Faculty Articles

Effective Mathematics Strategies for Pre-School Children with Autism

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Keywords

autism, symptoms (individual disorders), foreign countries, teaching methods, preschool children, mathematics instruction, neurological impairments, mathematical concepts, comparative analysis, inservice teacher education, learning strategies, educational games, algebra

Publication Title

Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom

ISSN

1326-0286

Volume

17

Issue/No.

2

Abstract

Autism is a neural development disorder which impairs one's ability to socialise, communicate, process sensory information, and those with autism experience restricted interests and repetitive behaviours. These signs all begin before three years of age and the child may have difficulty with organising their responses, with inhibition of repetitive behaviors and interests, and are more likely to have associated leaning difficulties. Australia is similar to the rest of the world in terms of the issues it faces in Special Education, specifically with the Autism condition, but it also has its own set of challenges. In this article, the authors look at adjusting the teaching of mathematics to cater for young students with autism. They report on a project that helped students link unfamiliar concepts to what they already know. Many of the ideas could be applied to teaching young mainstream students. (Contains 3 figures.)

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