How does it help?

By having positive and respectful interactions with every student, you will be in a better position to cultivate meaningful relationships and build classroom environments that are:

• well-regulated
• socially positive 
• inclusive. 

Meaningful teacher-student relationships: 

• are mutually respectful 
• are supportive
• positively influence student engagement and achievement 
• promote social and emotional development.

Interactions can be verbal, non-verbal, or both.

Reflect on: 

• your relationship 
• the quality of interactions with each of your students.

Observe the student and chat with family members and colleagues so you can prepare a list of topics that students will be more motivated to engage with.

Choose interactions which will help support and build positive learning experiences, play, and peer-relationships.

Plan your communication

A direct questioning style, especially one that involves so-called 'closed questions' that are obvious and require only one-word answers, may prove counterproductive to your attempts to interact with students. Even teachers with genuine intentions to share students’ interests might use conventional questions that students offer minimal or even no response to.

Direct questions

Direct questioning can be confronting, difficult to process, or even meaningless to a student on the autism spectrum. 

“How are you today?” Sam’s answer “Good.”
“What are you building with the Lego?” Sam’s answer: “Robot.” 
“You like that book about trains, don’t you?” Sam’s answer: “Yes.”

Statements

A more open, lateral and complimentary statement-based style may motivate students and elicit more sustained responses.

“Hi Sam, it’s good to see you! We’ve got some interesting things happening today.” 
“Wow, this robot is amazing! I wonder how it moves.”  
“I like trains too – I think my favourite is the Japanese bullet train.”

It works better if: 

• there are frequent one-to-one interactions which include supporting play and peer interactions
• you take student’s unique abilities, interests, and needs into account when identifying and engaging in interactions
• the student signals (possibly non-verbally) that he/she is ready to engage in an interaction.

It doesn’t work if:

• you insist on engaging with a student who shows (verbally or non-verbally) that he/she is not interested in interacting or that the interaction is finished
• communication is based on a closed-questioning style
• you engage in an interaction while angry or frustrated.