TEACCH M ETHOD FOR C HILDREN WITH A UTISM Jill Kirschenbaum SPED 752 May 2013

B ACKGROUND Autism/Autism Spectrum Disorder is a group of disorders specific to brain development. They are characterized by difficulties with social interaction, verbal communication and non- verbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. Treatment for Autism can come in many forms and should be tailored to each individual. There are many options for behavioral treatments (ABA), medical treatments or a combination of both.

T EACCH H ISTORY TEACCH stands for Training and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children. Developed by Eric Schopler, in 1971 in North Carolina. Schopler was a psychiatrist who began his work in Rochester NY as a family Psychiatrist. In 1960 he moved to Chicago where he began work at the Treatment and Research Center for Childhood Schizophrenia. He worked there for a number of years and then later developed TEACCH to help individuals with Autism.

W HAT IS TEACCH? A highly structured and individualized education program. Is used to help those with Autism better understand their environment and the world around them. Can be broken down into five aspects 1. Physical Structure 2. Scheduling 3. Work Stations 4. Routine 5. Visual Structure

P HYSICAL S TRUCTURE The actual layout of the persons environment. TEACCH can take place in the individuals home, at school, where he/she works, or the community in general. There are no distractions, materials are clearly marked and labeled.

P HYSICAL S TRUCTURE

S CHEDULE Each child has an individual schedule that tells them where they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be doing at specific times. Schedules are made using pictures, and words and can be set-up: up and down or left to right. Individuals use PECS with their schedules.

S CHEDULE

Home Schedule

S CHEDULE To lessen anxiety at Dr’s office.

W ORK S TATIONS Workstations are based on child’s IEP Goals. Workstations can be sorting, cutting, whatever skill the child is working on. Depending on the age can even be laundry sorting. Stations can be stored in baskets and shoeboxes with clear labels. Each station will have its own visual schedule showing the child exactly what to do and how to do it so that they can do it independently. Place finished wok stations in the “finished box”. Receive reinforcer at the end.

W ORK S TATIONS

R OUTINE AND V ISUAL S TRUCTURE Autistic students as well as others respond very well to structure. The TEACCH Curriculum allows for a lot of structure so that the children are always aware of what is going on. Routines will be put in place for everything including transitions to alleviate tantrums and stress.

V IDEO autism/treatment/training-and-education-autistic- and-related-communication-handicapped-children

T EACCH C ERTIFICATION Advantages of TEACCH Often funded by public schools Recognizes the need for lifetime support from early childhood to adulthood Includes parents as co-therapists, thereby increasing confidence Facilitates autonomy at all levels of functioning Is compatible with other therapies and carryover of what is learned in the program to other situations is possibly better Disadvantages of TEACCH Is less well studied than ABA Classroom is non-inclusive and therefore may contribute to segregation Uses independent work centers which may isolate Sometimes single classroom may not provide sufficient training of staff or collaborative work with parents

R ESOURCES There are many websites that have great resources on TEACCH…… Helping Children with Autistic Disorder by Melissa Nishawala, MD NYU Childstudycenter - dren_autistic_disorder dren_autistic_disorder Teacch Approach - 1/what-is-teacchhttp://teacch.com/about-us- 1/what-is-teacch ism