Common Difficulties in Autistic Individuals
Uneven development, with significant variations in autonomy, communication, and social skills.
Language comprehension problems, including difficulty with abstract questions and confusion about social behavior.
Lack of motivation, curiosity, or spontaneous learning.
Difficulty generalizing what has been learned or applying skills across different situations.
Behavioral disturbances that interfere with learning—screaming, repetitive movements, self-injury.
Inability to grasp our complex world—too abstract, too unstable; inability to distinguish what matters from what doesn't.
Educational Approaches
Be concrete. Use concrete language and representation when explaining things; simplify to essentials.
Be consistent. This structures the chaotic world around them, which doesn't register otherwise.
Break tasks down analytically—step by step, one at a time. Always make the goal concrete and visual.
Eliminate stress, especially during teaching. Cut out loud enthusiasm, vocal hesitation, noise, and other distractions that disturb or upset them. Make the effort possible for them.
Start with the person—the child or teenager as they are in this moment, with their deficits in mind, but always relating to the person, not the disability.
From "Readaptation," no. 340, p. 27, 1989