TEACCH

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TEACCH ( English t reatment and E ducation of A utistic and related C ommunication handicapped Ch ildren , treatment and educational needs of autistic and communication-handicapped similarly Children ' ) is a communication-oriented approach to the promotion of people with autism , who from the same research project and treatment program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill .

The creation of the TEACCH program

A research project at the University of North Carolina / USA in Chapel Hill is the cornerstone for the development of TEACCH. The aim was to actively involve parents in promoting their autistic children. This approach should invalidate the previous assumption that parents were primarily to blame for autism .

The TEACCH program emerged from the research project in 1972 on the initiative of many parents. This is a state institution in North Carolina that comprises a comprehensive and lifelong system of services and support for those affected, their families and professionals. The key point here are the nine TEACCH centers, in which diagnosis, advice, training of specialists and the networking of all participating institutions take place.

Among other things, precise support plans are drawn up here, which can then be implemented with the help of therapists in the networked institutions. This includes all funding institutions, schools, workshops and residential facilities. Their work is based on the principles of the TEACCH program:

  • Understanding the typical difficulties people with autism face
  • Individual diagnostics and support
  • Cooperation with parents / families
  • Optimizing the ability to cope with one's living environment
  • Holistic approach (promoting all aspects of personality)
  • Competence orientation and respect for otherness
  • Structuring, cognitive approaches and behavior theory

Organized work support and individual housing and work offers for people with autism, e.g. B. the Carolina Living and Learning Center, were able to establish themselves through the TEACCH program.

The educational approach from the TEACCH program

While the TEACCH program is almost unique as a state institution in North Carolina, the pedagogical-therapeutic approach developed there has found worldwide recognition and dissemination. This “TEACCH approach” is now known in many European schools and educational institutions, and elements of it are often put into practice. Examples are the principle of structuring the situation (structured teaching) and visualization, both aspects that are also often associated with TEACCH in Germany. These are elements of the TEACCH approach that are explained in more detail below.

Structured teaching

Structured teaching is about helping people with autism learn. There is help to develop meanings, to clarify connections and to teach skills to cope with everyday life. An essential aspect here is the spatial and temporal structuring, as well as the design of the work material. This applies not only to the classroom, but to everyday life as a whole. Due to the special processing of information, people with autism benefit from structured help. It promotes a feeling of security and competence, because you can adjust to new situations better if you understand when something is happening. In pedagogical practice, a distinction is made in the structuring of processes between schedules, task plans and instructions. However, these should always be checked for their necessity and appropriateness and reduced if necessary.

Examples of spatial structuring:

Place names, room dividers (e.g. shelves), carpets that mark certain areas, curtains, lines on floors, assignment of objects to certain places, pictures and labels

Examples of the time structure:

Bells, signals, words, start and end routines, clocks, schedules in the appropriate level of abstraction

Structured material and instructions:

Design of the work surface, visual instructions (templates, image sequences, examples), arrangement of the material in marked material containers

Visualization

People with autism often have outstanding skills in processing visual information. This ability is often underestimated as they often only focus their gaze on something for a very short time. Nevertheless, with this seemingly fleeting glance, they perceive what is necessary for them.

The optical sense is therefore the preferred processing channel. The visualization is also more constant and clearer than language and does not require an understanding of language-accompanying (social) characteristics such as facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice. In addition to the use of picture cards, people with autism often react very well to the use of signs , since the visual channel is also addressed.

Room:

Clarification of the function of the places: in the room through visual barriers (e.g. shelves) that delimit the individual areas (work, break, etc.); mark the individual areas with symbols or objects (e.g. headphones for the break area, room signs for orientation in the school building); Label shelves / cupboards with photos / symbols (e.g. also for jacket, shoes, hat)

Time:

Visually clearly designed daily schedules make it easier to adjust to deviations from the normal sequence (e.g. rain break); Time timer (the remaining time (e.g. for a specific work) is represented by an area that is becoming smaller and smaller)

Action:

Make it clear visually where something is and / or has its place (e.g. table set with plate, glass, cutlery imprint as an orientation aid for setting the table); Visualize short actions (e.g. the individual steps of washing hands, tying shoes)

literature

  • Jens Boenisch , Christof Bünk (ed.): Methods of supported communication . Loeper Literaturverlag, Karlsruhe 2003, p. 135.
  • Eva Gottesleben (Ed.): Structuring and visualization as support for autistic people . Practical implementation in a residential unit. Bethel-Verlag, Bielefeld 2004, ISBN 3-935972-08-3 .
  • Anne Häussler: The TEACCH approach to promoting people with autism - introduction to theory and practice . Borgmann, 2005, ISBN 3-938187-05-0 .
  • Practical experience with methods from the TEACCH approach . In: Learning Concrete . Booklet 2; 22nd year, June 2003.
  • Degner, M. & Müller CM (2008) (Eds.). Autism. Special thinking - promotion with the TEACCH approach . Nordhausen: Small ways.
  • Solzbacher, Heike (2010). From the can to the workbook. Ideas and suggestions for structured employment based on the TEACCH approach. Borgmann Media: Dortmund.