Autism Teacher Responsibilities
Autism teacher is a person who teaches the children suffering from autism, which is also commonly known as the autism spectrum disorder. It is a complex developmental disability within a child. AIn this case, the child suffers from normal communication, cognitive ability, social behaviour, motor skills, and sensory integration. Autism can hamper the overall progress of the child in various ways and an autistic child will always require help in performing various tasks. Autism teacher responsibilities include taking care of these children and helping them to live a normal life.
A teacher practicing autism focuses on the academic skills, social skills, and the self-help skills of an autism suffering child. Following is a detailed information of the above mentioned skills that will help you understand the autism teacher responsibilities:
- Academic Skills: A child suffering from autism may often find it difficult to learn things like a normal child. Thus, the autism teachers help these kids to gain knowledge in a different manner.
- Social Skills: The kids suffering from autism are not social and find it difficult to adjust themselves with people they do not know. They also often get arrogant and can injure themselves. The autism teachers play an important role in teaching these kids social skills.
- Self-help Skills: A child suffering from autism faces severe problems like difficuly in eating food, not recognising dangers, unable to clothe themselves, etc. They are then taught by the autism teachers about the self-help skills that help them in living their life independently.
Job Responsibilities
An autism teacher is mainly responsible for teaching the autism suffering students with academic, social, and self-help skills that would help them in living a normal life. Following are some of the major job responsibilities of an autism teacher:
- Instructional planning on assigned students and providing IEP's on each student
- Competency in subject matter by teaching content and skills to assigned students utilizing KCSEC
- Participating in various IEP conferences that include behavioural management plans, functional behavioural analysis, and annual reviews
- Developing strategies and maintaining a classroom environment conductive
- Plan effective teaching methods and deploy a variety of instructional techniques that are in an interest of the students
- Undertake various diagnostic testing that identifies student capabilities and recognise student progress on timely basis
- Maintaining complete and accurate records of the students decided by the law and KCSEC policies
- Keeping timely communication with parents to make them aware about the student's progress and necessary precautions
- Plan different student educational programs that will help them in progressing and learning new things
- Initiating LRE in the student's program and consulting the student with the respective teacher
- Take necessary precautions to protect the students and school equipments, materials, and facilities
- Establishing and maintaining a positive line of communication with the parents concerning behaviour, language, and academics
- Maintaining cooperative relations with other teachers of the staff and work together for upbringing of the students
- Assisting the management for upholding and enforcing the rules and regulations of the school as assigned by the KCSEC administration
- Show commitment and professionalism through attendance, punctuality, and standards with professional responsibilities
Key Skills
Patience is one of the biggest key skills required in an autism teacher. Following are some of the common and most essential skills required in an autism teacher:
- Caring nature while teaching the students with autism
- Good observing skills and learning the behavioural patterns of children with autism
- Good communication skills that help in interacting with the parents
- Addressing the needs and requirements of children with autism with skilful attention
- Expert in developing various plans emphasising autism students
- Maintaining comfortable classroom environment
- Efficient in using visuals to support teaching methodologies
- Knowledge about using transition methods that help the autism students to move from one subject to another
Career
Various career opportunities are available in the field of autism treatment. A person might chose to be a special education teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, and adapted physical trainer. It is one of the best fields for you if you love kids and care for them. To start a career in this field, you must also be patient and affectionate enough to understand the condition of a person suffering from autism.
The above details about the autism teacher responsibilities, key skills, and career will help you to understand various aspects of an autism teacher. You can definitely plan you career in the field of autism student teaching by referring to the above points.
