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Curriculum Development Notes
1. Functional Reading & Literacy
Functional Math
i. Money Management: Use real or play coins and bills to practice identifying
currency and making exact change.
ii. Time Management: Utilize an analog clock with color-coded quarters (e.g.,
green for the first 15 minutes, yellow for the next) to help students visualize the
passage of time.
iii. Measurement & Cooking: Implement adapted measuring cups and spoons to
practice simple recipes, combining math with daily living skills.
2. Functional Writing & Communication
i. Sight Words: Recognizing critical safety and survival words (e.g., Stop, Danger,
Exit, Poison, Wet Floor, Men/Women).
ii. Community Signs: Identifying public symbols (e.g., crosswalks, restrooms,
handicapped accessible, no smoking).
iii. Everyday Materials: Reading menus, bus schedules, price tags, food labels, and
basic instructions
iv. Personal Info: Writing one's full name, address, phone number, and birth-date.
v. Practical Writing: Creating grocery lists, filling out simple forms (like a job
application), and writing brief notes or emails
vi. Digital Communication: Utilizing smartphones, tablets, or computers to make
calls, send texts, or access information.
3. Functional Science & Social Studies
i. Health & Safety: Basic first aid, understanding nutrition, and managing personal
hygiene.
ii. Community Navigation: Knowing how to cross the street safely, using public
transportation, and identifying key community locations (e.g., hospital, post
office, grocery store)
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Social Skills for Children with ASD
Social skills are the abilities that help children interact effectively with others,
understand social situations, communicate their needs, and build relationships.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder often experience difficulties in social
communication and interaction, making social skills training an important component
of intervention.
i. Eye Contact: Many children with ASD find it difficult to maintain appropriate
eye contact during conversations. Teaching them to look at the speaker's face for
brief periods can improve communication and social engagement.
ii. Greeting Others: Children should learn basic greetings such as saying "Hello,"
"Good Morning," and "Goodbye." Practicing greetings helps initiate social
interactions and promotes positive relationships.
iii. Taking Turns: Turn-taking is essential in conversations, games, and classroom
activities. Children with ASD can be taught to wait for their turn and allow others
to participate.
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iv. Listening Skills: Active listening involves paying attention when others speak,
following instructions, and responding appropriately. Visual cues and
reinforcement can help improve listening skills.
v. Initiating Conversations: Many children with ASD struggle to start
conversations. Teaching simple conversation starters and role-playing social
situations can help them engage with peers.
vi. Maintaining Conversations: Children should learn how to stay on topic, ask
questions, and respond appropriately during conversations. Structured practice
can improve conversational abilities.
vii. Understanding Emotions: Recognizing and interpreting facial expressions, body
language, and emotions in others is often challenging for children with ASD.
Activities involving pictures, stories, and role-play can enhance emotional
understanding.
viii. Sharing and Cooperation: Learning to share toys, materials, and experiences
with others promotes teamwork and positive peer relationships.
ix. Making Friends: Children with ASD can benefit from explicit instruction on
how to approach peers, join group activities, and maintain friendships.
x. Understanding Personal Space: Teaching appropriate physical distance and
respecting others' boundaries helps children interact comfortably in social settings.
Strategies for Teaching Social Skills
i. Social Stories: Short stories that describe social situations and appropriate
behaviors help children understand expectations.
ii. Modeling: Parents, teachers, and therapists demonstrate desired social behaviors
for children to imitate.
iii. Role-Playing: Children practice social interactions in a safe and supportive
environment.
iv. Video Modeling: Watching videos of appropriate social interactions can improve
learning and retention.
v. Positive Reinforcement: Praise, rewards, and encouragement motivate children
to use newly learned social skills.
vi. Peer-Mediated Interventions: Typically developing peers can model and
encourage appropriate social interactions.
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1. Pre-Writing Skills
Pre-writing skills are the foundational abilities that prepare a child for writing. For
children with ASD, these skills include hand strength, finger coordination, visual-
motor integration, attention, posture control, and the ability to hold a pencil correctly.
Developing pre-writing skills helps children gain the control and confidence needed
for later writing tasks. Activities such as playing with clay, threading beads, sorting
objects, and drawing simple shapes can strengthen these abilities.
Example: A child is asked to roll play-dough into small balls and lines using their
fingers. This activity improves hand strength and fine motor coordination, which are
essential for writing.
i. Scribbling
Scribbling is the earliest stage of writing development in which a child makes random
marks, lines, and shapes on paper. Although these marks may not have meaning to
others, scribbling helps children explore writing tools, develop hand-eye coordination,
and learn that marks can represent ideas. For children with ASD, scribbling can also
provide sensory feedback and encourage creative expression.
Example: A child uses crayons to make random circular and zigzag marks on a sheet
of paper. This activity helps the child become familiar with holding and moving a
writing tool.
ii. Controlled Strokes
Controlled strokes refer to the ability to draw purposeful lines and patterns, such as
vertical lines, horizontal lines, circles, and curves. These strokes form the basic
components of letters and numbers. Children with ASD often need structured practice
to gain better control over their hand movements and improve pencil grip and
coordination.
Example: A child is asked to draw five straight vertical lines between two marked
points on a worksheet. This helps develop precision and control necessary for letter
formation.
iii. Dot Joining
Dot joining is an activity in which a child connects a sequence of dots to form a line,
shape, picture, or letter. This task improves visual tracking, attention, hand-eye
coordination, and pencil control. For children with ASD, dot-joining activities provide
clear visual guidance and help reduce anxiety associated with freehand drawing.
Example: A worksheet contains dots arranged in the shape of a square. The child
joins the dots one by one to complete the square.
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iv. Tracing
Tracing involves following pre-drawn lines, shapes, letters, or numbers with a pencil
or marker. It helps children learn the correct movement patterns needed for writing
while improving motor control and visual-motor integration. Tracing provides
structured support, making it especially useful for children with ASD who benefit
from clear visual cues.
Example: A child traces over a large dotted letter “A” with a pencil, learning its
shape and proper formation.
v. Copying
Copying is the ability to reproduce letters, numbers, words, shapes, or drawings by
looking at a model. This skill requires visual perception, memory, attention, and fine
motor control. For children with ASD, copying activities help bridge the gap between
guided writing and independent writing.
Example: A teacher draws a circle on the board, and the child looks at it and draws
the same circle on their paper without tracing. This develops observation skills and
independent writing readiness.
vi. Independent Writing
Independent writing refers to a child's ability to write letters, words, sentences, or
simple ideas without tracing, copying, or direct assistance from a teacher or caregiver.
For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, independent writing develops
gradually after mastering pre-writing skills such as tracing and copying. This skill
promotes self-expression, communication, and academic independence. Example: A
child is asked to write his name "Ali" on a worksheet and successfully writes it
without looking at a model or receiving help.
2. Gurgling
Gurgling is one of the earliest vocalizations produced by infants, characterized by soft
throat sounds made when air passes through saliva in the mouth and throat. It usually
occurs during the first few months of life and reflects the development of the vocal
tract. Although children with ASD may show differences in language development
later, gurgling is an important precursor to speech. Example: A baby lying in a crib
makes sounds such as "grrr," "aghh," or bubbling throat noises while looking at a
parent.
3. Cooing
Cooing is an early stage of language development in which infants produce pleasant
vowel-like sounds, often in response to social interaction. It usually emerges between
2 and 4 months of age and indicates growing control over vocal muscles. Encouraging
cooing through interaction helps build communication skills. Example: When a
mother smiles at her baby, the baby responds with sounds such as "ooo," "aaa," or
"eee."
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4. Babbling
Babbling is the stage in which infants begin to combine consonant and vowel sounds
repeatedly. It typically develops around 6 months of age and serves as a bridge
between simple vocalizations and meaningful speech. Children with ASD may
sometimes show delayed or atypical babbling patterns. Example: A baby repeatedly
says "ba-ba-ba," "da-da-da," or "ma-ma-ma" while playing with toys.
5. Syllables
A syllable is a basic unit of speech consisting of a vowel sound alone or a vowel
combined with one or more consonants. Learning syllables helps children develop
pronunciation, vocabulary, and reading skills. For children with ASD, practicing
syllables can strengthen speech production and communication abilities. Example:
The words "cat," "go," and "me" each contain one syllable, while "mother" contains
two syllables (mo-ther).
6. Combination of Syllables
The combination of syllables refers to the ability to join two or more syllables
together to form words or longer vocal patterns. This stage demonstrates increasing
language development and prepares children for meaningful speech. Speech therapists
often use syllable-combination exercises to improve expressive language in children
with ASD. Example: A child combines the syllables "ba" and "by" to say "baby," or
combines "ta" and "ble" to say "table."
i. First Words
First words are the earliest meaningful words spoken by a child to represent people,
objects, actions, or needs. This stage marks the beginning of expressive language.
Children with ASD may achieve this milestone at different ages depending on their
developmental profile. Example: A child says "Mama" when calling his mother or
says "ball" when pointing to a ball.
ii. Two-Word Combinations
Two-word combinations occur when a child joins two meaningful words to express a
simple idea. This stage reflects growing understanding of language and sentence
structure. Example: A child says "want juice," "big ball," or "mama come" to
communicate a need or observation.
iii. Simple Sentences
Simple sentences consist of three or more words arranged to express a complete
thought. Developing simple sentences helps children communicate more effectively in
daily situations. Children with ASD often benefit from visual supports and modeling
when learning sentence formation. Example: A child says, "I want water," or "The
ball is red."
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iv. Functional Communication
Functional communication refers to the use of speech, gestures, signs, pictures, or
communication devices to express needs, wants, feelings, and ideas effectively in
everyday life. The primary goal of communication intervention for children with ASD
is to develop functional communication skills. Example: A child says, "I need help,"
points to a desired toy, or uses a picture card to request a snack instead of crying or
displaying challenging behavior.