Autism is a disease that can occur in children at a very early age. Many parents perceive such a diagnosis almost as a sentence. However, for children with autism, there are special training programs that help them gradually become as full-fledged individuals in society as their other peers.
Generalization training
Now we will talk a little about the methods of teaching children with autism. It should be noted that a child with autism often has problems with generalization. That is, if you and I can draw conclusions summarizing what we have seen and heard, then a child with autism should specifically explain what exactly he needs to do in order to achieve a certain goal. To teach children with autism, you need to use the technique "Mediation in generalization."
What is the essence of this technique? It is that the child does not get lost in spontaneous situations. That is, it is necessary to train him to perceive complex instructions so that he can later understand your explanations and quickly perform the necessary actions. In accordance with this methodology, you must be able to anticipate situations in advance and explain them to the child. For example, if you know that he wants to take a toy, but does not know where it is, immediately tell the child the following: "If you want to play, you should (for example) open a second box and get toys out of there."
Also, children need to immediately explain all the games. Autistic people need to understand exactly how to get the result and what is the ultimate goal. For example, if the toddler folds puzzles, immediately tell him: "The game will be finished when you fold all the pieces in this picture." In this case, he will understand what exactly is required of him and begin to perform tasks.
Teaching to focus attention
Many children with this disease have an inability to focus attention. In this situation, the various characters that serve as a hint work very well. They can be both visual and verbal. You must "give" the child a set of signs, remembering which, he will quickly navigate the situation and not get confused.
To learn to generalize is to improve the reactions that must be had in a new situation when the child was not prepared for it. Simply put, if you constantly explain to him what you need to do to get the desired result, over time, the kid himself will learn how to achieve it.
Strategies for learning generalization
So, further we will tell about which strategies imply learning to generalize.
First of all, it is, of course, an explanation of the previous conditions, with the gradual introduction of distracting symbols, which the child may encounter in the environment. That is, if initially you clearly state what exactly you need to do, then in due course explain, offering situations in which something unexpected appears for the child.
Also, this technique involves choosing factors that can precede situations and their gradual change, as it does in real life.
Explanation of possible consequences of any situations. Initially, they are artificially created, and then turn into natural ones. That is, if at first you can tell a child that if he does not obey, something unreal will happen, then in the end you can already tell to him that bad behavior leads to quite real punishments.
The consequences that can occur should be as close as possible to what is in the natural environment. To do this, you need to gradually increase the time span or use completely different kinds of consequences. Thus, the child will go beyond a single situation and learn to perceive the variability of various events and results.
And the last thing to remember is the creation of special conditions in a natural environment that will encourage the child to generalize and encourage this action.