Routine, Routine, Routine!

One of the most important things you should remember when teaching a primary class with children who have special needs or difficult behaviors, is to create a routine. The children will LOVE it. Especially children with Autism NEED the structure that the routine offers. It doesn't need to be anything huge, just make sure that they can predict what will happen next. In my class we first go through the different positive behaviors I saw in sharing time (Lucie sitting quietly, Daphne singing her best, Jackson zipping his lips)and then move onto the prayer. The lesson is next, followed by some sort of art (coloring pics, cutting things out, etc), then the closing prayer and FINALLY the last 10 min of class we have play time. It's easily predictable in their minds. Last year, a couple of the kids in my class were hyper active so we always started with a walk around the church. You can make the routine anything that works for your class. I always try to keep in mind that MY goal is to help the kids learn something and also to LOVE coming to primary. GOOD LUCK and let me know if you have any questions or issues I can help you with!