About Me

A couple of years ago, I found my autistic child locked in a small cold cement cell at his school. The cell had no windows, no furniture, and was slate gray with low lighting. The cell was also sound proofed so parents and teachers outside wouldn’t hear him crying. I am writing this blog as a campaign to change the way these children are perceived and treated in our society.

Monday, September 12, 2011

#21 101 Ways a Teacher Could Help a Child with Autism

Category:  General guidelines when dealing with autistic children

Suggestion #21:  Use dulcet tones when speaking with the child.
Many autistic children are hyper sensitive to stimuli.  Speak in calm reassuring tones, even if you are starting to become frustrated with them.  If you sound stressed, they may pick up on that and become stressed themselves.  This stress will make it even harder for them to comply with your requests. 

In other words, yelling or speaking harshly to an atypical person may get their attention and cause them to react quickly (think of the military boot camp and the drill sergeants yelling at the men and women to move faster).  The opposite may happen if you raise your voice (even slightly) to try to have the autistic child react more quickly to your request.  They hear the stress in your voice, and will react to it, causing their brain to become over stimulated and lower their ability to respond.  Keeping this in mind is especially important in situations where the child’s safety is at risk.
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