Teaching children with autism about memory

Posted by Master Bui Thi Hau - Psychologist - Center of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Therapy at Vinmec Times City International Hospital

How to teach autistic children to know all communication, memory, and interaction skills is always a big question. In addition to teaching autistic children to practice speaking and writing, teaching autistic children about memory is also very important. So to teach autistic children about memory, what do we need to know?

When we teach a child with autism to retell an incident, we want to teach the child the ability to generalize, not to respond in a memorized fashion. To teach children with autism this skill, start with small, easy tasks first, and then teach them to repeat strategically: repeat, visualize.
First, the child will retell directly, after the child has recounted directly, gradually encourage the child to retell in an indirect way. Use positive reinforcements such as rewards, praise, toys, etc. for times your child can recount. Teach autistic children about memory by reconstructing information through a variety of exercises and situations. And children with autism are considered to have completed this content after the child retells a piece of information without prior guidance. Here are a few examples of small, easy exercises to help children with autism do. When we start teaching children with autism about memory. Ask your child to:
Identify a recently seen object Recall/recognize/recreate a random sequence of words, numbers, letters heard or seen, in a forward or backward sequence. Identify the 3rd and 5th objects (in large numbers) when both heard or seen. Determine how often an action occurs? Imitate a sequence of behaviors in a forward or backward sequence. Answer questions about what you have just seen Identify what is lost, what is new, what is different, or what has changed Follows multi-step instructions Follows instructions given from parents in the morning about things to do at school Follow the teacher's instructions in class about completing homework while at home Saying where to sit in class Remember to bring items from home school. Can answer questions about a movie, a conversation, a story or an event Answer questions in a conversation after reading or listening to a certain story. Just like teaching autistic children to talk, you must be persistent in teaching autistic children about memory. You can apply the above content to form small exercises, both enhancing interaction and helping autistic children to remember longer. If teaching autistic children at home does not bring positive results, parents can take their children to medical centers for examination and help from doctors.

Unit of Educational Psychology - Autism, Vinmec Times City International General Hospital is a pioneer in applying scientific and artistic methods to assess and treat children with autism, with high efficiency.
Areas of intervention to educate children with autism at Vinmec:
Pediatric psychiatry Clinical psychology - educational psychology Special education Speech therapy Meditation - yoga therapy Music therapy Fine art therapy Doctors Doctors, therapists and teachers at the Center are trained at prestigious schools: University of Education, University of Social Sciences & Humanities – Hanoi National University, Academy of Educational Management ... and regularly learn to improve skills through short-term and long-term training courses at home and abroad with leading experts from the US, Australia, India, Italy.