Creating an Autism-Friendly Classroom: What Can Mainstream Schools Learn from Specialist Settings?

Numbers of autistic children in mainstream schools continue to rise, including pupils with more complex needs. Matthew Lee, Vice Principal at Wales International School in Abu Dhabi, has made it his mission to transfer the knowledge he has gained from working at special schools into the mainstream, to enhance the support offered.

Special schools are inclusive by design, always prioritising independence and viewing children as co-agents of learning. In this two-part blog series, he shares some of the strategies that, in his experience, can make the biggest impact on autistic children.

In this first article, he covers task structure, and both classroom and breaktime routines. Our thanks also go to Matthew’s long time friend and collaborator Shahida Jaffer, SEND consultant, for her ideas and support.

Key takeaways:

• Create clear, structured environments and task flows using TEACCH principles
• Make visual scaffolds for just about everything using PECS and Widgit
• Start off with real photos of things, include photos of the child and assign fun roles
• Adopt consistent classroom routines and visual timetables to manage transitions between years/classrooms
• Keep strategies going at breaktime and on visual trails around the school
• Adapt strategies for the individual child and keep trying different approaches

• As always, the key is to adapt strategies with the individual child and keep trying different approach

1. Create structure with the TEACCH approach

For many children with special educational needs, particularly those with autism, the concept of sitting down to do an activity can be daunting because they have no idea how long the task is going to take or that anything else is going to come after it. They may have a limited schema of time, verbal instructions may overwhelm them and if they can’t immediately see the value in completing the task, they may simply struggle to find the motivation to get started. 

The TEACCH method (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication-handicapped Children) is evidence-backed and helps establish:

• Predictable, logical task sequences with clear structure and defined goals.
• Activities that play to children’s strengths and interests, fostering independence.
• Clear visual structure, zoning, and instructions for children to follow.

You can actually use TEACCH throughout your whole classroom using floor tape, dividers and visual instructions within specific zones.

Especially useful for some individuals are TEACCH task boxes and workflows. They consist of;

• Structured tasks provided in colour-coded boxes – tasks are made up in advance that are designed to provide the right level of challenge for the individual. The child checks their visual timetable in front of them and works their way through task boxes assembled on their left.  Once they are done, they place them in the finished pile on their right. The finish box and symbol helps them see their progress and reminds them to communicate to an adult they are done.

• Distraction-free workspace – with clear zoning to help students stay on task, while minimising sensory overload.  Everything they need to do the activity should be included within the task box.
  
• Symbols that emphasise the concept of finished – if a child understands that things can and will finish they are more likely to do the task.

• Visual timetables, task flows and instructions – wherever possible use real photos of the child’s face and give them something they can touch/hold to make using the timetable more engaging. As an alternative to providing the tasks already set out within the workstation, you can encourage children to go and collect a box with the corresponding colour/symbol on their individual visual timetable.
  
• Working towards cards and token systems – help build extrinsic motivation. Plenty of positive praise should follow – of the effort and not just the outcome. You can also use a token system where the child collects tokens as they complete tasks and trade-in tokens for time spent on an activity they enjoy. Make sure to plan ahead to the next reward after all the tokens are spent.

Matthew’s additional tips: “Group workstations can provide a useful alternative to individual workstations if you have several children all working at the same level and can be more inclusive. You can colour-code the tables by task type and rotate groups of children working on the same tasks together. If possible, try being flexible with your classroom environments so children who use them can choose when they arrive whether they want to sit at the group workstation or go to their individual one.”

2. Classroom routines and visual communication tools

Inclusion, of course, isn’t just about creating specific tasks and workstations for individuals, but proactively designing the whole-class experience to be as accessible as possible. As always the right balance must be found between adaptations focused just on a particular individual and those that the whole class can follow. 

There isn’t the scope to cover adaptive teaching and scaffolding in detail, but you can read more in our blog: Adaptive Teaching; Understanding the Barriers and Enablers. In the meantime, some key things to think about in terms of classroom routines can be found below.

Daily class schedules – whereas individual task flows break down the specific task at hand, daily schedules show everything going on that day. Both have their place, but the nice thing about daily schedules is that the whole class can get involved.

Now and Next or First, Then boards – help children see quickly the component steps in a task or process. TAs and teachers can also draw on wipe-clean Now and Next boards to show their students that a reward is coming up so the child can easily visualise the benefit.

Break visuals – a couple of cards can be allocated to each child on their desk or throughout the classroom. This can help remind children to ask and help them achieve this without requiring a lot of words.

Managing expectations with morning meeting visuals – can remind children about social norms as well as who is present today. This reduces stress around changes in the environment and minimises the need for repeated questions.

Individual real picture schedules/mini-schedules – some children might prefer these organised into folders, some might prefer vertical schedules up on a classroom wall. Some educators, such as Dr Chris Reeve, founder of The Special Educator Academy in the US, have also observed some children prefer the timetable to be revealed gradually, or may prefer part-day to full-day. 

Whatever technique you use, make sure there is a clear mechanism to allow children to place finished tasks in a designated place. You might also introduce a symbol to remind children to check their personal visual timetable.

Thumbs up, thumbs down checks, ask for help cards, traffic light systems; introducing these into lessons helps pupils signal understanding without needing to rely on verbal methods which they may be too anxious or not have the vocabulary manage. Again the whole class can be encouraged to use them.

PECs and Widgit: PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) is a well-researched approach for autistic children who have more significant speech and language difficulties, and uses external motivators in return for engaging with comprehension-based tasks. 

In UK schools this is often well embedded, but this is not always the case internationally where teachers and LSAs may not have any training at all. 

Matthew’s additional tip: “In my school we use Widgit for a huge range of things. We do formative reviews every three months, as an example, and children all access the same assessments. It’s just a matter of scaffolding the essay comprehension questions with Widgit symbols. We also design vocabulary mats for every subject designed to go up to secondary level as part of our inclusion by design philosophy.”

3. Managing breaktimes and routines beyond the classroom

Photos of pupils’ faces – using these throughout the school for example on the backs of chairs during assembly time, on lockers etc can reduce anxiety and steer pupils towards where they should be sitting and what they should be doing.

Matthew’s additional tip: “In my school we use photos to help children quickly see who is currently using a resource or toy. We have a board in the playground where our five trikes are, for example, and pupils put their faces on the grid next to a picture of each trike. This helps other pupils quickly see who is using it – reducing the likelihood of meltdowns.”  

Assign roles and responsibilities – this can be both within the classroom and beyond, e.g. breakfast monitors, school librarian helpers, line leaders etc. It helps with belonging as well as structured routines – particularly as breaktimes can be unpredictable.

Portable PECS boards – allow children to continue to express what they want at breaktimes and lunchtimes, while talk buttons enable them to listen back to instructions and carry them round with them.

Widgit and Makaton hand signs in the playground – not only help children with SEND re-enforce their understanding of these symbols, but it gets the whole school involved as well. 

Matthew’s additional tip: “You can create school-wide trails for pupils to help them find their way around using a particular symbol. This can be especially useful for pupils transitioning into the school. One pupil has been shown how to use our animal trail to successfully get from their class to the bus drop off point independently.” 

Things to remember

Teaching professionals in specialist settings focus on enabling pupils to be as independent as possible first and foremost. All staff get to know their pupils incredibly well and are trained not to overwhelm them with language, learning how to utilise their strengths and maximise the use of visual supports and structured tasks and environments. All forms of behaviour are primarily viewed as sources of communication.

So many of these principles can be carried through into the mainstream and can be used to support children with a range of additional needs – not just autism.

The most important thing is to be curious and open when it comes to helping neurodivergent students, allowing the pupil to express what they want, being led by them and adapting over time. It is important to listen to the voices of the children when setting up and maintaining the environments that can help them to thrive. While the strategies mentioned in this blog won’t overcome every hurdle when it comes to task engagement, they hopefully can contribute towards a framework that minimises the chance of overwhelm or loss of focus. 

Matthew advises his staff to start with the tried and tested strategies mentioned above and then “keep trying alternatives until a collection is found that can best support the individual child.”

In the next blog Matthew will look at some key SEMH strategies.

Matthew is currently Vice Principal at Wales International School. He has been a senior leader in multiple award-winning inclusive international schools across three continents and has a strong background leading in both mainstream and specialist settings.

Matthew’s PhD focused on understanding of inclusion, inclusive leadership, and improving parental engagement with school choice. He has been widely published, and has written about pastoral structures, leadership challenges and supporting marginalised groups in international schools.

He is also a tutor on Real Training’s International Award in SEN Coordination (iSENCO) course that helps education professionals develop effective inclusive leadership skills in international settings.