Before starting work with a child with autism, it is important to look after yourself. The child with autism requires the adults around him to have a great deal of patience, understanding and energy to work effectively. Ensure that you:
• have had sufficient sleep
• are not feeling frustrated or on edge.
At the least, it is critical that you can behave in a calm and relaxed manner. This does not mean that you cannot express your feelings and emotions. They must, however, be related to the child and task at hand and not something extraneous to the situation.
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The Learning Preferences and Strengths (LPS) model is comprised of three key components: structure, content and process. Excellent teaching is the fine art of connecting and integrating these key components for each child.
The individual child’s preferences and strengths are at the heart of this model, guiding the structure, content and processes of his program. When there is a match between Learning Preferences and Strengths and program structure, process and content, a synergy is created that is greater than the sum of the parts. When the child’s Learning Preferences and Strengths are engaged, his learning can be optimized and used in tandem to enhance other areas of preference and strength.
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Children with autism would exhibit strengths in the areas of Visual-Spatial, Musical-Rhythmic and perhaps Bodily-Kinesthetic modalities. This view was based on years of work with children with autism.
Each of these learning strengths will be reviewed and their relationship to autism will be discussed below.
A person with Visual-Spatial strength, as a means of learning and making sense of the world:
• readily understands, retains and remembers information he can see
• is able to create visual experiences
• shows sensitivity to color, line, shape, form, space, and relationships among them, often noticing minute details
• prefers orderly, tidy environments.
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Below are seven learning strengths:
1. Verbal Linguistic
Verbal-Linguistic learning strengths are seen in the learner’s ability to think in words, to use words to express what is on his mind and to understand language. He may use his abilities in reading, writing and/or speaking. He enjoys playing with language, manipulating the sounds, words and structure with relative ease. Listening tends to be a strength and he can easily understand, interpret and remember what has been said or read. His ability to communicate clearly and precisely with others is strong both verbally and in writing. The person with Verbal-Linguistic strengths likely learns other languages with relative ease.He is interested in language and strives to refine and enrich his language skills.
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