| About 1.5 million people are diagnosed with autism | | | | Media. "Its interactive wordplay dictionary and |
| in the United States - a sharp rise from only 1 in | | | | comprehension quizzes and games seem to work |
| 10,000 in the 1970s. | | | | wonders for autistic learners." |
| Dr. Temple Grandin, an associate professor at | | | | Grandin provides the following tips for teaching |
| Colorado State University and author of two | | | | children with autism. |
| books on autism, has done significant research | | | | * Avoid long strings of verbal instructions. People |
| into the teaching of autistic children and lectures | | | | with autism have problems remembering the |
| on the subject around the world. | | | | sequence. Instead, write the instructions down on |
| "Many people with autism are visual thinkers," said | | | | a piece of paper. |
| Grandin, who herself was an autistic child. "I think | | | | * Use concrete visual methods to teach number |
| in pictures. I do not think in language. All my | | | | concepts, such as a set of blocks that have a |
| thoughts are like videotapes running in my | | | | different length and color for the numbers one |
| imagination." | | | | through 10, or wooden "fruit" cut into quarters |
| Therein lies the concept behind the Readent | | | | and halves to teach fractions. |
| learning system developed by SFK Media Specially | | | | * Many autistic children have problems with motor |
| For Kids Corp. The program uses "Reading | | | | control in their hands, therefore neat writing is |
| Movies," interactive film adaptations of classic | | | | sometimes hard. To reduce frustration, let your |
| children's stories in DVD format. As the actors | | | | child type on the computer. |
| speak, the words appear simultaneously on the | | | | * Keep the keyboard close to the screen. Some |
| screen as text, providing the autistic viewer with | | | | children have difficulty remembering something on |
| written words along with the visual pictures | | | | a computer screen if they have to look up after |
| needed to grasp language concepts and build | | | | they hit a key on the keyboard. |
| vocabulary. | | | | * Non-verbal children will find it easier to associate |
| "The Readent system incorporates all the modern | | | | words with pictures if they see the printed word |
| research for teaching reading to autistic children, | | | | on a flashcard. Some individuals do not understand |
| including the observations of experts such as Dr. | | | | line drawings, so it's best to work with real |
| Grandin and other cognitive scientists," said Len | | | | objects and photos first. |
| Anthony Smith, chief executive officer of SFK | | | | |