Preparing autistic children for off-site activities

published:July 2008

Debbie Amato uses task analysis: a ‘small steps’ approach to achieving success.

Children at Danecourt School participate in horse riding. In order to make this activity enjoyable and accessible for her class of autistic children, Debbie has broken down the activity into requisite components.

She begins with the children getting used to their riding hats. The hats are available in class and children can earn time to wear them by completing work tasks.

Why this works

This approach uses the principles of task analysis (see below) to address difficulties that autistic children have with adapting to the unfamiliar.  Autistic children can be very sensitive to new sensations and experiences. They can find unfamiliar clothing very frightening. Debbie is helping to remove the children’s anxiety and creating a safe atmosphere for the children to experience the hats.

What is task analysis?

Task analysis simply means breaking down a complex task into its component parts and then teaching each part as a discrete step until they all build into a familiar routine.

Try it for yourself: write a task analysis for brushing your teeth and then ask someone to brush their teeth just following your instructions. Was there anything you left out? What if you got the component tasks in the wrong order? How can this approach help you in your teaching?