Sensory Integration: 3 Ideas to help students on the Autism Spectrum
Autism is sometimes marked by the inability to integrate multiple sensory input at one time. When one considers the sensory society in which we live, it is easy to understand how overwhelming it can be for those with a sensory processing disorder to make sense of their worlds. I had one particular student relay the following to me, “Why does my teacher always ask me to look at her? If I look at her while she speaks, then I miss the conversation completely. If I don’t look at her and choose to listen instead, then she gets upset with me for not looking at her. This is all so confusing.” I had to agree with this student. Asking a student with sensory integration disorder to use multiple senses at the same time, is maddening at best. Educators must be sensitive to each student’s particular needs, and plan accordingly. I can hear you now, “How are we supposed to do this?” I am going to give you 3 ideas to help your students with ASD have an easier time in your classroom environment.
Give the student a copy of your classroom notes in advance. Some educators already provide guided notes. What I would recommend is having the notes with the blanks underlined and filled in and then having the student simply highlight the word that other students are actually writing in the blanks.
Use peer assistance with this process. My 13 year old son has a friend with some type of processing disorder. He is very soft-hearted when it comes to his classmate. He actually asked to be moved to sit by this friend. The teacher gave a copy of the notes to his friend and my son gave him a highlighter and helped him to follow along with the notes to be sure that the other student was able to keep up with the instruction. Never underestimate the power of peer support.
Try to avoid having students with sensory processing issues look at you while you are speaking to them. As an educator, ask yourself, “ Is it more important for this student to be looking at me when I am addressing him/her or would I rather have this student hear what I am asking or instructing and then check for understand?” It is your choice as an educator. You can demand eye contact and have the student miss everything you say or allow for their differences and check back to see if they had an understanding of what you said.
I believe that if we as educators can take small steps to ensure that our students with autism feel safe and secure in the environments we provide for them, they will be more successful in the classroom and in life. The choice is yours to make your classroom autism friendly.