Therefore, he did write a couple of sentences about a tornado hitting the farm. Well, J was in his tornado focused interest phase at the time.

For example, when J was in first grade, he had an assignment in which he was supposed to draw a picture of a farm and then write a few sentences about the farm.

Some autistic children try to relate almost anything – including their schoolwork – to their special interest, whether or not it really can be. In addition, focused interests can sometimes interfere with the child’s ability to focus and write an appropriate essay or complete an assignment. Because many autistic students are so focused on the skill of handwriting, their written assignments tend to be shorter, which can impact their grades.

They can get so focused on the handwriting itself that they don’t pay as much attention to the content of the writing. Surprisingly, I found out this is common with other autistic students. He does have beautiful handwriting however, he writes slowly and would erase and begin a section again if he didn’t think it looked nice enough. My son J had difficulty with writing assignments in elementary school because he was a perfectionist with his handwriting. Our experience with reading and writing challenges These can interfere with their ability to organize their points, keep them in their working memory, speak to a different opinion or perspective and other skills needed for writing an assignment. Many children and teens with autism struggle with executive function skills and perspective taking (also known as Theory of Mind). Visual-motor speed can also hinder both writing and reading skills.įrom a mental perspective, autistic students may have cognitive difficulty in organizing their thoughts and understanding context to effectively write an essay or assignment. Some children may need to work with a n occupational therapist to improve fine motor skills so that they can write better. The act of writing letters and numbers can be hard. Reading and writing challenge autistic children both from a physical and mental perspective.įrom a physical perspective, writing can be difficult for children with autism because they may have delayed fine motor skills.

As a parent, what type of technology could you use at home to help your autistic student improve their reading and writing skills? Why autistic children struggle with reading and writing Many schools offer a variety of software programs to help students to learn and improve their reading and writing. One way that students can learn these essential skills is with the use of certain technology. For people with autism, many forms of communication – reading and writing included – don’t come easily to them. Learning to read and write are key to developing good communications skills.

Autistic text to speech voice meme