My autistic child has trouble focusing on tasks for more than a few minutes at a time.

Question

Children with ASD many times have a very narrow range of interests, such as trains or dinosaurs, and struggle to focus on learning because they are distracted by their thoughts of these items.

Answer 1

Some strategies that I find effective for students with ASD include the first, then method.

First, we will accomplish this, then you can focus on your dinosaurs. It is also important to set timers and allow the learner to be a part of this process. This includes agreeing to the set time, setting the timer, and agreeing to a strategy of what to do when the timer goes off. Building this routine is very important and provides more independence for the learner.

Additionally, it is important to slowly decrease the time to build more and more stamina away from the fixation. There is nothing wrong with having things to enjoy, when it comes to social skills, it is important to build many interests and explore different activities. The strategies I mentioned can help do that! :)

Answer 2

Many children have difficulty focusing, regardless of their age or special needs. Use of strategies such as kinesthetic movement, refocusing of attention and ensuring that tasks are broken into manageable chunks ensures success

Answer 3

It is not unusual for students diagnosed with ASD, ADHD, or other attention-related struggles to have difficulty focusing for more than a minute or two at a time. There are many ways to help these students engage, such as providing frequent, short breaks that involve their interests, Breaks could include drawing, listening to a story, or a short video that they find rewarding. Breaks are provided as a reward for attending to a task for short periods, and gradually as students become more cooperative with tasks, breaks become less frequent. Students come to find the completion of tasks and verbal praise rewarding, and they are well on their way to making good academic progress.