Ready to Learn

I currently have 7 students in my classroom, 6 out of the 7 students have an individualised reading programme using the reading packs i make up each week.
One of my students has taken much longer than the others to settle. Last term she got upset when asked to complete a request. Once upset she would cry for an extended period of time. My main goal for her last term was to follow the class routines rather than complete work. She was encouraged to sit while the other students were sitting during circle time and meal times. When the other students were moving around activities for writing and math's she was expected to stay at the table but was not expected to complete work. Along with the behavior therapist we decided to take away all the demands. This was a very hard decision for me as i want all of my students to have the most learning opportunities throughout the day. Not encouraging her to complete a work task went against everything i believe in however it allowed her the chance to observe what the other students were doing and learn the class routine.

This term she has come back to school and is now very settled and calm. Her family said she missed school over the holidays, often putting her bag on wanting to come to school. I have reflected on her progress recently and how far she has come. I think the reason she is more settled this term is because we let her to settle on her own time, giving her opportunities to join in but not forcing her to be ready before she was ready to learn. Learning readiness is something that we need to take on board as educators, especially when that student has additional needs. They need to have the foundation skills in order to be able to engage in a learning programme that is designed for them.
Last term gave me the chance to be able to reflect on my own practice
, i needed to change the way i approached a student in order to cater to their individual needs

ASD and Building Routines

The importance for building predictable routines for children with Autism is paramount for learning however it is important to ensure that the child doesn't become too obsessed with routines. I often hear of families having to drive the same route each day to ensure that the child with Autism doesn't get upset, or wearing the same clothes and eating the same food.
I believe that providing a structured learning environment helps the child to focus on what they are meant to be doing and to block out overstimulating environments. Routines also help to build expectations and  ease anxiety for children who cannot decode what is happening in their environment.
Now that my students are familiar with our class routine i am starting to make small changes to make our routine slightly different. This way they learn how to cope with change in a safe environment because life isn't always going to be predictable. I do this by taking a trip to the swings after morning tea instead of reading our big book, or timetabling a surprise on their individual timetables so they cannot anticipate what is going to happen.

If you have a student who cannot cope with transitioning between tasks then start by
- building a predictable routine (use a visual timetable to help)
- once they are familiar; start making small changes to their day
- adding "surprise" on their timetable

https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/content/establishing-routines