by Leslie Broun, M.Ed.

Matching Skills

• The ability to match is the foundation of all learning
• Practice matching simple shapes (of one colour) – circle, square, etc.
• Graduate to simple objects and then simple pictures (commercially produced lotto or matching games)

Sorting

• When matching has been mastered, work on sorting simple objects – popsicle sticks, spoons, toys, socks, clothing, etc. or commercially produced sorting kits

Scrapbooks

• Scrapbooks are an excellent way to help children with ASD to organize items in the environment – categorization skills.
  
• Scrapbooks can be created with pictures from catalogues, advertisements, photos, labels (e.g. movie covers)
  
• Topics might include foods, animals, the house (room by room), toys, clothing, the farm, transportation/vehicles or cartoon characters, focusing on the interests of the child
  
• Again, work towards pointing and sharing attention to the pictures
  
• An alphabet scrapbook is also a good resource – one letter per page and pictures of items that begin with the letter

Reading to Your Child

• Make sure that you choose stories that your child will understand and that are within her/his experience
• Many children like to hear the same story over and over again – it’s O.K.! Hearing the same story can be a very reassuring experience. You can always pair it with a new story and gradually build up the number of stories your child enjoys
• As your read, see if you can engage your child in pointing to favourite characters (e.g. Clifford, Thomas) and familiar objects, establishing joint attention. Model the action and assist the child to point gradually fading the assistance

The Alphabet

• For many children, learning the letters and their sounds is not a prerequisite skill for reading
• Many children with ASD learn more efficiently through whole word sight recognition. A combined approach is most effective over the long term
  
• Start with showing your child the names of family members printed on flashcards (2” x 5”)
  
• Make sure that the words you teach are relevant and meaningful. Children will want to engage with materials and words that have meaning for them

Personal Books

• Creating books for your child can be fun and a very effective way to help her/him to engage in the shared reading process
• Using photographs, you can write and illustrate small books about things that are familiar and relevant to your child: the family, your house, favourite foods, pets, going for a visit, holidays, going to the park, etc
• When we use familiar materials, we are more likely to achieve attention and comprehension
• The use of photographs will also help the child to build memories of persons and events

Fine Motor Skills

• Every child goes through a scribbling stage – let your child scribble!
• Pictures for colouring should be large and simple. If you have a good colouring book, you can have pictures enlarged at a copy shop – make multiple copies of the same picture
  
• Let your child watch you scribble and colour – this is called passive modeling
  
• When your child is ready, work for imitation: | , _ , O and X are the prerequisite strokes for printing
  
• Remember: little hands = little materials (crayons, scissors, paper for cutting)
  
• Let your child become familiar with the keyboard as this may be his/her most efficient writing tool in the long term