Role of a teacher and a parent for autistic child
In this article, I am explaining the role of the teachers and parents towards autistic children. Both should identify the problem if the child is autistic. The child may be over intelligent, but may show some peculiar characteristics. They should undertake some important steps to uplift the child. The teacher and parents both should play an effective role to uplift the child.
A teacher should deal with students with different characteristics. Some students are intelligent and some students are not academically inclined. Usually, the kids with ADHD are easily distracted in class and a teacher should try to develop the attention of such students. The teachers should be aware of autistic children who cannot easily interact with the people around them. If a student cannot communicate his feelings or problems with anyone and is not able to understand verbal communication, then the child is autistic. They cannot imagine the feelings of other people also. Some students may be above-intelligent and can easily learn subjects such as mathematics, science, computers that involve logic and cognitive ability. Some students possess an average IQ, but some autistic children are intellectually disabled. Some autistic children also have learning disabilities and they should be sent to special schools. But, a teacher should play her role effectively before accessing the capability of the student. Role of a teacher towards autistic children
The teacher plays an effective role in autistic children. The child may not be able to communicate with anyone and hence the teacher should understand the needs of the student. Some children cannot express their feelings and needs in words, but they can effectively communicate through gestures. The teacher should always become open-minded so that the child can express his ideas or feelings effectively. During the play activities, the teachers should teach the autistic children the techniques of 'turn-taking'. The teachers should assign some simple tasks to the students so that they become aware of their surroundings. The teachers can instruct such students to keep chalks on the table, keep some books in the cupboard, rub the board etc. Many autistic children are visual thinkers. If they are not able to understand the concepts taught in the class, then the teacher should provide pictures to the child about the concepts. In the textbook, the concepts are explained pictorially and hence the child can understand the concepts properly. The teacher should remember that autistic children think in pictures and not words. Autistic children usually cannot follow oral instructions. So, the teacher should patiently explain the students step-by-step. They should provide step-by-step instructions to the child. The teachers should always try to find the strengths of such students and always encourage them. Some teachers are not performing their duties effectively and they only complain about the child. The teachers should be always motivating and help the child to learn and grow. The autistic children are usually talented in specific areas and hence the teacher should always motivate them. An autistic child may be a good artist, but weaker in subjects like mathematics or science. Some autistic children can solve some difficult mathematics problems but are weaker in languages. So, the teachers should always understand such children and effectively interact with them. Role of parents towards autistic children
The parents should patiently handle the autistic child. In a classroom, a teacher cannot always provide personal attention to the child. So parents should always monitor the activities of the child. They should constantly ask questions to the child and not pressurize them to answer the questions. They should prepare flashcards to teach various concepts to the child. Autistic children are usually visual learners and they can quickly grasp the concepts via visual teaching. The parents can sometimes prepare presentations on software such as PowerPoint etc. They should constantly monitor the concepts that they have not understood and explained the subjects clearly to them. Some autistic children can read quickly but cannot understand the concepts. So, the parents can teach them the concepts through practical demonstration. To teach concepts such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication etc, they should practically explain them. For eg. The parents should bring chocolates and explain the concepts of addition. If you have 5 chocolates and you get 5 more chocolates from someone, then it is 5 + 5 = 10.