#18 101 Ways a Teacher Could Help a Child with Autism

Category:  General guidelines when dealing with autistic children

Suggestion #18:  Ask the parent about early indicators and develop techniques that help calm the child.

Ask the parent how the child reacts when they become over stimulated.  Each child is different, and you want to know the child's earliest signs that they have become agitated.  Although the child may not be easy to read, there may be a tell tale sign or indicator that they are starting to become frustrated:  their shoulders may slouch, or they may only grunt responses rather than talk, or they may look at the ground and not look up.  Whatever these early indicators are, you want to know that the child is becoming over stimulated or frustrated so that you can implement some calming strategies.  A typical calming strategy would be to move the child away from whatever is frustrating them and have the child go to the break room that is mentioned again in Suggestion #42.  The occupational therapist may have some strategies that may be put in place; music may help calm the child, or drawing.  Each child will be different so look for things that the like to do that could also be considered relaxing.