5 Classroom Challenges Of An Autistic Kid

Make special efforts to help your child adapt to school with seamless harmony.

- Surabhi Verma

When I first started working with children with special needs in 2003, there was limited awareness about autism. My first assignment was with a child who had mild to moderate signs of autism and required a lot of help in learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The teachers and the parents, on the other hand, did not know how to help him adjust with the other children in the class. It was then that I started going to school with him. My efforts, combined with constant cooperation and support from the school and the parents paid off. He completed Class 12 successfully. Moreover, his interpersonal skills improved and he was able to adjust in the classroom much better in the later years. What came as a bonus was his participation in extra-curricular activities like games, cooking and baking.

Over the years, I have helped many more autistic kids adapt to a regular school, but the challenges still remain the same. Being aware of them will help you deal with your child with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in an efficient way:

Challenge #1 getting your child ready for school curriculum

A child with autism is unable to learn through observations of the surroundings. He is not equipped with basic skills like understanding your language, picking up names, understanding instructions and expressing himself in a socially acceptable way. So mastering complex tasks like learning numbers, colours, alphabets, etc., which are taught at the nursery level, is more difficult.