to be the change to the child's usual after-school routine. Note that sometimes there might be more than one trigger for a behaviour. And the behaviour met the child's needs because they got their routine back when the family left the shop.

Step 3: Make changes
Once you know what's triggering the behaviour and how it meets your child's needs, you can use the information to make changes.

Here are some ideas:

Organise predictable routines, perhaps using picture timetables.

Prepare your child for changing routines - for example, by giving your child a five-minute warning (this could be a visual warning like a clock). Using pictures can also help. In the example above, it could be a picture of a shop or milk. Social stories can be useful too - for example, a picture of school, then the shop, then home with a story like 'First mum picks you up from school, then you go to the shop, then you go home'.

Set up gradual introductions to environments that might be overstimulating. For example, start with short shopping trips during which your child gets something they like, or go when it's less busy.

Communicate clearly with your child. For example, make sure your child is paying attention when you explain what's going to happen. Use only one request or instruction at a time. Use language, symbols or pictures your child understands.

Teach your child how to ask for things they want or need. For example, your child could say 'help' or use a 'help' sign when doing a difficult task.

Plan for situations you know might be difficult. For example, don't do new things when your child is tired, or let your child take a favourite toy when you go somewhere that makes your child uncomfortable.

Calmly ignore your child's protests. But when your child is doing the right thing, give plenty of praise.

Cooperative behaviour helps autistic children and teenagers succeed at school and in relationships with others. You can encourage cooperative behaviour in autistic children by using strategies like setting limits, giving effective instructions and offering choices. You can also encourage good behaviour by using our 15 behaviour tips. Although these tips are written for typically developing children, you can adapt them to suit your child's level of development and communication.

Therapies and supports to improve communication and social skills

Improved communication and social understanding can lead to lower anxiety and less challenging behaviour in autistic children and teenagers. There are many therapies and supports that might increase your child's skills in these areas, and help you manage your child's behaviour.

A good first step is talking with your child's GP, paediatrician or psychologist, or another health professional who works with your child. They can help you find appropriate therapies and supports for your child. Psychologists, speech pathologists and experienced Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) practitioners can help you with behaviour management if the behaviour continues to be a problem or you need support to deal with it.

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Challenging behaviour: autistic children and teenagers

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Challenging behaviour in autistic children and teens is common. When children learn to manage challenging behaviour, they can get along better with others.

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What is executive functioning?

Executive functioning refers to a person's ability to process information. It includes skills such as:

1. Organizing

2. Planning

3. Paying attention

4. Inhibiting inappropriate responses

Many people with autism have difficulty with executive functioning. They may have trouble with certain skills like planning, staying organized, sequencing information, and self-regulating emotions.

Some people pay attention to minor details, but have trouble seeing how these details fit into a bigger picture.

Others have trouble maintaining their attention in the classroom or other settings.

When preparing to do a task, some may find it hard to organize their thoughts and actions in order to figure out what sequence of steps are needed.

Executive functioning difficulties can also be associated with poor impulse control.

Some have difficulty with complex thinking that requires holding more than one train of thought at the same time. For instance, Temple Grandin once said: "I cannot hold one piece of information in my mind while I manipulate the next step in the sequence."

Executive functioning issues can cause challenges in the classroom setting. The book A Parent's Guide to Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism offers a few tips to help students with autism succeed in the classroom:

Use a weekly homework log that can be sent from school to home and back, to keep everyone informed of when work is due and progress

Offer assignment checklists to break up large, often overwhelming tasks into more manageable pieces

Encourage student to use a day planner to stay organized

Post classroom schedules to keep all students on track

Leave enough time to provide instructions, repeat instructions, and then offer individual assistance to students

Position the student's desk in a place that is near the teacher and away from distractions

For more information...
Executive Functioning Issues - Understood.com

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Click here to learn about executive functioning and tips that can help students with autism who have executive functioning issues succeed in the classroom.

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Use visual strategies for autism to turn "messy situations" into successful opportunities. Learn visual strategies from autism expert

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Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

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Visual Supports Learning Links and Templates
These resources are intended as a starting point to learn more about visual supports and to offer templates and suggestions to begin creating your own visual support materials. You will need a PDF viewer for some of the resources - download Adobe Reader here.
Visual Supports Checklist

The Visual Supports Checklist (PDF) is based on a review of current literature, practical knowledge, and reported experiences from early childhood educators on the topic of visual supports. Developed by Susan Bennett-Armistead, Ph.D., University of Maine College of Education and Human Development; Bonnie Blagojevic, M.Ed., C.A.S., University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disabilities Studies; Erika Neal, M.Ed., University of Maine Farmington; and Billie Taylor, MSW, LCSW, University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disabilities Studies (June 2011, February 2016).

Take a Look! Visual Supports for Learning

In the June/July 2011 NAEYC Teaching Young Children photo essay, "Take a Look! Visual Supports for Learning," authors Blagojevic, Logue, Bennett-Armistead, Taylor and Neal define visual supports and show how they help all children to understand rules and expectations, engage in daily routine, navigate transitions, communicate thoughts, feelings and needs, and increase independence in child care routines and activities. NAEYC is the largest professional membership association for early childhood educators.

Learning Links Sampler

ConnectABILITY - (Scroll down and click on Supported Inclusion and click "Launch", then click on Communications, and select Visual Supports). Supported inclusion is a learning module for professionals. After launching the module, Visual Supports is a subtopic under Communications. Listen and watch workshops such as Visual Communications, access Tip Sheets, Communication Posters, and other tools.

Creating and Using Social Stories - This Head Start Center for Inclusion web page provides general information about the purpose of social stories, when to use them, how to create and use social stories and offers a variety of ready-made social stories to download and use in the classroom.

Social Stories - This article discusses how to create and use social stories to help individuals on the autism spectrum to 'read' and understand social situations.

Tips and Ideas for Making Visuals to Support Young Children with Challenging Behavior (PDF) - This handout is from The Center on Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning, Vanderbilt University.

Using Social Stories to Ease Children's Transitions (PDF) - This article shares information about what social stories are, how to create them and gives examples such as how they can be used to help toddlers during transition times.

Use Visual Strategies - Provides information regarding what visual strategies are, who benefits from them, and why they help. Explains the research behind why students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, behavior, and communication challenges benefit from visual strategies.

Using Multimedia to Promote Vocabulary Learning: Supporting English Language Learners in Inclusive Classrooms - A recent research study shows that using multimedia video in conjunction with traditional read aloud methods may improve the vocabulary growth of English language learners. An example of how to implement multimedia during classroom read-alouds is described.

Using Visual Supports with Infants and Toddlers (PDF) - Visual supports are a form of adaptation that rely on visual cues to allow infants and toddlers, and older child, to participate in activities and routines. This newsletter will take visual supports that have been used successfully in childcare centers and preschools and show how they can be used in the home with younger children.

Visual Supports - This collection of visual supports and other resources from the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, provides examples of various strategies that can be used to support students on the autism spectrum, as well as others with and without disabilities.

Create Visual Supports

Classroom Visuals and Supports - This Head Start Center for Inclusion webpage supports teachers in the classroom by creating an ever-growing library of commonly used pictures and visual supports to help teach and support all of your students. From toys and art materials to daily schedule pictures, to even problem solving pictures and classroom certificates. The visual supports are downloadable and available to use immediately in your classroom.

ConnectABILITY Visuals Engine - ConnectABILITY visuals engine helps to build custom visual supports and sequences for your child. Templates are available along with images to insert (and/or you can upload and insert your own) and a place to type in a title for the image. You can print the completed sequence from the web site. It provides a list of recommended sizes and different ways visuals can be used.

Early Learning Activities & Visual Supports - The Frank Porter Graham Family Implemented TEACCH for T oddlers (FITT) project provides early learning activities and visual supports to teach toddlers with autism new skills and routines. These are highly visual activities that teach the toddler how to engage with toys (e.g., blocks, farm animals) and how to participate in play routines. The photo library provides examples of activities and visuals that FITT interventionists and parents created for their toddlers.

Executive Functioning Module 4: Schedules and Time Management - Scripts with 8 x 10 Pictures - These schedules and time management scripts are downloadable visual supports that can be used by students for understanding and communication in the classroom, at home, and in the community. These scripts support a wide range of useful activities and events.

Hands in Autism - The Practical Tools section of the HANDS in Autism site offers information on how to create visual supports and examples on topics such as Communication Supports, Social Skills Supports, Teaching Academic Skills, Transition Supports, and Self Monitoring.

How to Use Classroom Visuals & Supports - The Head Start Center for Inclusion offers a library of visual supports for teachers to use with children in the classroom. Look for illustrations of toys, art materials, daily schedule pictures, problem solving cue cards, and classroom certificates, to name just a few. Each one can be downloaded and printed out for immediate use.

How to Use a First/Then Schedule - Mrs. Tabatha explains in a 4-minute YouTube video how to use a First/Then schedule with your child.

Making a Scripted Story for Early childhood Education and Care Environments (PDF) - Scripted stories are a great tool to support a child who has difficulty in a routine or activity. Scripted stories can help a child understand what to expect during the activity or routine, understand the expectations and perspectives of others, and provide instructions about what to do. From the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations.

Picto-Selector - This is a free tool for creating visual schedules which you download to either a Windows or Mac computer. It is used by many teachers and parents. There are also reports of people using it in daycare of elderly people. Picto-Selector makes creating visual schedules easier by: 1) Fast search options to find the needed pictures; 2) Automatic sizes, depending on the number of rows and columns; and 3) Reuse of earlier created schedules.

Picture Supports for Emergency Drills - Success Box - Picture card sets for five main emergency drills: Fire Drill, Bus Evacuation Drill, Tornado Drill, Lockdown Drill and School Evacuation Walk to Another School. These sets can be directly downloaded for printing or they can serve as examples from which you can create your own personalized sets with Boardmaker.

Social Stories - The Head Start Center for Inclusion (HSCI) offers a library of one-page Social Stories™ that can be downloaded, printed out, and customized for immediate use. Teachers and parents may also use these as a template to write their own stories that meet a child's individual needs.

Social stories and comic strip conversations - Social stories™ and comic strip conversations are ways to help people with autism develop greater social understanding. Here, you will learn a bit more about these two techniques and how you can produce your own.

Teacher Tools: Classroom Visuals and Support - This Head Start Center for Inclusion web page supports teachers to include children with disabilities more naturally in the classroom. These tools are designed to be able to print and go with quick and easy explanations. The ever-growing library of commonly used pictures and visual supports include templates that can be downloaded to use immediately to support children to learn how to problem solve, follow the daily schedule and make friends.

Teaching Strategies: Using a Visual Schedule [Video] - Preschool teacher Patricia Lee describes how she uses a visual schedule to help children know what to expect throughout the day. Created by The Center for Early Childhood Education, Eastern Connecticut State University.

Visual Schedules - Nearly everyone utilizes some form of visual schedule to stay organized. Create visual schedules using the do2Learn™ website. Requires paid subscription after a free trial.

Suggest a resource and/or provide feedback or comments on your use of these resources to Marnie Morneault at marnie.morneault@maine.edu Please use "Visual Supports Resources" as your email subject line.

Updated: 11/19/2023

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Visual Supports Learning Links and Templates - Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies - University of Maine

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These resources are intended as a starting point to learn more about visual supports and to offer templates and suggestions to begin creating your own visual support materials.

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by Barry K. Morris B.ScWk

Children with autism experience difficulties with social interaction. The theory of mind describes the problems they face in seeing the perspective of another person. A common strategy for dealing with this is using social stories to help individuals on the autism spectrum to 'read' and understand social situations.

Appropriate social behaviors are explained in the form of a story. It was developed by Carol Gray and seeks to include answers to questions that autistic persons may need to know to interact appropriately with others (for example, answers to who, what, when, where, and why in social situations).

A social story is designed for the specific child and may include things the child values and is interested in. For example, if a child likes dinosaurs, you could include dinosaurs as characters in a story about going to school, etc. Children with autism are often visual learners, so the story can include drawings, pictures, and even real objects.

how a social story is put together

Carol Gray recommends a specific pattern to a social story. The pattern includes several descriptive and perspective sentences.

Descriptive sentences

Descriptive sentences describe what people do in particular social situations, and clearly define where a situation occurs, who is involved, what they are doing, and why. An example of a descriptive sentence is "Sometimes at school, the fire alarm goes off. The fire alarm is a loud bell that rings when there is a real fire or when we are practicing getting out of the building. The teachers, janitors, and principal all help us to line up and go outside quickly. The fire alarm is loud so that everyone can hear it. Sometimes I think it is too loud."

Perspective sentences

This type of sentence presents others' reactions to a situation so that the individual can learn how others' perceive various events. These describe the internal states of people, their thoughts, feelings, and mood. Perspective sentences present others' reactions to a situation so that the individual can learn how others perceive various events. Example of a perspective sentence: "The fire alarm does not bother all people. The teachers, janitors, and principal may not understand how much the fire alarm bothers me. Sometimes they get mad if I do not move quickly or get confused. Their job is to get me outside quickly so I am safe in case there is a real fire."

Directive sentences

Directive sentences direct a person to an appropriate desired response. They state, in positive terms, what the desired behavior is. Given the nature of the directive sentence, care needs to be taken to use them correctly and not to limit the individual's choice. The greater the number of descriptive statements, the more opportunity for the individual to supply his/her own responses to the social situation. The greater the number of directive statements, the more specific the cues for how the individual should respond.

These are always stated in positive terms and are individualized statements of desired responses. Directive sentences often follow descriptive sentences, sharing information about what is expected as a response to a given cue or situation. Directive sentences often begin with "I can try..." "I will try..." or "I will work on...." Example of a directive sentence: "I will work on staying calm when the fire alarm rings."

Care should be taken not to have too many directive and/or control sentences turn a social story into an "anti-social story" of demands and commands.

Control sentences

These sentences identify strategies the person can use to facilitate memory and comprehension of the social story. They are usually added by the individual after reviewing the social story. A control sentence should be written or inspired by the child. Example of a control sentence: "When the fire alarm rings, will think about a the dinosaurs following each other out of the forest to escape the burning meteors."

When the story is put together, you may include pictures that mean something to the child and will help them remember the story. The story can be used as a bed-time story, a story for story time, etc. It may be read daily by the child or read to the child at various times during the week. Carol Gray reports fantastic results with her stories.

Don't have too many directive and control sentences

Two other types of sentences are sometime used: directive and control sentences. These sentences may not be used at all and if they are, Carol Gray recommends using them in the ration of 0 - 1 directive or control sentence(s) for every 2 - 5 descriptive and/or perspective sentences.

Carol Gray developed the social story ratio which defines the proportion of directive or control sentences to descriptive and/or perspective sentences. She suggests that for every one directive or control sentence, there should be two to five descriptive and/or perspective sentences. Directive or control sentences may be omitted entirely depending on the person and his/her needs.

How to use social stories

If the individual with autism can read, the parent can introduce the story be reading it twice. The person then reads it once a day independently. When the individual with autism cannot read, the parent can read the story on a videotape or audio tape with cues for the person to turn the page while reading. These cues could be a bell or verbal statement when it is time to turn the page.

The person listens and 'reads' along with the story once a day. When individual with autism develops the skills displayed in the social story, the story can be faded. This can be done by reducing the number of times the story is read a week and only reviewing the story once a month or as necessary. Another way of fading is to rewrite the story, gradually removing directive sentences from the story.

social stories can be used for many purposes

Social stories can be used for more than learning how to interact in social situations. They can be used to learn new routines, activities, and how to respond appropriately to feelings like anger and frustration. While studies are currently assessing the effectiveness of social stories, they appear to be a promising method for improving the social behaviors of autistic individuals.

What does research say about social stories?

Research to date indicates that social stories may be effective in improving adaptive behavior or reducing problem behavior, especially if used with applied behavior analysis methods. However, children on the autism spectrum will only benefit from this approach if they are able to communicate in sentences that connect different ideas to each other.

Several studies with small groups of school age children on the autism spectrum have reported benefits from using social stories (Mirenda 2001). Social stories are seen as effective as long as they are suited to the child's communication skills (Richards 2000). As with many interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders, more empirical research with larger numbers of children involved is needed to fully qualify social stories as an evidence-based intervention.

Examples of social sentences

Not listening

It's important to look at people and stop what I'm doing when they have something to tell me.
Sometimes grown-ups tell me very important things that I need to know.
If I don't look & listen I might miss something important and make the grown-ups angry.
I know it's wrong to keep doing what I'm doing when grown-ups want me to listen.
I will listen to grown-ups when they talk to me.

Tuning into people

I only think about what people are saying or doing.
When I remember to do this, I make friends and I know what's going on.
If I think about other things I can get distracted, I might even get stuck.
People will think I'm weird and they won't want to play with me.
I will always think about what people are saying and doing.

Interrupting

I can't interrupt when others are having a conversation or are busy with something.
It's not polite
If it's extremely important, I can tap the person on the shoulder and say excuse me, otherwise I must be patient and wait until they're finished.
Interrupting makes people angry because you stop them from talking and they might forget what they were talking about.
Everyone deserves to talk without being interrupted.
Grown-ups like polite children
They're especially proud of children who do not interrupt.
Sometimes I might think it's important and the grown-up will tell me it's not. If that happens, I need to wait patiently.

Personal space

Time out

Sometimes grown-ups send me to a timeout when I don't listen.

What are you supposed to do in a timeout?

What do grown-ups think if you don't listen? A: They think I don't know how to listen.

I can control myself so I don't get timeouts

I can listen to grown-ups.

No answer from others

Sometimes people don't answer when you talk to them
Maybe they didn't hear you.
Maybe they weren't paying attention.
Maybe they were busy.
Maybe they just didn't want to talk to you.
It's not my job to make people answer me.
I can just forget about it, maybe they'll talk to me later.

Asking questions you know the answer to

It's not good to ask questions that I know the answer to.

It's boring to others.

People might think I can't remember the answers.

People might think I'm dumb.

People might think I'm testing them & that will make them feel angry.

If I want to talk to someone I can ask a question that I don't know the answer to.

Circle time

Leaving activity

Calling out

Leaving objects when an adult calls me

When a grown-up calls me I need to immediately stop what I'm doing and go to them.
They might have something to tell me that I need to know right away.
If I don't go right away I won't hear what I need to know.
Grown-ups don't like children who don't listen.
I will listen to grown-ups.

When I feel I must talk

Sometimes I want to say things very badly, it feels like I have to say it right that second.
It's important to wait until the other person is finished talking.
Even though it feels important, it can wait.
They will listen to me better if I wait patiently.
When I interrupt, it just angers people.
People wonder, "what's wrong with him?", "why can't he wait?"
If I can wait, I can tell them later.

These are excerpts from another fact sheet where parents explain how they adapted social stories for their son with autism, with excellent results. Click here to read about their experiences.

Click here for the full range of Asperger's and autism fact sheets and personal stories at www.autism-help.org
See the Communication skills page for more information on communication issues. This autism fact sheet is under the copyright provisions of the GNU Free Documentation.

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Autism, PDD-NOS & Asperger's fact sheets | Social stories - a communication aid in the context of Autism or Asperger's syndrome

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by Barry K. Morris B.ScWk Children with autism experience difficulties with social interaction. The theory of mind describes the problems they face in seeing the perspective of another person. A common strategy for dealing with this is using social stories to help individuals on the autism spectrum to 'read' and understand social situations.

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Inclusion from a Distance: 12 Ideas for Supporting Students with Autism in Virtual Classrooms

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Creative supports are key to helping learners succeed in distance education. Try these 12 ideas to help students on the spectrum feel connected, stay engaged, and learn effectively in the virtual classroom and beyond.

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I remember pretty vividly the blank faces I would encounter when I was a kid and told people I had a family member with autism. This seemly changed overnight around the time I entered undergrad to embark on a career in special education. In the past decade or so, there's been much more exposure and awareness of autism and its uniqueness. With the ever-growing population of children with autism, it's so important that all educators are well-versed on their needs. Here are six tips to help your students with autism thrive in the classroom.

Avoid sensory overload. Many unexpected things can be distracting to students with autism. Fluorescent lights, smells, and noises from other students can make it difficult for students with autism to concentrate. Using cool, calm colors in the classroom can help create a more relaxing atmosphere. Avoid covering the walls with too many posters or other things to look at. Some students may even benefit from their own center, where they can spend time away from any possible distractions.

Use visuals. Even individuals with autism who can read benefit from visuals. Visuals can serve as reminders about classroom rules, where certain things go, and resources that are available to students. Using pictures and modeling will mean more to students with autism than a lengthy explanation.

Be predictable. If you've ever been a substitute teacher, you know about the unspoken anxiety of being with a different class (sometimes in a different school) every day. Having predictability in the classroom eases anxiety for students with autism and will help avoid distraction. Students are less worried or curious about what will happen next and can better focus on the work at hand. Give your student a schedule that they can follow. If there are any unpredictable changes, it's a great teaching moment to model how to handle changes appropriately.

Keep language concrete. Do any of you children of the 90's remember the show "Bobby's World" with Howie Mandell? Bobby would always overhear adults using figurative language and daydream of all these crazy scenarios about what he thought they meant. Many individuals with autism have trouble understanding figurative language and interpret it in very concrete terms. This may serve as a great opportunity to teach figurative language and hidden meanings in certain terms.

Directly teach social skills. The hidden curriculum may be too hidden for some individuals with autism. There are certain things that may have to be explicitly taught (like analogies). Model appropriate social skills and discuss how our behavior can make others feel. Social Thinking is a great curriculum with pictures books such as Y ou Are a Social Detective that explain social skills in an easy to understand way.

Treat students as individuals. I'm sure this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it: It's so important to model patience, understanding, and respect when working in a classroom with any special learners. Celebrate their success and don't sweat it if some accommodations don't conform to what you are used to in the classroom. Keep in mind that some of these recommendations may be super helpful for some students, while others may not need the same degree of consideration. Autism can affect individuals differently.
To learn more about working with students with autism, visit The Autism Vault.

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6 Tips for Teaching Students With Autism | Teach For America

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With a growing number of children who have autism in school, here are some steps teachers can take to help them learn, academically and socially