What Is a Good Learning Environment for a Child With Autism?
Whether you want to ensure that your child will be well taken care of at school, or you plan on homeschooling, creating the right environment for learning can make a huge difference to their success. This becomes even more important with a child on the autism spectrum. If you want to create an environment that’s more conducive to schoolwork or homework, there are a few things to consider. We’ll talk about what a good learning environment for a child with autism is so you can give them the best experience possible.
Minimal Distracting Elements
While every child with autism has struggles, many of them will struggle with focusing on one thing for long periods. Oftentimes, children with autism struggle to focus in overstimulating environments. To prevent overstimulation, be mindful of the number of distracting elements in their learning area, such as lights, posters, things that make noise, or items on their desk.
Areas With Defined Purposes
When it comes to children with autism, parents should get training to ensure that every individual thing has a home. You can help a child with autism make transitions between different parts of school by clearly defining the spaces where certain things will happen. A good learning environment for a child with autism has easily identifiable spaces for classwork, reading, computer time, and playtime.
Easy-To-Follow Schedule
You can help reduce anxiety about school and future schoolwork by creating an easy-to-follow schedule of events throughout the day. This doesn’t have to spell out everything you’ll do all day long, but knowing when certain lessons or break times are can help a child with autism deal with a long school day more easily. Avoid changing the schedule without a heads-up, which can induce more anxiety about the unknown change.
Accessible Space To Unwind
All children need places where they can take time away from school or busy work to unwind and decompress. For children with autism, the best way to do this is to designate a specific area where they can go to relax and unwind. Make sure they understand that there may be a time limit, but let them decompress on their terms throughout that time.