As the number of children being diagnosed Autistic increases, so does the pressure on our education system. Educators of autistic children are reporting increased numbers of autistic children coming through the mainstream education system. For this reason, an increasing number of parents of children diagnosed autistic as well as educators of autistic children strive to enable all autistic students get the chance to receive a positive educational experience.

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by a set of complex autism symptoms. As with typically developing children no two children with autism will be the same regardless of their diagnosis and autism symptoms. Consequently, it is impossible to create a standardized education program which will give autistic students a positive educational experience.

Therefore, it is likely that in order to receive the best possible education a child with autism will need an individual education plan.

Some autistic students may be on the higher end of the autism spectrum disorder scale, their autism symptoms not so severe they will normally be average or above average intelligence. Although they will still experience challenges in the development and use of communication, and Social Skills called autistic social skills deficits these are common in autism.

Children with autism tend to be visual learners and can gain far more from visual cues and lessons, rather than from oral or plain written instruction.

All children on the autism spectrum will have autistic social skills deficits, one of their major difficulties being communication, and will struggle to understand our use of language; it is believed that they will have a better grasp on lessons if visual supports are used. Generally autistic students will have a shorter attention span and may struggle to understand class rules.

Consequently, educators of autistic children strive to learn how to generate a positive classroom atmosphere for a child on the autism spectrum.

By creating a visual timetable that can show the student what will be happening throughout the day the autistic student will be better able to transition between the various lessons and activities of the day.

Many educators of autistic children also use visual supports and cue’s throughout the classroom the autism classroom accommodations, being small laminated cards showing for example where the pencils are kept, where their coat should hang, the bathroom etc, all obvious to typically developing children but not to the autistic student.

These autism classroom accommodations help the autistic student feel more comfortable within the classroom and can help with the transition between lessons, for example from literacy to music and so on. By creating a positive educational experience for the autistic student they will better grasp what is expected of them.

Educators of autistic children also use visual supports and cues in the form of PECS cards, and probably one of the most significant supports, Social Skills Stories which can help not only with transition between activities and lessons but also with times during the day such as recess, break time, art, music, assembly and PE. This autistic support can help educators when creating a positive educational experience for the autistic student.

Generally educators looking at how to generate a positive classroom atmosphere for a child on the autism spectrum implement social skills stories to help the child transition between lessons, stay on task, learn social and communication skills, understand lessons and participate, also to help them learn and remember school rules.

The social skills stories are used for making autism classroom accommodations much easier. Social skills stories for autistic students are visual representations of skills, communication and behaviors that the child may struggle to understand or that may cause stress and anxieties.

All autistic social skills deficits can be tackled using social skills stories, as well as autism classroom accommodations and transitions. To learn How to generate a positive classroom atmosphere for a child on the autism spectrum so that there is a positive educational experience for the autistic student implement visual supports and cue’s such as social skills stories for autistic students.

To download social skills stories for autistic students visit any of the following sites:

http://www.autismsocialstories.com
http://www.autismsocialstories.com/school
http://www.autismsocialstories.com/behavior