Blog Posts
Update: Back to school, Mencap online community, SEN Magazine, Podcast
My article ‘Creating autism-inclusive classrooms’ has been published in the Sept – Oct 19 edition of SEN Magazine.
Blog Posts
Editable photo transition book to prepare autistic children for change to a new class
It is very important to thoroughly prepare autistic children for a change to a new class or school. One way of doing this is to make a photo transition book that they can look at or read at home and at school. Going to a new class or new school Read more…
Blog Posts
Communication and interaction strategies for parents and carers of autistic children
Here is some advice and practical tips on understanding, interacting with and playing with your child with autism, from my experience of being a teacher for children with autism and complex needs. Always show or model to the child what you want him/her to do, when you ask them Read more…
Blog Posts
Video: Exciting news! New name, website and podcast
I am so excited to announce some exciting news! I have changed the name of the consultancy service and website from ‘ASD Teacher’ to ‘Autism Spectrum Teacher’. The main reason is due to myself feeling disconnected with the term ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) because of the word disorder. The word Read more…
Blog Posts
GUEST POST: Successful parent and teacher relationships for children with autism
How successful parent and teacher relationships impact children with autism and how to ensure the relationship is effective, from a parent and teacher perspective. Parent Perspective Written by Harshita Patel, parent and author of ‘Autism in the City’ It’s Good to Talk! The moment a child with special needs Read more…
Blog Posts
Using Widgit symbols to support teaching autistic children
I recently wrote an article for Widgit, all about ‘Using symbols to support ASD Teaching‘. Widgit is a symbol set containing more than 17,000 symbols. Widgit symbols are clear, simple, colourful and display a single concept in a concise way, aimed to be understood by all abilities. Read more…
Blog Posts
Teaching autistic children to play the keyboard using colours
If a child can match colours, then they can learn to play a melody on the keyboard! I love teaching music, and teaching how to play the keyboard is really fun. I cannot think of a single child who I have taught, that didn’t enjoy touching and listening to the Read more…
Blog Posts
Sensory equipment to support autistic children
As a teacher, I have used a range of sensory equipment in the classroom to support individual sensory needs. An Occupational Therapist (OT) is the professional who can support you to assess the sensory needs of a child in order to direct you to appropriate equipment to meet their Read more…
Blog Posts
Emotional regulation: Teaching autistic children to recognise and respond to their emotion
Emotional regulation is a key area of development. Being able to regulate emotions means being able to effectively identify and respond to an emotional experience. For children with autism, understanding their emotion and knowing how to appropriately respond to help themselves regulate, can be very challenging. This therefore needs to be Read more…
Blog Posts
Why the choice of language you use to communicate with an autistic child is so important
Each child with a diagnosis of autism will have varying abilities with language and communication. If you know more than one child with autism, you will know that their communication and language abilities and features will be very different. It is important to understand the difference between expressive and Read more…