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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
How can I help my autistic child with learning?
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My child is 7 and has autism and is experiencing difficulty communicating and learning at a basic level, how can I help her? -
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Serving the interests of children and young people with childhood language and related disorders View Profile
It is important to get a multidisciplinary profile of your child's strengths and difficulties so that a holistic management plan can be created to help your child. Assessment by a speech langauge pathologist, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and psychologist can give you a full picture of your child's learning needs. Often intervention needs to start at an early developmental level, focusing on the child engaging with people and the environment around them, so that they can learn through all of their senses and experiences. Academic learning comes later once these foundations have been established.
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Aphrodite Zoitas
Psychologist
Aphrodite Zoitas is a qualified Psychologist specialising in Educational and Developmental Psychology. She has experience in working with children, adolescents and their families to provide … View Profile
To assist a child who has Autism in their learning it is important that they have an assessment to identify their learning strengths and weakness throughout their schooling years. The assessment should involve an interdisciplinary team, consisting of a pediatrican, educational and developmental psychologist, speech pathologist and an occupational therapist. By adopting an interdisciplinary team assessment, the child’s learning profile can be identified in detail and individualised intervention methods can be made.
Further to this, teachers and parents need to be supported in how best to implement learning strategies. It is important that the child is encouraged in a positive manner to build their self-esteem, which will ultimately provide an important foundation upon which to build academic and social learning.
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Shannon Storey
Occupational Therapist (OT)
My passion for working with children with disabilities and their families has developed over the past five years. Since graduating from Sydney University, I have … View Profile
All health professionals aside, you are the person who knows your child best and spends the most time with them. You need to be the one that helps your child to learn through involving them in everyday tasks. Teach them through talking them through what you are doing and why.
Too often we give children the answers without letting them problem solve for themself.
Your job as a parent is to guide your child through tasks by giving them the right amount of support, without being instructional. Try giving verbal cues to highlight what your child needs to do. Give enough information without telling them what to do. This way they are able to make independent decisions and experience their own success. Remove negativity by only celebrating their successes.
In turn this will build an independent and confident child who will actively seek out their own exploration and learning.
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remeber. Involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin.Report this post
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