Education tips and articles » Challenges

Tips for Teaching Autistic Children Reading Skills

admin — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:49:03 +0000

Teaching autistic children reading skills can be a daunting task. Some children will never read, but many higher functioning children can learn to some extent and can end up being excellent readers.

Teaching autistic children to read has a very unique set of challenges that requires a parent or teacher to have a lot of patience. It can be like teaching children without autism but with the problems magnified.

Sometimes they can be very cooperative, but for the most part, autistic children have huge problems with attention span, lack any type of motivations to learn to read, and they have problems with figuring out the rules of reading and grammar when compared to children who do not have autism.

Learning to read should be fun for any child, but when it comes to autistic children, you have to reach them on their level, so make sure you chose a method that meets their needs.

For some children sounds are important and using music as a tool to teach musically inclined autistic children to read is a very good move. There are some programs out there on the market that will use music and singing to help a child with autism learn many things. Some also employ the use of games. These interactive methods usually help with attention span and interest, two of the biggest obstacles in this endeavor.

One important thing to remember when teaching an autistic child to read is that most reading requires creative thinking and this is something that many children with autism struggle with. This means that when learning, it is best to focus on materials that are based in reality. Stories about children like them going through their day might be a good place to start. Steer clear of stories that are full of fantasy people like princesses and talking animals.

Continue reading for tips on teaching visual thinkers and sign up for the free Autism newsletter below.

Anyone teaching an autistic child to read should remember that many think visually. This means they are more likely to learn about words and letters through visual stimulation. Almost every child has a special interest, and autistic children are no exception. If they like trains, you may want to use them as a visual guide to learning how to read. If they are interested in the subject matter they are more likely to pay attention for longer periods of time, and are more willing to learn because they will find it interesting.

Each child is different and will learn at a different pace and in a different manner. Don’t be afraid to make use of the reading programs on the market designed with autistic children in mind. These have generally developed either through experience or with strong science behind them. They may be the best way to go about teaching autistic children reading when it seems they have no interest in doing so.

By: Rachel Evans

Tips For Preparing For Home Schooling Your Children

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 11:43:14 +0000

If you have recently made the choice to educate your children at home you are in for a exciting journey. Not only will a home school setting be full of excitement and joy it will also be a place of frustration and difficulties.But by planning ahead you can limit the amount of set backs you have. In the next few paragraphs this article will touch on the basics of preparing for homeschooling your kids.

Proper Planning Is Critical

Before you begin to home school your child you will want to make sure you are following all your states laws and requirements. Certain states require that parents of home schooled children file a affidavit with the department of education in their state. You may also be required to maintain records of your child’s grades and educational abilities . Failure to comply with any state law could wind up costing you money and frustration so always know the legal requirements before you begin in home teaching of your kids.

The next step is deciding what you want your children to extract from their home education. Are you wanting to focus on religious education, do you have a gifted student that needs more challenges? These are all things to consider when developing a teaching plan for your children. And knowing the desired educational goals ahead of time will make lesson planning much easier!

Once you know that you have met all the legal requirements and you know what you want your child to receive from their education you will need to set a curriculum to follow. Do not think for an instant that you can just wing it and make up things to teach everyday. A curriculum will help guide you and your children to an end goal of acquiring new academic skills. If you are having difficulties planning the curriculum there are services that can help you plan an age and ability appropriate home school curriculum.

Although homeschooling is very rewarding and a great way to ensure your children are educated correctly it does require proper planning. So take the time to set curriculums, check state laws and prepare yourself mentally for the task at hand!

By: Darin Sewell

Tips on Communicating With Difficult Parents

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:09:17 +0000

Communication with parents is one of the most difficult challenges a new teacher will face. The student teaching experience doe not adequately prepare new teachers for parental interaction and certainly does not prepare new teachers for the difficult parents.

Difficult parents are everywhere in every school district in every location of this country. Of course, you will run across the supportive parents, but the difficult ones will require some extra effort on mastering communications. Mastering the art of interacting with difficult parents means your first year of teaching will be a lot less stressful.

Here are a few survival tips on communication with difficult parents:

Listen Attentively

Event the most unreasonable parent wants to be heard. If a parent is berating you, respond in a manner that indicates you heard what they said. Calmly use comments like, “so, you are angry” or, “I understand why you feel that way, but….” Do this in a calm tone of voice and then listen to what happens to the parent’s tone of voice. In most cases, you will find the parent backing down.

Do Not Argue

Do not argue with an angry parent because this will send the message that the parent can push your buttons and that you are easy to control. As frustrated as you may be, maintain a calm tone of voice and you will find this will neutralize the situation rather quickly.

Do Not Accuse

Whatever you do, never accuse a parent of anything. You may be tempted to do this when dealing with the enabling parent who expects you to do everything for their child to the point where the child is no longer making an effort. State your case in a calm tone of voice and set specific boundaries that indicate where the teaching accommodation ends and the child must take responsibility.

Expect Respect

As much as you may not want to, respect the difficult parent and insist that they respect you in return. If the parent continues to be verbally abusive, remain silent and walk away, or suggest they return at another time when they can talk to you in a civil manner.

Maintain Eye Contact

Make sure you are eye level with the parent and do not hide behind any structural object during the interaction. This will send the message to the parent that you are not intimidated by the situation and you are confident in who you are and what you do.

Be Silent

A difficult parent is usually one who thrives on exerting power over others. If you react in the same manner, you are fueling the fire and further aggravating the situation. Remaining silent to their attacks is like denying a fire the air it needs to thrive; it will weaken the flame as well as deny the parent the attention they seek.

Remember that as a first year teacher you still have rights not to be treated as the rookie. In addition, your well being is essential to the success of what will be the most stressful year of your career.

By: J.C. Sprenger

Education and Experience Is Not Enough – 7 Common Sense Tips To Keeping Your Interview Real

admin — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:10:58 +0000

You’ve spent the necessary effort to polish your resume, draft your cover letter, checked and re-checked for errors and mistakes and now you’ve managed to land the interview. Congratulations on making it to the next step but now what? Interviewing successfully is a skill that can be developed and trained. Gone are the days where all you needed to have was the background, the experience or if you are lucky both. More and more hiring executives are screening for personality. They want to make sure that you not only get the job done but that you can work well with others, communicate clearly and have a high potential to last. Nobody wants to waste their time bringing on board someone who has years of experience and education but had challenges with their social skills in previous jobs. It raises an immediate flag. So how can you communicate that you are a team player during the interview?

Be yourself

Putting your best foot forward is your number one priority but you also don’t want to come off as a rehearsed robot just spewing answers you think they want to hear. Answer naturally and don’t be afraid to say you don’t know if you really don’t.

Don’t be afraid to smile

A smile is contagious. It sets a warm and cordial tone and it shows that you are not afraid to show the human side of you.

Don’t be uptight

While it’s important to highlight your strengths and accomplishments, exaggerating or long winded responses can be a turn off. It’s important to share that you saved the company 10 million dollars but knowing that in addition to saving the company money, it could not be done if it were not for you probably won’t go over well. Stay away from phrases that only reflect ME, ME, ME!

Try to connect on a personal level

When it is your turn to ask questions, (and you must have questions), it may be nice to ask about ways the company gives back to the community and the top goals or objectives. Honestly speaking, many executives probably can not tell you the top objectives without looking at their scorecard and you certainly do not want to put them in a situation to have to look for it. Get them talking about themselves. Ask them how long they’ve been with the company and what is keeping them there.

Do your research

If you have a chance, try to get information about your interviewers and research the company before the interview. With modern technology and the internet, finding secondary research is all with the ‘click of a mouse’. As the cliché says, “knowledge is power” and this knowledge translates into confidence during your interview.

Don’t be a hothead

You may have four other interviews lined up and this may not be your first choice or maybe you are simply using this interview for practice; it is important that your interviewer does not know this (I’m sure you will not say it) but they must not see this in your behavior. An attitude that shows you really do not care can hurt your interview and potentially burn you later even if it is not a top priority job.

Don’t cover up past failures

Everyone makes mistakes. If you have to discuss a past failure, acknowledge it and use it to highlight what you learned. Never discredit or degrade your former employer. This behavior only demonstrates your true character and will give a bad feeling about you to the interviewer.

By: Monique Russell

Why is Education Important?

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 04:09:37 +0000

Education is important. It is necessary to learn new things, such as the latest trends or some of the things from way back thousands of years ago. One of the best parts of education is that you will learn the basic things on how to handle situations such as family problems, how to answer your assignments and how to face some of your fears. This is real life and it is not like an anime movie or a cartoon. We must face all the challenges just to get the best education we want. Let’s face all our fears.

It has been established that education is to provide training and informative education especially to young children… In general, elementary education consists of six to seven years of schooling. It is necessary to undergo an elementary education, because this is the right time to improve learning and we all know that most children are not so open minded when it comes to this. It is also necessary to provide a good school and a great location for studies. It is not necessary to choose whether it is a private or public school. The most important factors for education are great location, great teachers and a nice school. Maybe children, at their age, they think that it is time for them to play, and not a time for learning. There is a right time for education, we just have to let the children know how important education will be in there lives.

Let’s start the year with a great education.

By: Baby Jane Lacaba

Challenges Faced by Traditional Schools Entering Into Online Education

admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:43:38 +0000

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