Temple Grandin, Ph.D.

Teaching Tips for Children and Adults with Autism
Temple Grandin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Co 80523, USA
(Revised: June 2000)
Good teachers helped me to achieve success. I was able to overcome autism because
I had good teachers. At age 2 l/2 I was placed in a structured nursery school with
experienced teachers. From an early age I was taught to have good manners and to
behave at the dinner table. Children with autism need to have a structured day and
teachers who know how to be firm but gentle.
Between the ages of 21/4 and five my day was structured, and I was not allowed to tune
out. I had 45 minutes of one-to-one speech therapy five days a week, and my mother
hired a nanny who spent three to four hours a day playing games with me and my
sister. She taught ‘turn taking’ during play activities. When we made a snowman, she
had me roll the bottom ball; and then my sister had to make the next part. At
mealtimes, everybody ate together; and I was not allowed to do any “stems”. The only
time I was allowed to revert back to autistic behaviour was during a one-hour rest period
after lunch. The combination of the nursery school, speech therapy, play activities and
“miss manners” meals added up to 40 hours a week where my brain was kept
connected to the work.
1.) Many people with autism are visual thinkers. I think in pictures. I do not think in
language. All my thoughts are like videotapes running in my imagination.
Pictures are first language, and words are my second language. Nouns were the
easiest words to learn because I could make a picture in my mind of the words.
To learn words like “up” or “down the teacher should demonstrate them to the
child. For example, take a toy airplane and say “up” as you make the airplane
take off from a desk. Some children will learn better if cards with the words “up”
and “down” are attached to the toy airplane. The “up” card is attached when the
plane takes off. The “down” card is attached when it lands.
2.) Avoid long strings of verbal instructions. People with autism have problems with
remembering the sequence. If the child can read, write the instruction down on a
piece of paper. I am unable to remember sequences. If I ask for directions at a
gas station, I can only remember three steps. Directions with more than three
steps have to be written down. I also have difficulty remembering phone
numbers because I cannot make a picture in my mind.
3.) Many children with autism are good at drawing, art and computer programming.
These talent areas should be encouraged. I think there needs to be much more
emphasis on developing the child’s talents.
4.) Many autistic children get fixated on one subject such as trains and maps. The
best way to deal with fixations is to use them to motivate school work. If the child
likes trains, then use trains to teach reading and math. Read a book about a
train and do math problems with trains. For example, calculate how long it takes
for a train to go between New York and Washington.
5.) Use concrete visual methods to teach number concepts. My parents gave me a
math toy which helped me to learn numbers. It consisted of a set of blocks which
had a different length and different color for the numbers one through ten. With
this I learned how to add and subtract. To learn fractions my teacher has a
wooden apple that was cut up into four pieces and wooden pear that was cut in
half. From this I learned the concept of quarters and halves.
6.) I had the worst handwriting in my class. Many autistic children have problems
with motor control in their hands. Neat handwriting is sometimes very hard. This
can totally frustrate the child. To reduce frustration and help the child to enjoy
writing, let him type on the computer. Typing is often much easier.
7.) Some autistic children will learn reading more easily with phonics, and others will
learn best by memorizing whole words. I learned with phonics. My mother
taught me the phonics rules and then had me sound out the words. Children with
lots of echolalia will often learn best if flash cards and picture books are used so
that the whole words are associated with pictures. It is important to have the
picture and the printed word on the same side of the card. When teaching nouns
the child must hear you speak the word and view the picture and printed
simultaneously. An example of teaching a verb would be to hold a card that says
“jump: and you would jump up and show while saying “jump.”
8.) When I was a child, loud sounds like the school bell hurt my ears like a dentist
drill hitting a nerve. Children with autism need to be protected from sounds that
hurt their ears. The sounds that will cause the most problems are school bells,
PA systems, buzzers on the score board in the gym, and the sound of chairs
scraping on the floor. In many cases the child will be able to tolerate the bell or
buzzer if it is muffled slightly by stuffing it with tissues or duct tape. Scraping
chairs can be silenced by placing slit tennis balls on the ends of the legs or
installing carpet. A child may fear a certain room because he is afraid he may be
suddenly subjected to squealing microphone feedback from the PA system. The
fear of a dreaded sound can cause bad behavior. If a child covers his ears, it is
an indicator that a certain sound hurts his ears.
9.) Some autistic people are bothered by visual distractions and fluorescent lights.
They can see the flicker of the 60-cycle electricity. To avoid this problem, place
the child’s desk near the window or try to avoid using fluorescent lights. If the
lights cannot be avoided, use the newest bulbs you can get. New bulbs flicker
less. The flickering of fluorescent lights can also be reduced by putting a lamp
with an old fashioned incandescent light bulb next to the child’s desk.
10.) Some hyperactive autistic children who fidget all the time will often be
calmer if they are given a padded weighted vest to wear. Pressure from the
garment helps to calm the nervous system. I was greatly calmed by pressure.
For best results, the vest should be worn for twenty minutes and then taken off
for a few minutes. This prevents the nervous system for adapting to it.
11.) Some individuals with autisms will respond better and have improved eye
contact and speech if the teacher interacts with them while they are swinging on
a swing or rolled up in a mat. Sensory input from swinging or pressure from the
mat sometimes helps to improve speech. Swinging should always do done as a
fun game. It must NEVER be forced.
12.) Some children and adults can sing better than they can speak. They may
respond better if words and sentences are sung to them. Some children with
extreme sound sensitivity will respond better if the teacher talks to them in a low
whisper.
13.) Some nonverbal children and adults cannot process visual and auditory
input at the same time. They are mono-channel. They cannot see and hear at
the same time. They should not be asked to look and listen the same time. They
should be given either a visual task or an auditory task. Their immature nervous
system is not able to process simultaneous visual are auditory input.
14.) In older nonverbal children and adults touch is often their most reliable
sense. It is often easy for them to feel. Letter can be taught by letting them feel
plastic letters. They can learn their daily schedule by feeling objects a few
minutes before a scheduled activity. For example, fifteen minutes before lunch
give the person a spoon to hold. Let them hold a toy car a few minutes before
going in the car.
15.) Some children and adults with autism will learn more easily if the
computer keyboard is placed close to the screen. This enables the individual to
simultaneously see the keyboard and screen. Some individuals have difficult
remembering if they have to look up after they hit a key on the keyboard.
16.) Nonverbal children and adults will find it easier to associate words with
pictures if they see the printed word and a picture on a flashcard. Some
individuals do not understand line drawings, so it is recommended to work with
real objects and photos first.
17.) Some autistic individuals do not know that speech is used for
communication. Language learning can be facilitated if language exercises
promote communication. If the child asks for a cup, then give him a cup. If the
child asks for a plate, when he wants a cup give him a plate. The individual
needs to learn that when he says words, concrete things happen. It is easier for
an individual with autism to learn that their words are wrong if the incorrect word
resulted in the incorrect object.
18.) Many individuals with autism have difficultly using a computer mouse. Try
a roller ball (or tracking ball) pointing device that has a separate button for
clicking. Autistics with motor control problems in their hands find it very difficult
to hold the mouse still during clicking.
19.) Children who have difficulty understanding speech have a hard time
differentiating between hard consonant sounds such as ‘D’ in dog and ‘L’ in log.
My speech teacher helped me learn to hear these sounds by stretching out and
enunciating hard consonant sounds.
20.) Several parents have informed me that using the closed captions on the
television helped their child to learn to read. The child was able to read the
captions and match the printed works with spoken speech. Recording a favorite
program with captions on tape would be helpful because the tape can be played
over and over again and stopped.
21.) Some autistic individuals do not understand that a computer mouse
moves the arrow on the screen. They may learn more easily if paper arrow that
looks EXACTLY like the arrow on the screen is taped to the mouse.
22.) Children and adults with visual processing problems can see flicker on TV
type computer monitors. They can sometimes see better on laptops and flat
panel displays which have less flicker.
23.) Children and adults who fear escalators often have visual processing
problems. They fear the escalator because they cannot determine when to get
on and off. These individuals may also not be able to tolerate fluorescent lights.
The Irlen colored glasses may be helpful to them.
24.) Individuals with visual processing problems often find it easier to read if
black print is printed on colored paper to reduce contrast. Try light tan, light blue,
gray, or light green paper. Experiment with different colors. Avoid bright yellow it
may hurt the individual’s eyes. Irlen colored glasses may also make reading
easier. ( to visit the Irlen Institute’s web site.)
June, 2000
Center for the Study of Autism
bio on Temple Grandin
Temple Grandin
Dr. Grandin was diagnosed with autism at age 2, Temple is the author of two
autobiographies, Emergence labeled Autistic, Arena Press (1986) and Thinking in Pictures,
Double Day (1995). She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado,
an international speaker on Autism and the humane treatment of animals. She is the
owner of Grandin Livestock Systems and a world renowned designer of livestock handling
facilities.