Ways to Structure Classroom Activities for Children with Autism

Circle time or group time

It would be helpful …

for children to be seated in chairs and have physical boundaries (a Rifton chair for Jared)
to have photos of child and child’s name on his/her group chair
for a timer to sound at the end of group time
to have brief circle time; include movement or music

Individual work activities

It would be helpful …

for the child to be in a chair with a tray for working, not for punishment
for the child to have a finished box
to keep materials in tubs, keeping materials big
to reward the child immediately; to represent the reward visually (e.g., cup, Lite-Brite with push buttons, light box with shapes, trampoline, vibrators, etc.)
to keep tasks brief, so the child can finish quickly
to keep expectations of the task clear
to choose four tubs to do each day in order to establish a routine
to reinforce the child immediately, and condition other reinforcers
to have the child match pictures to pictures, sort objects, pour, put blocks in a can, put clothespins on a card, do simple puzzles, put blocks together, put tops on objects, etc.

Free play

It would be helpful …

to keep toys in containers/tubs
to put pictures on the tubs and the cabinet, matching the pictures when returning the tubs to the cabinet
to keep only a few toys out at a time
to reduce free play and change it to center time

Transitions

It would be helpful …