A team effort for autism

Every child with autism is unique.

For school staff to understand each child's individual learning needs requires close collaboration with the parents and support professionals such as occupational therapists and speech language pathologists, researchers at UniSA's International Centre for Allied Health Evidence found.

"Parents reported both positive and negative experiences and gave many suggestions of how schools can support their children with autism," Dr Kobie Boshoff said.

"We know that children with autism often have different learning needs than other neuro-typical students and that their sensory experiences, as an example, are often different to other children."

The recommendations follow international best practices for schools to adopt a team approach whereby the parent, professional support services, and teaching staff plan together to benefit the specific child's learning and incorporate appropriate strategies for the particular school setting.

Students with autism might find it hard to tolerate bright lighting in classrooms and noisy classrooms, corridors and playgrounds. Such sensory differences make it hard for them to engage optimally in their learning tasks and build social relationships at school.

Children with autism often find it hard to accommodate changes in their routines, like moving from one classroom to the next, having a relief teacher, or just changing over from working on maths to working on reading.

The recommendations follow international best practices, advising schools to adopt a robust team approach.

This means again the parent, professional support services, and teaching staff plan together to benefit the specific child's learning and incorporate strategies that are appropriate for the particular school setting.