TEACCH method and the inclusion of autistic students

Here are a few examples of adaptations that can be made in the school environment to help welcome and develop people with autism:

• Development of an individualized teaching plan, according to the specific needs of each student

• Adequacy of proposed activities to the student's development level and interests

• Use of work systems, murals, or agendas for routine planning

• Training of teachers and school employees

• Use of visual aids to facilitate communication, helping children to better understand the message and also to express themselves

• Activities should be separated into stages, always making it clear what is expected of the student in each one of them

• Explicit learning (avoiding the use of metaphors and figures of speech)

• Directed attention to important information

• Adaptation and organization of the school environment, inside and outside the classroom.

In addition to the organization of routines and tasks, the adequacy of physical spaces is one of the bases of TEACCH. After all, an organized environment is more understandable for students of what is expected in each environment, therefore facilitating learning.

Structuring an inclusive school environment for autistic people

Many regular schools do not have an appropriate infrastructure to receive children on the spectrum. They are usually environments that have an excess of stimuli, including colors, noises, and information. This makes autistic people easily distracted and more agitated. In some cases, the excess of sound or visual stimuli can make staying at school an almost impossible task for the student.

An organized classroom, with controlled sensory stimuli and delimited spaces with different purposes, is essential to provide predictability and avoid distractions. In the book “I watch and learn - Fundamentals of the TEACCH Program” (free translation from Portuguese), the authors Maria Elisa Granchi Fonseca and Juliana de Cássia Baptistella Ciola state that:

"TEACCH is an intervention model that, through an “external structure”, organization of space, materials and activities, allows to mentally create “internal structures” that must be transformed by the child into strategies and, later, automated in order to function outside the classroom in less structured environments".

TEACCH method proposes that the classroom be organized into four work settings:

1) Individual work scenario: the place where the student will learn new skills with their teachers

2) Independent work scenario: space to put new learning into practice, without the support of teachers

3) Relaxation scenario: decompression site, sensorially neutral

4) Transition scenario: the place where the student can access the panel containing the daily routine

With the creation of structured environments, the autistic student will be able to better understand what they need to do in each of them, will have fewer sensory stimuli, and more focus on the learning process.

In addition, these spaces encourage autonomy and independence, help to regulate the child's behavior, and make them need the teacher only for learning. All of this will be essential for the student with ASD to be included and adapt well to the school routine.

Conclusion

The TEACCH method in the school environment can be a great ally, facilitating the learning and inclusion of autistic children, in addition to promoting greater autonomy, independence and intellectual development.

Remember: for this pedagogical practice to reach the proposed objectives, the collaboration between the school and the family is essential, as well as constant application and training of the teaching staff.