Charlotte Mason Methods for Students with Autism and Asperger

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Charlotte Mason Methods for Students with Autism
and Aspergers Syndrome

• Presented by
• Nicole Caldwell, M.Ed.
• Autism Specialist, The Flint Academy

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About Charlotte Mason

• The Charlotte Mason educational method places
  emphasis on developing a natural love of learning
  in children, and providing them with a
  high-quality education to stimulate the mind. It
  has been described as leading students to a
  self-education.
• Charlotte Mason advocated the study of core
  subjects (math, science, reading, etc.) as well
  as the humanities of literature, poetry, music,
  and art. She believed that children should study
  these subjects in an authentic way through
  exploring nature, reading personal narratives of
  history, looking at actual works of art, etc.
• Some specific elements of the Charlotte Mason
  educational method are described in the following
  presentation, with recommendations to accommodate
  students with autism.

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Characteristics of Autism

• Insistence on sameness resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or
  pointing instead of words
• Repeating words or phrases in place of normal,
  responsive language
• Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason
  showing distress for reasons not apparent to
  others
• Preference to being alone
• Tantrums
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
• Little or no eye contact
• Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
• Spinning objects
• Intense attachment to objects
• Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to
  pain
• No real fears of danger
• Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme
  under-activity
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Non-responsive to verbal cues acts as if deaf,
  although hearing tests in normal range
• Reference Autism Society of America

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Characteristics of Aspergers Syndrome

• Problems with social skills Children with
  Asperger's syndrome generally have difficulty
  interacting with others and often are awkward in
  social situations.
• Unusual preoccupations or rituals A child with
  Asperger's syndrome may develop rituals that he
  or she refuses to alter, such as getting dressed
  in a specific order.
• Communication difficulties People with
  Asperger's syndrome may not make eye contact when
  speaking with someone. They may have trouble
  using facial expressions and gestures, and
  understanding body language. They also tend to
  have problems understanding language in context,
  including use of idioms and slang.
• Specific interests A child with Asperger's
  syndrome may develop an intense interest in a few
  areas, such as sports schedules, weather or maps.
• Coordination The movements of some children with
  Asperger's syndrome may seem clumsy or awkward.
• Skilled or talented Many children with
  Asperger's syndrome are exceptionally talented or
  skilled in a particular area, such as music or
  math.
• Reference http//www.webmd.com/brain/autism/menta
  l-health-aspergers-syndrome

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Literature and Poetry

• Children should be exposed to quality literature
  and poetry from a young age.
• Children should read full, unabridged versions so
  that they can experience the original beauty and
  quality of the language.
• The focus is on enjoying poetry, rather than
  studying it.
• Literature and poetry should be integrated into
  all school subjects.

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Literature and Poetry Accommodations

• Use illustrated editions of poetry books.
• Use relevant clip art or photos to accompany
  written or read-aloud poems.
• Review definitions of any difficult or confusing
  words before reading the poem.
• Review meaning of any idioms, metaphors, or slang
  terms before reading the poem.

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Handwriting

• The study of handwriting begins when students
  learn to copy letters. Charlotte Mason preferred
  that a student complete a few neat and correctly
  formed letters at a time, rather than a lengthy
  handwriting page that leaves the student tired
  and the handwriting sloppy at the end.
• For older students, handwriting can be practiced
  by copying book passages or poetry into a
  personal copy notebook.

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Handwriting Accommodations

• Use tracing sheets (such as http//www.mymoondrops
  .com/info/spelling.html),
• Place a copy of the passage to be written close
  to or on a students desk rather than on the
  board at the front of a classroom,
• Allow students to copy passages about a topic of
  interest (airplanes, astronomy, trains, etc.).
• Make sure that students are practicing correct
  letter and number formation in early learning, as
  these habits are very hard to break after they
  have been learned.

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Science

• Children should be taken outside daily to observe
  and experience nature.
• The teacher or parent should ask children to
  describe something nearby (such as plants,
  animals, or insects). Teachers and parents should
  also model this for children by describing things
  in nature to them.
• Children should be taken on nature walks and
  permitted to observe with minimal direction from
  adults.
• Children keep nature notebooks, which may include
  records of a childs observations, sketches,
  records of weather or temperature, nature poems,
  and pressed flowers.

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Science Accommodations

• Allow students to record information in their
  nature journal of science elements that are
  particularly interesting to them (you can relate
  trains, weather, and other interests to science
  topics),
• Frequently model descriptions of items in nature
  starting with just one or two descriptions at
  first (the butterfly is orange and it flies).
  You could make cards with pictures and this
  sentence to review and practice before the child
  makes descriptions on his or her own, take photos
  during nature walks and outings to use when
  discussing the events later or to post in nature
  notebooks.

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Math

• Teach students concrete before abstract use
  manipulatives, including counters, blocks, and
  other objects to model concepts.
• Use narration to assess a students comprehension
  of the material Tell me what you know about
  ___________ (concept).
• Focus on real experiences use real money when
  possible, weigh and measure actual objects, etc.
• Use short lessons 15 20 minutes for elementary
  students, 30 45 minutes for junior high and
  high school students.

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Math Accommodations

• Many of these math methods do not need
  modification.
• Using manipulatives for visual support and to
  build concrete understanding will often be very
  helpful.
• Using real objects and money is also beneficial
  to promote generalization of skills.
• Prompt as needed when teaching, and then fade out
  the prompts.

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Art and Music

• Expose children to classical music and quality
  artwork.
• Use actual-sized prints of the pictures, not
  textbooks with small copies of the pictures.
• Children study a piece of art for 10 15
  minutes, attempt to copy the painting by the
  classical artist, and then at another time try to
  draw it from memory.
• Encourage children to draw favorite reading
  passages.
• Use high-quality art materials.
• Play classical music during art reproduction,
  sketching, and nature study times.

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Art and Music Accommodations

• The website Enchanted Learning (www.enchantedlearn
  ing.com) has coloring sheets of many famous
  paintings that could be used for students who may
  have difficulty copying the paintings from
  memory.
• Classical music could be played for students
  while they are engaging in a favorite play
  activity so that they can enjoy the music and
  associate it with a fun activity.

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Social Studies

• Children should use books, plays, poems, essays,
  and paintings to study history (first person
  accounts are preferred to textbooks).
• Children should study the history of their own
  nation, as well as other nations. They should
  compare what was happening in various nations at
  the same times in history.
• Travel books can be used for the teaching of
  geography.
• Before beginning the study of maps, students
  should practice the concept by making a map of
  their rooms.

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Social Studies Accommodations

• Use lots of pictures (of historical figures,
  places, and countries),
• Look for illustrated editions of any poetry or
  literature that you will use. Another option is
  to use clip art or graphics to make your own
  illustrations for poetry or story passages,
• To expand on the pre-map study activities, make a
  map of a child's bedroom, a room in the home, or
  classroom, with a place marked on the map. Hide
  something fun in that location, and have the
  student use the map to find it (prompting as
  needed). This could later be done with a map of
  the entire school or home.
• To begin teaching with "real" maps make a map of
  the United States (or your home country) that
  shows important places to the student (such as
  locations where relatives live, favorite places
  such as Six Flags or DisneyLand).

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Citizenship and Behavior

• Lessons about proper behavior can be learned
  through reading of literature (Aesops Fables and
  Bible stories are good options).
• Charlotte Mason emphasized the development of
  habits, stating that once developed, the students
  will continue the habit. It is recommended to
  develop a few habits at a time, rather than a
  long list of rules to follow.

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Citizenship and Behavior Accommodations

• Priming and Social Stories prepare students in
  advance for expectations of behavior during
  social situations and special events.
• In advance, teach calming techniques such as
  counting to ten, taking deep breaths, excusing
  yourself from the situation.
• Recognize appropriate behavior many students
  with Autism may not know what behavior is
  appropriate. Punishment of negative behavior does
  not tell the student what he or she should do
  instead.
• Teach specific social skills provide direction
  instruction for social skills that may come
  naturally to other students.

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Links to Helpful Resources

• Best Autism Websites for Teachers
  http//www.ikeepbookmarks.com/Best_Autism_Sites_fo
  r_Teachers
• Positively Autism Newsletter and Resources
  http//www.positivelyautism.com/
• Paula Kluths Autism Website http//www.paulaklut
  h.com/autism.html
• AutismSpot http//www.autismspot.com/
• Social Skills for Middle/High School Students
  http//www.cccoe.net/social/skillslist.htm
• Social Stories http//www.thegraycenter.org/socia
  lstories.cfm
• Social Skills for Middle/High School Students
  http//www.cccoe.net/social/skillslist.htm

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Contact Information

• School Phone [phone]
• E-mail Nicole_at_PositivelyAutism.com