teaching math to autistic children nota alijah.doc

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Teaching Math To Autistic Children

by : Todd Crosner

posted on : 7/25/2013

I you!re a parent o an autistic child" you #no$ ho$ stressul and rustrating itcan be $atching your child struggle $ith the si%plest o tas#s& 'ot (ust stressul

or you" but also or your a%ily" or siblings" and or your child& In situations

$here you )enture into society $ith your autistic child" social interactions are

li#ely to be atypical& As a rule" you learn to e*pect the une*pected&

That!s because Autis% is a co%ple* de)elop%ental disability $hich a+ects

e)eryone , not only those $ho regular interact $ith people $ho su+er ro% the

disorder" but also society as a $hole& In act" it!s been esti%ated that Autis%

costs society o)er three %illion dollars per a-icted person o)er their lieti%es&

.ten ti%es" Autistic children are segregated by $ell intended public school

special education progra%s& o$e)er" %any o these progra%s si%ply aren!t

$ell euipped to handle these children due to lac# o resources" lac# o unds to

properly train teachers" or si%ply too %any children in the classroo%&

ith Autis% on the rise and no cure in sight" it!s i%portant $e understand" as

teachers and parents" the best $ay to successully prepare and educate these

students early in their de)elop%ent& The earlier that oundational s#ills in %ath

and reading can be taught" the stronger and longer lasting the benets $ill be& In

act" a 200 study sho$ed that autistic toddlers $ho recei)ed intense therapy

ai%ed at de)eloping oundational language s#ills bet$een the ages o 3 to 5

sho$ed huge gains in se)eral de)elop%ental areas such as: cognition" language"

and social s#ills including acuisition o useul speech in pre)iously non4)erbal

children&

a)ing $or#ed $ith uite a e$ autistic children o)er the years" here are a e$

personal obser)ations:

Autistic children ha)e a strong desire to learn& They are generally )ery eager

learners" $ho not only $ant to succeed" they $ant to t in& They need a lot o

reassurance& Constant praise is essential in the learning process&

ar %ore than %ost children" Autistic children need structure& 6ocial interaction

can oten be )ery challenging& Thereore" consistency and repetition in teaching

is crucial& arly inter)ention is )astly preerential and building trust" condence"

and sel4estee% is so i%portant&

'e)er e*pect an autistic child to be uic# to learn )erbally& 8erbal speech can be

e*tre%ely tough& Instead" reali9e that %any autistic children learn %ore rapidlythrough the use o )isual and #inesthetic hands4on; techniues& Thereore"


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$ritten co%%unication and physical %o)e%ent are greatly preerred $hen

teaching& 6ong" ho$e)er" see%s to be the e*ception& Many autistic children

respond $ell to song& In act" so%e can sing better than they can spea#&

Although autistic children tend to learn $ell through $ritten co%%unication"

$ord proble%s so%eti%es called story proble%s; can be )ery di


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Teaching nu%eracy6ue Fuc#ley

Gnderstanding nu%ber concepts and basic %athe%atical s#ills is i%portant or

%any e)eryday acti)ities in %odern societies& ittle is understood about the

nu%eracy abilities o people $ith @o$n syndro%e& At present" it appears that

nu%eracy is an area o relati)e di


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act is that the nu%eracy achie)e%ents o children $ith @o$n syndro%e are

typically at a lo$er le)el than their literacy achie)e%ents e)en $hen they are

recei)ing good instruction in inclusi)e classroo%s& In a recent longitudinal GN

study o 2J pupils ages 41J years; $ith @o$n syndro%e their nu%ber s#ills

$ere" on a)erage" t$o years behind their literacy s#ills&LO410

At present" thereore" $e #no$ that nu%eracy is di


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o their #no$n language and %e%ory delays& This %eans being a$are that

nu%ber concepts 4 e)en si%ple ones such as K%ore thanK 4 %ay need to be

taught& It %eans that %ethods $hich pro)ide support or $or#ing %e%ory and

allo$ the child to $or# out nu%ber proble%s using tangible %aterials or each

step %ay help to reduce %e%ory de%ands& The usual adaptations or children

$ho learn %ore slo$ly such as brea#ing tas#s into s%aller steps and gi)ing thechild the opportunity or %ore practice should also help&

There is so%e e)idence ro% a recent group study that children $ith @o$n

syndro%e learn early counting and cardinality s#ills %ore uic#ly $hen taught

using co%puter sot$are than $hen spending the sa%e a%ount o ti%e on

si%ilar pencil and paper tas#sL1& This could be interpreted as using a %ethod

$hich %a#es ull use o )isual supports and plays to the childrenKs strengths&

Co%puter progra%%es are under the childKs control so that they can operate

the% at the speed they $ish 4 the co%puter %ay be %ore patient than a person

and gi)e the child enough ti%e to process the inor%ation and respond& In

addition" the child is not reuired to spea# the ans$er& The child uses the %ouseto %a#e a response" $hich %ay be easier or %any children $ith @o$n syndro%e

than using a pencil&

Tactile and )isual strategies

In addition" syste%s $hich can )isually illustrate the relationships bet$een

nu%bers and help children really understand the )alue o $hole nu%bers should

be benecial& 6e)eral papers in this issueL17420 describe e*perience o using

nu%ber teaching syste%s $hich o+er so%e or all o the adapti)e strategies that

$e %ay predict $ill help children $ith @o$n syndro%e& o$e)er" at present" $e

ha)e only a s%all a%ount o hard data beyond case studies to pro)ide e)idence

that they do actually help&

6tudies designed to e)aluate the e+ecti)eness o di+erent approaches to

teaching nu%ber to children $ith @o$n syndro%e" as $ell as studies $hich %ay

increase our understanding o $hy they nd nu%ber di


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The Nu%on %ethod o teaching nu%eracy pro)ides the child $ith daily repetiti)e

paper and pencil practice o s%all learning steps in order to try to ensure

success& This $or#ed or 6a% and he achie)ed a grade in the GN national

standard school assess%ent in %athe%atics at 1 years oldL17& Interestingly"

6a%Ks %other" $ho is also a pri%ary school teacher" co%%ents that 6a%

beneted ro% the rote learning approach 4 he could use nu%bers by learningthrough this %ethod 4 and suggests he %ay ha)e actually beneted ro% not

%anipulating concrete %aterials as he learned& K6a% $as neither distracted nor

conused by trying to e*trapolate abstract ro% concreteK& This obser)ation

$arrants urther research as" i this is generally true" it $ould lead to signicantly

adapting current nu%eracy teaching approaches or children $ith @o$n

syndro%e& Much %ore ti%e could be spent on rote learning and less on learning

through e*perience& o$e)er" it should be noted that Nu%on is not used in

schools 4 it is an e*tra progra%%e $hich parents enrol their children in outside

school ti%e and any child using the Nu%on %aterials $ill also be e*periencing

other approaches to %aths in school classroo%s&

6tern and 'u%icon

The 6tern and 'u%icon %ethods or teaching nu%ber ha)e so%e benets in

co%%on 4 both sets o %aterials help children to gain %eaningul concepts or

$hole nu%bers and to understand the relati)e si9es o nu%bers 4 and dra$ on

si%ilar original ideas& The %aterials actually represent the relati)e si9es o

nu%bers and gi)e children concrete %aterials to $or# $ith to understand

counting and calculating operations& The introduction to the 6tern articleL1O

e%phasises that the Q%aterials $ere designed to enable children to learn ro%

their o$n disco)ery and thus gain insights into the nu%ber syste%Q& This is the

opposite approach to the rote learning one o Nu%on 4 it ad)ocates using

%aterials to illustrate nu%ber concepts& In describing the $ay in $hich childrenlearn $ith the 6tern %aterials" 8i##i orner e%phasises that they address a

nu%ber o the areas o di


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nu%bers& The use o the 'u%icon approach or children $ith @o$n syndro%e has

begun to be e)aluated in co%parati)e group studies and these indicate a %odest

benet or 'u%icon $hen co%pared $ith typical GN nu%eracy teaching in

schools& The 6tern approach has only recently been introduced in the GN and

case reports describe its )alue but group studies are not yet a)ailable& Additional

guidance is a)ailable on the use o 'u%icon $ith children $ith @o$nsyndro%eL21& The 'u%icon approach is being used in %any other countries

$orld$ide and has been translated into other languages&

*ceptional progress

The ourth article on nu%eracy"L20 $hich describes the e*cellent progress o

Natrina" aged ten years really stresses that the three %ethods described all ha)e

their strengths and can be successully used together& Natrina has used the% all&

.ne %ethod %ay $or# better or one stage or step o learning" and another at

another stage& Natrina is doing e*ceptionally $ell at %aths or her age but her

parents %a#e )ery clear that this le)el o co%petence has reuired %any hours

o learning and practice to consolidate her understanding and let her %o)e tothe ne*t stage& There are so%e di


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acade%ic de)elop%ent& @o$n 6yndro%e 'e$s and Gpdate& 20022:J45J& L.pen

Access ull Te*t

Fuc#ley 6" Fird =" 6ac#s F" Archer" T& The achie)e%ents o teenagers $ith @o$n

syndro%e& @o$n 6yndro%e 'e$s and Gpdate& 20022:P04P& L.pen Access ull

Te*t

Fird =" Fuc#ley 6& 'u%ber 6#ills or Indi)iduals $ith @o$n 6yndro%e 4 An

.)er)ie$& Borts%outh" GN: @o$n 6yndro%e ducation International& 2001& L.pen

Access ull Te*t

Fyrne A& The de)elop%ent o reading s#ills in children $ith @o$n syndro%e& Bh@

Thesis& Gni)ersity o Borts%outh&2001&

Fyrne A" Mac@onald H" Fuc#ley 6H& Deading" language and %e%ory s#ills: A

co%parati)e longitudinal study o children $ith @o$n syndro%e and their

%ainstrea% peers& Fritish Hournal o ducational Bsychology& 200272:513452P&

'ye H& 'u%erical @e)elop%ent in children $ith @o$n syndro%e: the role oparent child interaction: Bh@ Thesis& Gni)ersity o Borts%outh& 2003&

'ye H" luc# M" Fuc#ley 6& Counting and cardinality in children $ith @o$n

syndro%e& Bresented at the KCogniti)e @e)elop%ent in Children $ith @o$n

6yndro%eK 6y%posiu%" Fritish Bsychological 6ociety Annual Conerence" 241P

March" Frighton" GN& 1PPO&

rye @" Fraisby '" o$e H" Maroudas C" 'icholls H& Soung childrenKs understanding

o counting and cardinality& Child @e)elop%ent& 1POP 0: 115O41171&

Chap%an D6" es#eth H& Feha)ioural phenotype o indi)iduals $ith @o$n

syndro%e& Mental Detardation and @e)elop%ental @isabilities Desearch De)ie$s&2000:OJ4P5&

ree%an 6'" odapp DM& ducating children $ith @o$n syndro%e: in#ing

beha)ioral characteristics to pro%ising inter)ention strategies& ACRQMyriadBro4

ItQ @o$n 6yndro%e uarterly& 20005:14P&

.rtega4Tudela HM" =o%e94Ari9a H& Co%puter assisted teaching and %athe%atical

learning in @o$n syndro%e children& Hournal o Co%puter Assisted earning&

20022:2PO4307&

asla% & 6a%Ks progress $ith learning %athe%atics& @o$n 6yndro%e Desearch

and Bractice& 2007121;:32433& L.pen Access ull Te*t orner 8& Teaching nu%ber s#ills and concepts $ith 6tern 6tructural Arith%etic

%aterials& @o$n 6yndro%e Desearch and Bractice & 2007121;:27431& L.pen

Access ull Te*t

ing T" Tacon D& Teaching nu%ber s#ills and concepts $ith 'u%icon %aterials&

@o$n 6yndro%e Desearch and Bractice& 2007121;:2242& L.pen Access ull Te*t

McConnochie H" 6neath =& NatrinaKs progress $ith learning %athe%atics& @o$n

6yndro%e Desearch and Bractice& 2007121;:3J437& L.pen Access ull Te*t

'ye H& Teaching nu%ber s#ills to children $ith @o$n syndro%e using the 'u%iconoundation Nit& Borts%outh: @o$n 6yndro%e ducation International& 200&


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4 The earlier that oundational s#ills in %ath and reading can be taught" the

stronger and longer lasting the benets $ill be& In act" a 200 study

sho$ed that autistic toddlers $ho recei)ed intense therapy ai%ed at

de)eloping oundational language s#ills bet$een the ages o 3 to 5

sho$ed huge gains in se)eral de)elop%ental areas such as: cognition"

language" and social s#ills including acuisition o useul speech in

pre)iously non4)erbal children&

4 ar %ore than %ost children" Autistic children need structure& 6ocialinteraction can oten be )ery challenging& Thereore" consistency and

repetition in teaching is crucial& arly inter)ention is )astly preerential

and building trust" condence" and sel4estee% is so i%portant&

4 'e)er e*pect an autistic child to be uic# to learn )erbally& 8erbal speech

can be e*tre%ely tough& Instead" reali9e that %any autistic children learn

%ore rapidly through the use o )isual and #inesthetic hands4on;

techniues& Thereore" $ritten co%%unication and physical %o)e%ent are

greatly preerred $hen teaching& 6ong" ho$e)er" see%s to be the

e*ception& Many autistic children respond $ell to song& In act" so%e can

sing better than they can spea#&


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4 More than %ost children" children $ith Autis% can be easily bothered by

)isual distractions& Try to #eep your $or#space clear o ob(ects $hich %ay

interere $ith the learning process& This could be pencils" pens"

calculators" notes" glasses" ood and drin#s" etc&

4 As teachers" $e should ne)er assu%e an autistic child $ill re%e%ber any

teaching lesson" nor should $e assu%e they $ill orget it& i#e any other

child" use your e*perience interacting $ith that child as a guide into ho$

their %ind retains inor%ation& Detest i%portant concepts regularly&

4 Autistic children generally learn better though patterns& They thri)e in

one4on4one indi)iduali9ed progra%s" li#e those o+ered at MathDise

earning Centers" $here they can build condence and sel4estee% in a

non4threatening en)iron%ent using a pattern4based curriculu%& MathDise

belie)es all children can be successul& Its core %ission is to help students

and a%ilies achie)e greater le)els o prosperity through the (oy and

understanding o %athe%atics" reading" and $riting&

4

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