How Do I Teach This Kid?: Visual Work Tasks for Beginning Learners on the Autism Spectrum

First Runner-Up in the 2006 Writer's Notes Book Awards, this book utilizes the strengths of children with ASD to help them develop new skills. Tasks are visually oriented, consistent; expectations are clear. Children learn motor, matching, sorting, reading, writing, and math skills using easy-to-make 'task boxes'. Tasks include pushing items through a small openings (children love the 'resistance' it takes to push them through); matching simple, identical pictures or words; sorting objects by color, size, or shape. Ideas are plentiful, materials colorful, and children love the repetitive nature of the 'tasks', which help them learn to work independently! Sample data sheets are included.

Table of Contents:
What are task boxes? Creating an independent work system Stuff to save for task boxes What do you do with the stuff once you get it? Task Boxes to Make: MOTOR TASKS Put blocks in slot Pull clothespins off box, put in hole Put mini balls in hole Pull blocks off box, put in hole Pull teddy bears off box Put big checkers in slot Park cars in spot Assemble film canisters and drop in slot Put poker chips in slot Put coins in bank Put facial features on a potato toy Block construction MATCHING TASKS Plastic egg color match Clothespin color match Puzzle piece outline match Blocks color match Tile sample color match Simple picture match Match block pattern Memory match Shape match Border picture match Box top match Object to photo match Lotto picture match SORTING TASKS 2-Color car sort 3-color poker chip sort 4-color game piece sort 3-way colored beads sort Colored straw sort Boy-girl sort Teddy bear color sort Balls and Blocks sort Ghosts and pumpkins sort Apples and pumpkins sort Paint card sort Crayon sort Plastic utensil sore Sort sports cards by category File index cards by color Same/different sort Texture sort Category sort Sort by size READING TASKS Alphabet sequence Upper-to-lower case letter match Word-to-word match Word-to-picture match Clothespin word-to-picture match Blocks-to-color words match Paperclips-to-color words match Sentence to picture match Initial sound sort Initial letter match Character and setting sort 3-part story sequence File by first letter File words by category Alphabetical order on clothespins Holiday-to-month name binder Opposites binder WRITING TASKS Trace lines Draw lines to match Spell name sequence Letter match to spell word Attach clothespins to spell words Simple sentence construction with pictures Simple sentence construction with words MATH TASKS 1:1 Correspondence with pegs and film canisters 1:1 Correspondence with cotton balls and ice-cube tray Count dots, match to number Count sets of items, match to number Sequence numbers on strip Make sets on a box Fill in the sequence with missing number Sequence by skip counting Size seriation Make sets in ice cube tray Make sets in cups Extend pattern with stickers Appendix I: Sample IEP goals Appendix II: Data sheets for tracking independence

About the Author :
Kimberly Henry holds a Master's degree and Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study from Johns Hopkins University. With twenty years of experience working with students with autism, she is now a Teacher Specialist for a public school system, and an adjunct faculty member at several universities.

Review :
""While reviewing this book, I immediately recognized some activities that my son did . . . and I remembered how much he benefited from these activities . . . such as sorting and matching, reading, math, and motor tasks. The book also provides IEP goals in an Appendix, which can be a helpful resource for parents.""