THE JOURNEY OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AT TAMANNA
The autism class consists of seven children aged 9 to 14 years who fall under the autism spectrum disorder. A Special Educator who is a specially-equipped professional with the required qualification (D.Ed in Autism Spectrum Disorders) trains and caters to the needs of the children.
We train students with a well-structured teaching curriculum in Special Education which is focused on students with autism. The classroom arrangement is advantageous to the teaching-learning experience, where each child is provided with his/her own chair and table, and the teaching-learning material is easily accessible. The walls are displayed with visual aids to guide visual learners, and the displays also consist of a visual schedule, including check-in and check-out. The check-in and check-out is a procedure which involves the following steps:
- Children are trained to identify their own pictures.
- They then place their picture on the check-in board as soon as they enter the room.
- While leaving the classroom, they place their picture on the check-out board.
This skill enhances their feeling of belongingness to that particular place and the people around. The students are also trained in the Picture Exchange Communication System to manage the primary hurdle of communication and interaction. Students are trained to express their needs through pictures. For instance: showing a picture of a toilet/bathroom to ask for a bathroom break, a picture of a water bottle for drinking water, etc.
We follow different methods and styles of teaching such as Discreet Trial Teaching and TEACCH -Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication for Children Handicapped. Applied behavior analysis and reinforcement schedule are effective methods which we implement under behavior modification to reduce the incidences of undesirable behavior and to increase the frequency of desirable behaviors. We also provide training based on the Individual Education Programme (IEP). Students in this group have responded very positively with the present strategies – of demonstration and role play which are tailored to suit the learning style of the students. Collaborative team work always enhances their performance.
