EDUCATION
Ways to Prepare for Exams
in the New School Year
with Autism
Kirsty MAHER, BA, PGDip, SEN
E
xams can be particularly difficult for children
with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As a
teacher with autism, I completely understand.
Different timetables, different rooms…and
that’s before you even think about worrying
about doing well. So, how can parents help?
1. Preparation
Many children with ASD struggle if they are not in
their routine.
It’s therefore really important to make sure that chil-
dren know when their exams will be and what to ex-
pect. Luckily for parents, the exam dates are usually
available on the school calendar at the start of the
school year. This means you have time to think about
how best to support your child. For some children, a
quick chat with a teacher the week before is all they
need.
However, other children will need several weeks of
preparation with visual timetables and social sto-
ries to help them understand what will happen and
when. They may need to see the exam hall and sit at
a desk and chair so that any sensory difficulties can
be spotted early.
2. Revision/Studying
Does your child know how to revise/study?
We take it for granted, but it is one of those skills that
will need to be explained specifically to children with
autism. Unlike other children, they usually struggle
to generalize skills, and so although they may have
practiced ways to learn things in class, there is no
guarantee they will make the link that the same skills
can be used to revise.
So what is revision? Reading over notes until you re-
member them?
28 | Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 65
While this may be one way, it should not be the only
way used to revise. Children with autism often find it
easier to understand information when it’s present-
ed in different ways, such as pictures alongside text,
and listening to recordings.
So, how can this help your child?
Look at the information your child may have been
given to learn. How it is presented? It is in lines and
lines of text? Does it have any pictures? Is it color-
ful? Is the writing broken up into clear sections?
Your child may find it easier to revise if the informa-
tion is clearly laid out in sections, with pictures and
colors to break the words up. Pictures give children a