By Charlotte White

In my experience, students on the autism spectrum display a diverse range of traits in the classroom. While no two students present in the same way, certain patterns emerge that can guide educators in understanding and supporting them effectively. This article outlines some traits and matching strategies to support student success - both academically and socially.  

Traits

Social

  • Literal interpretation of language making it difficult to understand sarcasm or figurative speech (Murray, 2019).
  • Difficulty interpreting body language, including lack of eye contact and understanding of  facial expressions or voice tones (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Behaviours

  • Repetitive body movements, such as flicking or flapping hands, rocking, or other forms of stimming used for self-regulation (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Unusual speech patterns, including echolalia, talking continuously or repeating the same topic (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).
  • Strong preference for routine, with unexpected changes to daily timetables causing distress or confusion (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Sensory

  • Sensitivity to sound, including end-of-class bell, movement noise, and loud alarms during fire drills (CDC, 2025).
  • Visual overstimulation from busy colours, shapes, movements etc. (Murray, 2019).
  • Sensitivity to smell, such as food, perfumes, paints or body odours (CDC, 2025).
  • Discomfort with textures, including clothing, carpets, furniture or surfaces. (CDC, 2025).
  • Affected by certain tastes or smells that influence appetite and food preferences (CDC, 2025).

Executive

  • Difficulties with organising, planning, and task initiation, often overlapping with ADHD traits (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Challenges transitioning between tasks or subjects without support (Qin et al.,)
  • Rigid thinking including difficulty shifting perspectives, adapting to new rules, or following unfamiliar instructions (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).

 

Emotional

  • Intense emotional reactions to situations or behaviours (Murray, 2019).
  • Difficulty expressing or interpreting emotions in themselves and others (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Academic

  • Uneven academic performance, with exceptional ability in some areas and cognitive difficulties in others (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Inconsistent focus, with inattention in some tasks and hyperfocus on topics of personal interest (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).

 

Strategies

Creating a proactive, inclusive and caring environment is key to supporting students on the autism spectrum. The following strategies are aligned with the traits outlined  above and designed to support students both academically and socially.

Social

  • Use social stories ahead of any changes, events, or new environments (Murray, 2019).
  • Role-play emotions using facial expressions and body language, followed by describing the character’s feelings (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).
  • Encourage small group or paired activities to help build peer relationships (Murray, 2019).
  • Allow extra processing time during discussions and when expecting responses (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).

Behaviours

  • Give positive reinforcement for desired behaviours (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).
  • Redirect focus with sensory tools such as fidget toys, weighted cushions, standing desks, vibrating or balance boards (CDC, 2025).
  • Offer choice and flexibility in how tasks are completed (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Integrate topics of interest into tasks and learning activities where possible (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).

Routines

  • Maintain a consistent routine daily/weekly. If changes are necessary, forewarn the students, e.g., upcoming events or different teachers such as CRTs (CDC, 2025).
  • Display a weekly/fortnightly planner in an accessible spot and have a daily planner that students can view each morning. Send home the weekly/fortnightly planners at the beginning of each term (CDC, 2025).
  • Use clocks and timers. Have a visible clock and put a timer on the interactive board so students can see how long is left for a task. Provide a five- or two-minute warning, depending on the needs of the students (Qin et al., 2024).

Sensory

  • Create a calm and quiet space with soft background music to support focus; use a timer to signal quiet time duration (CDC, 2025).
  • Identify scent preferences and avoid strong perfumes; consider using essential oils like lemongrass in a diffuser.  (Murray, 2019).
  • Provide noise-cancelling headphones for use during independent tasks (CDC, 2025).
  • Designate a low-visual stimulation area, such as desks against a plain wall (CDC, 2025).
  • Establish a calm corner with a furry rug, textured cushions and access for all students to promote inclusivity CDC, 2025).

Executive

  • Present tasks in multimodal formats and reword or breakdown instructions into manageable steps (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Be explicit and clear in both teaching and instruction delivery (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).
  • Create checklists to help structure task completion (CDC, 2025).
  • Record changes to routines in student diaries to build independence (CDC, 2025).
  • Use colour-coding with pencils or highlighters to draw attention to key elements in tasks (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Match workbook and folder colours to subjects and reflect these on visual planners (e.g., red for English, blue for Math etc.) (CDC, 2025).
  • Model time management by breaking tasks into segments and using gentle alarms to cue transitions (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).

Emotional

  • Use Kimochis for lower junior years to teach emotional language through storytelling and soft toys (Murray, 2019).
  • Implement Grow Your Mind in upper junior years to connect emotions to brain functions through storytelling and child-led podcast (Murray, 2019).
  • Create a calm corner with books, a world map, anxiety-management strategies, sequined and a fluffy rug (CDC, 2025).
  • Introduce emotional check-ins, such as the 20-spoon system to communicate energy and emotional state (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).
  • Use emotion face charts where students place a post-it-note on the face that reflects their current mood (Qin et al., 2024).

Academic

  • Incorporate student interest into tasks and learning themes (Grzadzinski et al., 2021).
  • Offer varied modes of presentation for students to demonstrate understanding (Qin et al., 2024).
  • Display visual supports like analogue/digital clocks, sound-letter posters, sentence starters, writing prompts, and math strategies (CDC, 2025).

 

Above all, creating a warm, caring environment where students feel safe and valued is fundamental. No resource or strategy can replace a strong sense of belonging. Taking the time to build relationships and understand individual needs, allows educators to tailor their support effectively. Open communication with parents, guardians, specialists, and support staff is essential, as is consistency in the personnel working with students, such as teacher aides. With proactive, flexible approaches and inclusive practises, we can help every student on the autism spectrum reach their potential. For further information, organisations such as Positive Partnerships offer excellent learning modules on autism spectrum disorder, which can count towards the 20 hours of professional development required by VIT (Positive Partnerships | Homepage).

 

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Treatment and intervention for autism spectrum disorder. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/autism/treatment/index.html

Grzadzinski, R., Amso, D., Landa, R., Watson, L., Guralnick, M., Zwaigenbaum, L., & Piven, J. (2021). Pre-symptomatic intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD): Defining a research agenda. Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, 13(1), 49. https://doi.org/10.1186/s11689-021-09377-w