home › Horoscopes › Accompanying an autistic child in a preschool. Lyutova E.K., Monina G.B.

Accompanying an autistic child in a preschool. Lyutova E.K., Monina G.B.

Parents of autistic children often turn to specialists for help only after deviations in the child’s development and behavior become obvious to everyone. And sometimes more than one year passes before a final diagnosis is made. Hearing a terrible and unfamiliar conclusion, many mothers and fathers become confused. Having turned to reference books for clarification, they completely despair, since they not only find nothing comforting for themselves, but also answers to the most current issues. In some publications, autism is almost equated with the giftedness of a child, in others - with schizophrenia. In addition, in some articles you can find the opinion that autistic children usually appear in families where mom and dad are people with developed intellect having high social status. And although this point of view has long been rejected by specialists, parents, having accidentally come across such an interpretation of the causes of autism in the literature, long years feel guilty before the child and before society.

And most importantly, upon hearing the diagnosis, many mothers and fathers feel powerless and defenseless, because they do not know how to help the child. Therefore, when working with parents of this category of children, it is necessary to acquaint them with the developmental features of autistic children in general and their child in particular. Having understood how their child specifically differs from others, having seen his “strengths” and “weaknesses,” mothers and fathers, together with a psychologist and teacher, can determine the level of requirements for him, choose the main directions and forms of work.

Parents must understand how difficult it is for their child to live in this world, learn to patiently observe him, noticing and interpreting out loud his every word and every gesture. This will help expand inner world little man and will encourage him to express his thoughts, feelings and emotions in words. In addition, parents must understand that their child is very vulnerable. Any word casually spoken by adults can cause an “emotional storm.” This is why parents must be very careful and sensitive when communicating with their child.

Outwardly, an autistic child often does not even react to the people around him, behaves as if he is alone or, in as a last resort, is “near” children or adults, but not with them. Such a child does not allow anyone into his inner world. Sometimes only by a random phrase, instant movement or sound can one guess about his experiences, desires and fears. And of course, a teacher or educator, even the kindest and most sensitive one, does not always have the opportunity to conduct constant, targeted monitoring of the child. That is why, in order to better understand the child and provide him with all possible assistance in adapting to children's team, the teacher needs to work closely with parents.

Install emotional contact Family reading can help with your child and instill in him social behavior skills. It is best to read with your child in your arms ( tactile sensation will help strengthen parent-child contacts). Moreover, a slow, gradual, thorough, emotionally rich development is desirable. artistic images literary heroes. It is better to read and discuss the book more than once. This will help the child learn to better understand himself and others, and the newly formed communication stereotypes will reduce anxiety and increase his self-confidence.

If the child is very small, you need to pick him up as often as possible, hold him close, stroke him (even if he resists this at first) and speak kind words to him.

To strengthen contacts between teachers and parents, to provide more effective assistance for a child, it is advisable for his relatives to attend the group as often as possible kindergarten or the class the child attends. Since for autistic child The fear of changing the situation, being separated from loved ones is typical; it is advisable that at the beginning of school the mother (or father, grandmother, grandfather) was next to the child during breaks, and in some cases during class.

Parents can use individual games recommended for teachers to work with their children.

Working with autistic children, teachers and parents can work together to develop their imagination, teach effective ways communication with peers, and therefore adapt the child to the conditions of the surrounding world.

In our country everything more families faces the problem of autism. According to statistics, every hundredth child has autism spectrum disorders. Parents turn to specialists for help when problems in the child’s development and behavior are obvious. This is around 3-4 years. At this age, typically developing peers are already making friends, are very curious, and speech is presented in the form of logical sentences. Having contacted a specialist, you will still have to wait for a long time, about a year, for a diagnosis. Many families will consider the diagnosis of “autism” a death sentence, because autistic children, according to statistics, most often appear in normal, prosperous families. And the reasons for this are still unclear.

If you are reading this article, the problem of autism probably exists in your family. Perhaps you have scoured the Internet in search of comforting information. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist. You are trying to look for help for your outlander, wanting to make him a full-fledged participant in society and give him a path to a bright future. Yes! It is you and only you who are the main assistants in this matter. After all, who else but you spends 24 hours a day with him. It is important for you to accept your child as he is, to understand how he looks at this world, how difficult it is for him to interact with other people.

Designed for parents working with autistic children special methods and games (). A psychologist-educator with experience with “special” children should be included in the work. Such specialists will help you choose the right tools for interaction in everyday life, while walking, or on vacation.

Experts advise using family reading. This will help instill in the child the skills of social behavior and establish emotional contact with him. Tactile sensations help strengthen parent-child contact. Therefore, it is better to read with the baby on your lap. Moreover, a slow, step-by-step, thorough, emotionally rich development of artistic images of literary heroes is desirable. It is better to read and discuss the book more than once. This will help the child learn to better understand himself and others, and the newly formed communication stereotypes will reduce anxiety and increase his self-confidence. If the child is very small, you need to pick him up as often as possible, hold him close, stroke him (even if he resists this at first) and speak kind words to him.

Over the years of practice, experts have developed rules for the behavior of parents with children with autism. The so-called cheat sheet, the points of which must be followed constantly and without fail.

Cheat sheet for adults, or Rules for working with autistic children

Accept the child as he is.
Based on the interests of the child.
Strictly adhere to a certain routine and rhythm of the child’s life.
Observe daily rituals(they ensure the safety of the child).
Learn to catch the slightest verbal and nonverbal cues child, indicating his discomfort.
Be present more often in the group or class where the child is studying.
Talk to your child as often as possible.
Provide comfortable environment for communication and learning.
Patiently explain to the child the meaning of his activity, using clear visual information (diagrams, maps, etc.).
Avoid overtiring your child.

Remember: the recovery of your “special child” directly depends on the determination, courage, perseverance and patience of their parents.

Parents of autistic children often turn to specialists for help only after deviations in the child’s development and behavior become obvious to everyone. And sometimes more than one year passes before a final diagnosis is made. Hearing a terrible and unfamiliar conclusion, many mothers and fathers become confused. Having turned to reference books for clarification, they completely despair, since they not only find nothing comforting for themselves, but also answers to the most pressing questions. In some publications, autism is almost equated with the giftedness of a child, in others - with schizophrenia. In addition, in some articles you can find the opinion that autistic children usually appear in families where mom and dad are people with developed intelligence and a high social status. And although this point of view has long been rejected by experts, parents, having accidentally come across such an interpretation of the causes of autism in the literature, for many years feel a sense of guilt before the child and before society.

Parents must understand how difficult it is for their child to live in this world, learn to patiently observe him, noticing and interpreting out loud his every word and every gesture. This will help expand the little person’s inner world and encourage him to express his thoughts, feelings and emotions in words. In addition, parents must understand that their child is very vulnerable. Any word casually spoken by adults can cause an “emotional storm.” This is why parents must be very careful and sensitive when communicating with their child.

Outwardly, an autistic child often does not even react to the people around him, he behaves as if he is alone or, in extreme cases, is “near” children or adults, but not with them. Such a child does not allow anyone into his inner world. Sometimes only by a random phrase, instant movement or sound can one guess about his experiences, desires and fears. And of course, a teacher or educator, even the kindest and most sensitive one, does not always have the opportunity to conduct constant, targeted monitoring of the child. That is why, in order to better understand the child and provide him with all possible assistance in adapting to the children's team, the teacher needs to work in close cooperation with parents.

Family reading can help establish emotional contact with a child and instill in him social behavior skills. It is best to read with the child in your arms (tactile sensations will help strengthen parent-child contacts). Moreover, a slow, step-by-step, thorough, emotionally rich development of artistic images of literary heroes is desirable. It is better to read and discuss the book more than once. This will help the child learn to better understand himself and others, and the newly formed communication stereotypes will reduce anxiety and increase his self-confidence.

If the child is very small, you need to pick him up as often as possible, hold him close, stroke him (even if he resists this at first) and speak kind words to him.

To strengthen contacts between teachers and parents, to provide more effective assistance to the child, it is advisable that his relatives visit the kindergarten group or class the child attends as often as possible. Since a fear of changing the environment and being separated from loved ones is typical for an autistic child, it is advisable that at the beginning of school the mother (or father, grandmother, grandfather) should be with the child during breaks, and in some cases during class.

Parents can use individual games recommended for teachers to work with their children.

Working with autistic children, teachers and parents can jointly develop their imagination, teach them effective ways to communicate with peers, and therefore adapt the child to the conditions of the world around them.

Cheat sheet for adults or rules for working with autistic children

1. Accept the child as he is.

2. Based on the interests of the child.

3. Strictly adhere to a certain regime and rhythm of the child’s life.

4. Observe daily rituals (they ensure the safety of the child).

5. Learn to pick up the slightest verbal and non-verbal signals of the child, indicating his discomfort.

6. Be present more often in the group or class where the child is studying.

7. Talk to your child as often as possible.

8. Provide a comfortable environment for communication and learning.

Patiently explain to the child the meaning of his activity, using clear visual information (diagrams, maps, etc.)

Avoid overtiring your child.

How to play with autistic children

When working with autistic children, one must keep in mind that correctional work will be long lasting. Most likely, in the first stages of interaction, an autistic child will refuse contact with you at all, and even more so will not want to engage in group, and perhaps even individual play.

Making a list of games for correctional classes With an autistic child, you should also remember that he will only play with you those that are to the greatest extent coincide with his interests. Therefore, when going to class, you should be prepared to flexible changes in your plans and have a few games in stock that may suit your student’s taste.

The description of each game begins with a statement of the goals of its implementation. We hope this will help you when selecting games and taking into account the interests of a particular child.

The most difficult games for autistic children are group games, which involve their inclusion in interaction with peers. You will use these games, of course, after the individual preparatory work and, of course, if the child himself wishes.

The individual games offered to you in this book are the result of more than 20 years of work by psychologist and defectologist G.D. Cherepanova (we wrote about her above).

Each of these games can serve as the beginning of correctional work.

Outdoor games

“Mittens” (Kryazheva N.L., 1997)

Goal: inclusion of autistic children in group work. To play, you need mittens cut out of paper; the number of pairs is equal to the number of pairs of participants in the game. The presenter scatters mittens with the same pattern, but not painted, around the room. The children scatter around the hall. They look for their “pair”, go to a corner and use three pencils different color They try to paint exactly the same mittens as quickly as possible.

Children immediately see and understand the expediency of their actions (they are looking for a mate). The teacher observes how they organize working together couples, how they share pencils, how they negotiate. It is recommended to play the game in two stages. At the first stage, children are just looking for a pair of mittens. Having lost In a similar way Several times you can move on to the second stage: having found a pair, the participants in the game paint the paired mittens.

“Chips on the River” (Fopel K. 1998)

Goal: create a calm, trusting atmosphere. Participants stand in two long rows, one opposite the other. The distance between rows should be greater arm's length. It's all together - the water of one river.

Chips will now float down the river. The first child, the first Sliver, begins to move. He himself will decide how he will move. For example, he will close his eyes and swim straight. And Water will smoothly help Sliver with her hands to find her way. Perhaps the sliver will not float straight, but will spin. Water should also help this sliver find its way. Maybe Sliver, leaving his eyes open, will move chaotically or in circles. Water should help her too. When Sliver reaches the end of the River, she stands next to last child and waits until the next one arrives, which stands opposite the first one. Thus they make up the River and gradually lengthen it. Yes, slowly. The River will wander around the classroom until all the children are floating along the River, pretending to be Slivers.

Children themselves can decide how they, as “Slivers,” will “move on the Water”: slowly or quickly. Children who will be Water must practice stopping and directing a variety of Slivers. An autistic child does not need to be a Sliver.

“Tiger Hunt” (Karpova T.B., Lyutova E.K., 1999).

Goal: to teach children to plan their actions in time.

A group of participants stands in a circle. The leader goes out of the circle, stands with his back to the group and begins to count loudly to 10. At this time, the participants pass each other a small toy tiger. After the end of the count, the one who has the tiger, stretching his arms forward, covers the tiger with his palms. The rest of the participants do the same. The driver's task is to find the tiger.

As a rule, it is difficult for autistic children to immediately join the game, so it is first necessary to give them the opportunity to observe the progress of the game from the side.

“Show your nose” (Vasilieva E.A.)

Goal: to help children feel and understand their body.

One two three four five,

We start to play.

You look, don't yawn

And repeat everything after me,

What can I tell you now

And at the same time I will show you.

The teacher, naming parts of his body, shows them on himself and puts his hand on them. Children repeat the movements after him, showing the named body parts on themselves. Then the teacher begins to “confuse” the children: name one part of the body and show another. Children should notice this and not repeat the wrong movements.

"Who am I?" (Cherepanova G.D.)

Goal: development of the child’s ideas and imagination Contents: An adult takes turns putting on the attributes of representatives various professions(doctor, artist, conductor, trainer, policeman, etc.) The child must guess who it was.

“Imaginations” (G.D. Cherepanova)

Goal: to teach children to recognize different emotions. An adult asks a child to come up with short story, focusing on the pictures. He says:

Rice. 9. Visual material for the game “Imagine”

“Show it in different ways” (G.D. Cherepanova)

Goal: to teach children to recognize and show various sensations and actions, to familiarize them with antonym words.

Stage 1 of the game: Adult says:

Here I am entering the high gate (and accompanies his words with a show), but here I am entering the gate... (the adult bends down) Which one? The child must name the antonym for the word “tall.”

I'm carrying a light package (shows), and now I'm carrying (shows)... What package?

I’m crossing a wide river (shows), but I’m jumping over a stream (shows)... Which one?

I'm walking slowly, but here I am... How?

I'm walking, I'm hot. But then the wind blew, and I...

I'm watching a sad show. And now I look...

Stage 2 of the game: All actions are performed by the child, and the adult comments or sets the rules of the game, for example. “If I say that the gate is high, then you walk as usual, and if I say that the gate is low, then you duck,” etc.

“Sunny Bunny” (Cherepanova G.D.)

Goal: development of attention and ability to navigate in space.

“The Sunny Bunny came to visit us. Find where it is. (The teacher turns on the flashlight and shines it on the wall). And now the bunny will move. Remember how he moved and draw his path.” The child follows the gaze

the house follows the movement of the light spot, and then sketches the trajectory of the bunny’s path on paper (Fig. 10). Instead of a flashlight, you can use a laser pointer, and on a sunny day, a mirror.

Games at desks

Since autistic children are sensitive to changes in environment, all individual games listed above are recommended to be played at their desks. In addition, autistic children (provided they have already been contacted) will benefit from the breathing and relaxation exercises described in the section “How to Play with Anxious Children.”

CHAPTER 5 OUR CHILDREN DRAW

When working with children, we often use clever methods and techniques to interact with them. Day after day, observing the behavior of children, we learn to understand them and help them.

We can obtain valuable information about the child’s inner world, about his feelings and experiences, not only by observing, but also by studying the products of children’s creativity. And since almost all children love to draw, drawings are one of the most accessible ways to “get to know” a child.

Currently, many publications have appeared on the shelves of bookstores, the authors of which describe how to interpret psychological techniques, and in particular, children's drawings. Now every mother, having read one of these books, knows why her Mashenka drew such a big nose for her neighbor Sashka, and why Fedya draws everything only with black paint.

Of course, such information is necessary to increase the level of professional competence of teachers and the psychological literacy of parents. But psychologists working in educational institutions often encounter “distortions” in this direction.

Nina Vasilievna is an engineer, has nothing to do with psychology and pedagogy. Her son Vitya studies in that class. “I have a very aggressive child! And we have great difficulties in our relationship,” this was the “diagnosis” made by my mother herself. And the reason for this was the conversation between class teacher Vitya and Nina Vasilievna. One day, the teacher decided to conduct drawing tests “Family” and “Tree” in the class. Having discovered that in Vita’s drawing the tree is depicted with a large brown trunk and almost no leaves, and the mother is in a black dress, she “sounded the alarm” and called the parents to school to “protect the child” and “protect from negative, destructive (these are the words teacher) influence of relatives.” And, being “psychologically savvy,” she at the same time helped her mother make a “diagnosis” for Vita.

The mother, who had previously been sure that her son loved and understood her, came home and began to demand an explanation of why Vitya “has a negative attitude towards her,” “is aggressive towards her peers and rejects contact with them” (the teacher’s verbatim expressions).

Vitya began to deny everything and, according to his mother, to “aggressively deny it.”

As a result, a conflict arose. Between mother and son. Between Vitya and the teacher. Between teacher and mother. The conflict resolution procedure was quite long and painful for all its participants.

The above example is taken from real practice and, unfortunately, is no exception. More and more adults are trying, by interpreting individual details of the drawings, to explain for themselves (and not only for themselves) the reasons for this or that child’s behavior.

To ensure that there are fewer such “explanations” and that they do not cause harm to either adults or children, it is necessary to increase the level of psychological competence of teachers and parents. First of all, you should remember: under no circumstances should you draw any conclusions from one drawing. And, even more so, for one, individual detail of the drawing. You cannot go to extremes when explaining these details. For example, the tree trunk drawn by Vitya is actually brown in real life. And it would be strange if an 11-year-old child drew it red or green. And the small number of leaves on the tree can only mean that Vitya was in a hurry to go home or to training. Or maybe he was just tired from the five lessons he had at school that day (“testing” took place in the 6th lesson). As for the black dress, it turns out that it is the only dress in the wardrobe of his mother, who prefers to wear trousers, while her son likes a more feminine style.

So, this example once again illustrates the idea that when interpreting children's drawings you need to be especially careful and delicate. If an adult wants to get additional information about a child by analyzing a drawing, then it is better not to conduct a faceless group examination, but, left alone with him, ask the child to draw what he wants. It is advisable to write down all the comments that the child makes while drawing, and then talk to him and discuss what he has drawn. Of course, one picture is not enough to draw any conclusions. But if, time after time, details are repeated in a child’s drawings that alarm an adult, you need to collect his works and show them to a specialist. Then you can talk softly with the child himself, and only after that contact the parents, but not with accusations, but with a tactfully expressed request to see a psychologist.

In our book we present just some of the features of the drawings of aggressive, hyperactive, anxious and autistic children. If such children are identified in a kindergarten group or class, drawings can become an additional source of information for teachers, but in no case an independent key for making a diagnosis.

The sections “Drawings of hyperactive children” and “Drawings of autistic children” contain works by preschoolers and schoolchildren whose medical records contain just such a diagnosis.

Aggressive and anxious children, whose drawings are used in the book, belong to these categories based on the results of repeated diagnostics.

However, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that such a division of drawings into categories is quite arbitrary. After all, for example, both hyperactive and autistic children are often aggressive. And aggressive guys can show anxiety and suspicion. Therefore, we ask you not to take this division literally and not to evaluate individual details of the drawings unambiguously.

Drawings of hyperactive children

Impulsivity, the inability to do one thing for a long time, to control one’s behavior and movements, characteristic of hyperactive children, are, of course, reflected in their works. Drawings are rarely symmetrical: if a tree is depicted on paper, then the trunk may be curved, the branches are “spreading,” and the leaves are not clearly drawn, depicted “symbolically.” If people are depicted, then these are “dancing men”. They are never static. Even if the child does not yet understand how to draw a figure in motion, this very movement is visible in every detail of the drawing. People and animals in the drawings never stand still in a motionless pose, they seem to be waving their arms, (paws, tails), jumping, turning their heads.

Try drawing a vertical line along the body of a man drawn by a hyperactive child. This line is unlikely to be perpendicular to the line of the ground on which the depicted character is standing, not to mention the fact that it is impossible to simply draw a straight line.

We included Pavlik's drawing in the book. He is 11 years old and studies in the 6th grade. Knowing that he never manages to draw a symmetrical drawing, he always begins his work by drawing a long vertical line, which should become the “skeleton” of the entire work. However, even this “trick” hardly helps him. All the same, the arms turn out to be of different lengths and thicknesses, and the legs seem to “run” in different directions. Moreover, Pavlik, starting to draw, every time assures that this line should only help him, and then, of course, he will definitely erase it. But due to

Due to his impulsiveness and inability to complete numerous projects, Pavlik usually “forgets” about his intentions and rushes like a hurricane to new adventures.

If a hyperactive child wants to color his drawing, then most likely it will be done extremely carelessly: the shading either will not reach the outline or will go beyond the edge of the image. The pressure is usually uneven, and the details of the design are large and sweeping.

Pavlik, 11 years old:

“Should I draw a person or myself? Or maybe it’s better to tell you a poem? And you know, at our school once during a literature lesson...” (The drawing was left unfinished).

Dima, 10 years old:

"My house. Street. And here is such a car. And here... And here...”

Rlesha, 7 years old:

“Do you want me to draw not a battlefield, but an airplane? Okay, here we go. We went to visit and were late because dad didn’t want to go. Can I also draw Aunt Anya? OK. After".

Drawings of aggressive children

The drawings of aggressive children have a large number of sharp corners. They often depict sharp teeth, sharp thorns, fangs, claws, etc.

Children who are used to getting their way in life with their fists often draw large, blackened, shaded hands. By the way, the shading of the hands may indicate muscle tension in this area. Those guys who like to call names and shout at others are used to getting into numerous arguments with others, as a rule, they draw a large open mouth with huge, sharp teeth.

Typically, aggressive children prefer either dark colors (black, brown, etc.) or very bright ones (red, green).

The “heroes” of aggressive children’s drawings are most often people of action. They fight, scream, catch up with someone, order in a menacing tone, swear, fight.

Lisa, 6 years old:

“My dad went to the tax police”

Alyosha, 6 years old:

"It's me. The main thing is a big head and a big mouth. I say: Grandma, quickly buy me a car!”

Zhora, 6 years old:

"It's me. The bandits wanted to beat me, but I’ll give them whatever it takes! And again, and again. I go to karate. Just let them climb some more.”

Drawings of anxious children

The drawings of anxious children, as a rule, have many blackened “spots” or, on the contrary, are too “transparent” and almost invisible. People depicted as an anxious child often have large, dark (shaded) eyes. The proverb “fear has big eyes” accurately reflects the nature of the drawings of children in this category.

Anxious children who have low self-esteem depict themselves as small, almost invisible, usually at the bottom of the paper.

When creating their “masterpieces,” they love to use an eraser, trace and correct the lines they have just drawn - their uncertainty in everything and the fear of doing something wrong also manifests itself in artistic creativity. People's postures, as a rule, are static and of the same type: everyone is frozen, everyone is waiting, everyone seems to be listening and looking closely, are there any signals of impending danger?

Pasha, 6 years old:

“What is it like to draw a family? Mom? Do you need dad? Here. Right? And Pasha is in the other room. Fine?"

Igor, 7 years old:

"It's me. I was walking to school and got lost. Because he went in the wrong direction. And mom is at work.”

Olya, 5 years old:

"Family. This is me and mommy walking.”

Drawings of autistic children

Autistic children draw in their own way: thoughtfully, slowly, sometimes it’s a whole ritual for them. For example, the trees in their drawings usually have a thick trunk that occupies a large area on the leaf; branches extend from the trunk, usually similar to wide rectangular boards from a fence. There are very few leaves on the branches.

Sometimes children are so carried away by the drawing process that it would seem that, having already finished their drawing, they manage to shade the entire image in the most accurate way.

The themes of works by autistic children are usually very monotonous. Children can depict the same plot, the same characters performing the same actions, day after day, month after month, even year after year. (However, we must not forget that such “constancy of artistic taste” is also characteristic of anxious children who are afraid of failure, and those children who simply cannot draw or have problems with fine motor skills). “I draw as I was taught. I do what I can. What I do is what I like,” you can read “between the lines” of such drawings

Sasha, 8 years old. (Drawing “Tree”)

Seryozha, 7 years old:

"It's me".

Seryozha, 6 years old. (Drawing “My Family”)

SUPPORTING AN AUTISTIC CHILD IN A PRESCHOOL INSTITUTION.

God give me the strength to change what I am

I can change it.

Give me patience to accept it

what cannot be changed.

And wisdom to distinguish the first from the second...

Every parent wants their child to be healthy and smart and like other people. “Like everyone else,” he began to walk. “Like everyone else,” he began to speak. “Like everyone else,” he was understandable and obedient. What if the child is not “like everyone else”? Does this mean that he is not worthy of Love? If it develops according to its own law - the “law of the minority” - is this a reason for deep sadness?!

The main thing is to believe in your child and accept him for who he is. And help him develop with all his might.

Each of us needs to gain, first of all, patience and acceptance of our “special” child.

There are two such children in our correctional group: the boy Pasha and the girl Aglaya (names have been changed). Pasha has been attending the group for two years, but Aglaya entered only this academic year. Pasha came from a mass group. We won’t blame anyone, but in such groups, with the number of children over twenty to twenty-five, building an educational and correctional process is simply impossible. All the signs of autism were obvious: isolation, lack of social connections, lack of speech, lack of response to the emotions of other children, attachment to rituals (running in circles, choosing one toy), use of peripheral vision during all contacts (does not look into the eyes), stereotypy , repetitive actions, problems eating, sudden emotional changes (laughter, tears). What to do with such a child? The question seemed to hang in the air. However, close interaction with Pasha’s mother, her advice, recommendations, attending classes with a speech therapist, and general requirements yielded results. Despite the fact that the child did not speak, we addressed him every day: “Hello, Pasha!” and nodded their heads at him. At first there was no reaction, then he also began to nod his head in response. After six months of attending classes with a speech therapist, the sounds “Zdra...” appeared. Pasha, together with other children in the group, performs finger gymnastics, self-massage, logorhythmic exercises to music, and physical exercises. It is especially necessary to note the daily work on sensorimotor development. The boy learned to collect beads, lace, and decorate images with buttons and decorative stones. Another year later, he could not undress and dress on his own, now this problem has been solved, and, looking at other children, he tries to hang his clothes neatly. The world of an autistic child is incomprehensible to anyone. We must not allow him to sink into “his shell.” He must be constantly busy with something, loaded, even just be nearby. When we get attention, we call him by name so he knows it concerns him. Phrases and instructions for such children should be clear and concise (3-4 words). For example: “Pasha, come to me”, “Pasha, wash your hands”, “Pasha, take the scissors.” Speaking of scissors, after a long period of developing the skill of working with scissors, autistic children cut quite well both along the contour and independently, but when organizing this type of work, the presence of a teacher nearby should be mandatory, since it is very difficult to get rid of stereotypical hand twitches and to ensure the safety of the life of the child and other children, it is necessary to stop these repeated actions in time.

Particular attention should be paid to the social contacts of such children. Yes, it is generally accepted to say that autistic children do not allow anyone into their world and do not need to interact with this world themselves. But let me disagree with this statement using the example of observing Pasha. Indeed, when he came to the correctional group, he clearly showed his indifference to adults and peers. Now, thanks to a long process of establishing social contact, Pasha makes eye contact, gives a hand, walks hand in hand with another child, allows himself to be hugged by both adults and children, dances in pairs with another child. This is a long process. And here it is necessary to note the efforts of Pasha’s mother, who has been involved in holding therapy for a long time. She also suggested many techniques to us, teachers: stroking, attracting attention in order to establish gaze, hugging, allowing the child to sit on an adult’s lap. After the adults in the group established contact with Pasha, the stage of socialization with peers began. This is more difficult work, since in this group there are children with intellectual disabilities and it took time and patience to explain to them how to contact Pasha. Instructions for children should also be short and clear: “Veronica, come to Pasha, pat him on the head,” “Arseny, take Pasha’s hand,” “Vera, hug Pasha.” If the children did not understand what was required of them or Pasha resisted, the teacher was introduced. He calmly, without categoricalness, showed the children how to hug, stroke, and take Pasha’s hand. There are results, the child has opened up to the world of other people, but there is still work to be done. Pasha does not understand participation in the game; his actions are simply manipulative. But we hope there will be changes.

The child began to pronounce sounds, syllables, he understands what he is being asked about, but of course, his silence until 5.5 years old says a lot. Pasha repeats the syllables after the teacher: “Ma-ma Ma-sha, pa-pa Vitya, ba-ba and more.” He pronounces almost all animal onomatopoeias: “mu”, “ga-ga-ga”, “meow”, “woof-woof”, etc. He began to sing along with the chorus of a children's song about his mother: “la-la-la.” This is facilitated by daily articulation exercises, breathing exercises, self-massage, singing vowel sounds, and repeating onomatopoeia with animals. This child makes sounds, but so far we do not understand all of them.

The second child is a girl, Aglaya. She has a very severe form of autism. She is stereotypical in her movements, she has almost no contact with her peers, but the most difficult thing for us is that she shows aggression towards herself and others. Classes with her are structured only individually, for a short time, she gets tired easily and is restless. If she wants to study, it is almost impossible to motivate her. However, if she liked any game, it is necessary to use this as a motive for educational activities. We often use candle observation. This organizes Aglaya and calms her down. When working with this child, we use the principle of not only accessible clarity, but most importantly, bright clarity, since bright colors attract her attention. Our results of the correctional process with Aglaya are still very small: she has learned to sit with all the children, dances only with a teacher in pairs (does not allow a peer), gives a hand to the teacher, draws with the teacher, assembles a mosaic, learned to open and string trailers. This is very little, but the process of socialization and correction has begun. We hope that in two years of attending the group the girl will experience changes.

The most important thing in raising such “special children” is the attitude to educate correctly. Without empty worries and unnecessary worries, but with patience and love. Even the small achievements of our children are a fair reward for our labor. Let me emphasize: not pressure on the child, but kind, patient work.

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