Children with autism learn, behave, socialize, and communicate in ways that are different than their peers of the same age. The spectrum of autism is wide; some kids can speak clearly, while others are completely nonverbal. Certain children need intensive help with daily living skills, while others are more independent.  It is important that children with autism receive specialized services to help strengthen their areas of weakness. However, when services are scarce, or when your child is also receiving them at school, you can further support skills development at home with the ideas detailed below.

Create a Schedule

Individuals with autism thrive on routine. Changes in that routine and new, unexpected events can throw them off and lead to negative behaviors. Try sticking to a regular schedule at home for meals, wake up time, bed time, therapy, after school activities, and other daily activities. You should also create a visual schedule that your child can see. It should beia large chart indicating the time for each event, along with a description and corresponding picture. For instance, you might write 7:00 am wake up (with a picture of someone waking up), 7:30am breakfast (with a picture of someone eating breakfast), 8:00 am school (with a picture of a school), 3:30pm speech therapy (with a picture of a child receiving therapy), 6:00 pm dinner (with a picture of someone eating dinner), and so on. The more structured and consistent the schedule is, the better.

Use Rewards

Children with autism respond well to regular and consistent rewards. Every time you see your child doing a good job on a task (like completing a homework sheet or putting their dish in the sink), praise them and give them a reward such as a sticker or special prize. Try not to wait too long to offer the reward; the more frequent the rewards come, the better. Also, try to individualize the rewards based on your child’s interests. Some children like physical toys while others prefer watching a television show or playing a video game. Some kids are even fine with just a hug or a nice praise.

Try Play Therapy at Home

Many children with autism struggle to interact and play with other kids. Instead, they often play alone and repeat the same motions over and over again. While play therapy by a professional is likely the best option for developing play and social skills, you can also help your child build these skills at home. To do so, start by laying out a mix of toys in front of your child, like cars, trains, dolls, and animals, or even squeaky toys or bubble jars. Have them look at all the toys and decide which one they want to play with at that time. Later, you can try to engage with them using a more interactive game. You can also be more directed in your approach by presenting toys that offer specific learning opportunities. For instance, present your child with a baby doll to help them learn life skills like dressing and undressing the doll, bathing it, feeding it, and so on. You can also use kitchen toys (including a pretend kitchen) to build play, social, and life skills. Have your child say the names of different foods, make a meal, and then discuss the meal with you. You can ask pointed questions, like “What’s for dinner tonight?”, “What vegetable are we eating?”, and “Is there anything for dessert?” Playing with play doh can strengthen your child’s muscles, which can help with writing, and allow them to be creative in forming shapes while also improving their cutting skills.

Play Games!

Playing games is a great family activity that can also help your child with autism build important skills. For instance, to build sequencing and following directions skills, try playing Simon Says – where kids follow commands that engage gross motor movements. Commands might include “Simon says, hop on one leg” or “Simon says, touch your nose.” So as to build speaking and listening skills, you can play the game Conversation Cubes. This game includes thirty-six cubes; each with a conversation starter question on it, like “What do you like to do in cold weather?” and “What foods do you like?” Players can answer the questions orally to build oral language skills, or you can even use them as writing prompts to help your child get started with a writing piece.

Children with autism respond well to services from professionals during, and often outside of, school.
However, the additional support you provide at home can help them further develop their social, academic, and general life skills.

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Your Child and Autism
Many parents have that ‘a-ha’ moment when they realize their child may have a more profound challenge than previously expectant. Unlike your friend’s kid at the same age- your child has trouble maintaining friendships, struggles to communicate, or demonstrates repetitive body movements. Perhaps they have difficulty relating to the world around them and seems inflexible with their thoughts and behaviors. If you notice these characteristics, don’t ignore them. While your child could be delayed, it may be wise to seek a professional opinion and check if your child may be on the autism spectrum.

Learn the Milestones
Many children with autism show developmental delays early on and don’t meet typical milestones. For instance, by 6-9 months, most babies can sit up without support, babble sounds, and respond to their name. By 9-12 months, babies typically grab objects and toys, crawl, and stand independently. Most children can walk independently between ages 1-3, climb stairs, jump, stack objects, speak in short sentences, and follow basic directions. Between ages 3-5, children can typically toss a ball overhand, get dressed independently, and draw a full person with all features. Children ages 6-12 generally have developed strong friendships with peers and are usually independent in completing their school work. If you notice delays or regression in any of these milestones and your instincts tell you something is off, your child may be at risk for autism.

Identifying Autism
If you think your child has autism, take action. The sooner you identify and address autism, the better it will be for your family. Speak to your child’s doctor; he or she may inquire as to whether all developmental milestones have been met and may recommend an autism screening. This screening typically consists of a series of yes or no questions regarding symptoms. If your doctor suspects that your child may have autism, your child may need to have a full diagnostic evaluation by an ASD specialist. Typically, the evaluator will observe your child, ask you as the parent a series of questions, fill out questionnaires, and administer a series of tests to your child. These factors will allow the evaluator to identify whether or not your child may have autism so you can take appropriate action for a concrete diagnosis.

Your Child Receives an ASD Diagnosis — Next Step
First off, don’t panic. There are many resources and a great deal of support available for children with autism, and your child is certainly not alone! However, the earlier you intervene and seek your child’s services, the more gains you will see. Once you receive the diagnosis, which typically includes a full report, read it thoroughly and review the evaluator or doctor’s recommendations. Reach out to your child’s school to let them know about the diagnosis and inquire about creating an IEP (Individualized Education Program) to map out the services your child will receive based on their needs. These services may include special education classroom placement, speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavioral therapy, physical therapy, social skills groups, etc. Also, learn what you can do at home to help your child, such as creating a set structure and routine and rewarding good behavior. The more you can work as a team with your child’s doctors, educators, and therapists, this will help provide consistent support to your child.

Many children with autism are kind, loving, high-achieving individuals who have countless gifts. With the right support, your child can succeed academically and thrive in life.

Dr. Emily Levy is the founder of EBL Coaching, a tutoring program that specializes in one-on-one home and on-site instruction for students in grades preK-12 in NYC, NJ, and Westchester. She is also the author of Strategies for Study Success, a study skills workbooks series emphasizing test taking, note taking, reading comprehension, writing, and executive functioning strategies, and the Flags and Stars Orton Gillingham student workbook series. These books are currently used at schools nationwide. Dr. Levy studied at Brown University and later received her Masters Degree in Special Education and her Doctorate Degree in Education. She has spoken nationwide on research-based methods for teaching students with and without learning disabilities. Dr. Levy is currently the Director of EBL Coaching’s learning centers.

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Understanding the differences between academic and play-based preschool philosophies can help you choose the right program for your child

Over the past ten years, enrollment in preschool programs has increased significantly. Parents yearn to enrich their child’s social, emotional, and early learning skills while effectively preparing them for Kindergarten. Yet choosing the right program for your child can be a challenging task. Each preschool seems to embody a different philosophy–some are play-based, while others emphasize more of a structured, academic approach. Both philosophies have pros and cons, and understanding their key components can help you choose the right program for your child.

Play-Based Preschools
Play-based preschools emphasize developing social and emotional skills over structured academics. Classrooms are typically set up with various stations–a water table, block area, reading section, play house, sensory table, dramatic play area, and so on, and children choose their own activities based on their interests. If a child loves building, for instance, he can venture towards the block section. If she loves dressing up and acting out scenes, she can meander over to the dramatic play area, and if he loves cooking and preparing meals, he can play in the kitchen area. Rather than providing direct instruction, the teacher acts as a facilitator, modeling effective social skills and observing children as they play.  Teachers may infuse academic principals through various themes, without actually teaching specific lessons in a structured format. Play-based preschool supporters argue that play is the modality with which young children learn best, and that children who learn to self-regulate, achieved through play, are more likely to be successful in life.

Sample Play-Based Lesson: Various play-based curricula exist, emphasizing children’s social and emotional development.  One such program is Tools of the Mind, which integrates self-regulation as a major component of its instruction, among other skills. ‎With this curriculum, children may engage in a “twist” on the Freeze Dance game. To play, music is turned on and children dance in pairs, in all different directions–left, right, on the floor, or in the air. When the music stops, the teacher holds up a poster containing stick figures and the children stop dancing. With their partner, they must try to copy the figure on the poster. As children play this game, they learn to self-regulate and control their body motions, which are important skills for future success.

Academic-Based Preschools
Many parents fret about their children being aacademically prepared for Kindergarten, particularly with the recent academic “push down.” Kindergarteners are now expected to learn the same material in many schools that first graders once did. Parents who want their children to begin building their academic foundations early-on and whose children respond well to structure may choose a preschool that embodies a more traditional, teacher-directed approach.

In these types of academically-oriented classrooms, days are ‎more structured and predictable. Students follow a set of lessons and activities that are prepared by the teacher, which are typically focused on a specific topic or theme. In this environment, instruction is guided by the teacher, and children typically learn letters, sounds, shapes, numbers, and colors, while also developing their phonemic awareness and handwriting skills.

Sample Academic Lesson:In a traditional preschool classroom, a teacher may conduct a specific lesson on phonemic awareness–or the ability to hear, recognize, and manipulate sounds in words. In doing so, she may explain a given concept, such as rhyming, and go around the room asking the children to come up with a word that rhymes with cat, dog, tree, and so on. She may also ask the children for the first sound they hear in the word cat, pig, or fish; the last sound they hear in bed, cup, or car; or how many words they hear in a given sentence. Developing such phonemic awareness skills can build a foundation for reading success.

In fact, two studies were conducted which identified preschool predictors of elementary reading success. ‎They assessed pre-reading skills in preschool-age children and followed these children into elementary school. The studies found that specific pre-reading skills, including phonemic awaress (such as rhyming and identifying sounds in words), knowledge of print (including letter names), and writing (writing a child’s own name) were strong predictors of reading achievement in elementary school. Thus, there is proven value in teaching these pre-reading skills in preschool classrooms.

What To Do?
All of this information can be downright confusing. Most parents aim to find the right preschool environment that will stage their child for future success.  But how do you know which option is best for your child? Research is conflicted on this matter. Some studies have found that play-based environments that emphasize social, emotional, and behavioral skills best predict future success, while others have found that developing academic and focusing skills using a traditional, structured approach directly correlates to such success.

Going Hybrid
Perhaps the solution for many children is a preschool that falls into the middle–one that emphasizes play, but also infuses some academic instruction. Children may start their days at various stations–dramatic play, water stations, and the like–and later transition into a more academic lesson. For instance, they may play a “ball” game for building phonemic awareness skills, where they stand in a circle and say a rhyming word as they catch a ball. Perhaps they begin to learn letter formations by tracing them in sand or shaving cream, or find items in a classroom that begin with a given sound. Learning academic principals doesn’t need to be fully structured and traditional; it can complement a play-based program, ultimately developing social, emotional, as well as key early academic skills.

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