Building Rapport with Students with Autism

We have all read or wrote many support plans that list one of the most important aspects of teaching and supporting students with autism is to “build rapport”.

As teachers we understand the importance of having a personal connection with the students in our classrooms – sometimes these connections are easy to create naturally with minimal effort and some students require some extra effort on our behalf to develop a respectful teacher/student relationship.

Building rapport with most students comes naturally, sharing personal stories about your children, pets or life experiences. Sharing common interests like music or sports or bringing a little sarcastic humour to the room to lift the mood in the room.

Unfortunately, these conventional strategies tend to fall short when trying to develop rapport with students with Autism. The main reason for this is simply that their brain is wired differently from most of their peers and one size certainly does not fit all.

I have put to together a tried and tested “5-Step to rapport building” guideline. Follow these steps (in order!!!) to help create not only a strong rapport with students with autism, but also create a supportive environment where they feel safe and supported!

Step 1 : Understanding Individual Needs

As a teacher you already know that every student in your room is unique, with different strengths and challenges.

When teaching students with autism we must take extra effort in understanding these needs as it will be the first step with building that rapport as it will allow the student to trust you and the learning environment to are providing them.

Actionable Strategies

• Collaboration with their case manager/other teachers/parents/careers/the student themselves
• Sensory sensitivities
• Communication styles
• Learning preferences

Step 2: Create a Structured Environment

Establish a structured and predictable environment, trust me that this one will help ALL students in your classroom, but in particular students with autism!

Students with autism will thrive in classrooms with clear routines and expectations.

Need help with implementing routines into your classroom? Read this blog for a 3-Step Plan to get you started!

Actionable Strategies

• Use visual timetables or lesson structures
• Explicit routines around classroom tasks i.e. entering/exiting classroom, transitions and lesson structure
• Behaviour expectations – be explicit and consistent

Step 3: Use visual supports

Visual aids help students with autism process information more easily and provide additional support in navigating social situations.

You may guess what I am about to say… but yes, using visual aids will not only support students with autism, it will provide extra support to all students!

Actionable Strategies

• Visual behaviour chart. Have expectations displayed on the wall right next to where you most commonly stand and ensure they are concise, clear and easily read from the furthest part of your classroom! Use a picture with each rule.
• Create learning anchor posters. When introducing a new topic, create a visual learning poster that will help reinforce concepts and add to this during the learning process. Keep the poster/learning wall displayed in clear view of students.

Step 4: Use Clear and concise language

Be mindful of your communication style. We are often told NOT to use figurative language while teaching/communicating with students with Autism… I disagree.

I believe it is extremely important that our students understand when figurative language is being used so they can develop skills in recognising it.

But certainly, be mindful of when you are using it and ensure that you recognise it and explain what it means. Do not use if students are in a heightened mood.

My favourite example of this is using the phrase,

“Wow, you’re on fire!”

I used it quite often and by the end of the term one of my students with Autism would quite literally roll his eyes and say,

“I’m not actually on fire… you mean I am doing good work.”

We would have a giggle and move on.

This certainly didn’t happen the first time I said it to him, he looked at me with frightened eyes, before he ‘Stopped, Dropped and Rolled’, I quickly reassured him and explained what I meant – he was not happy….

From then on, any time I used figurative language we discussed the meaning and even made posters in the room… this was a math class!

Also, don’t forget the importance of non-verbal cues while communicating. Make sure you are using facial expressions, hand gestures and pointing to important information.

Actionable Strategies

• Use figuratively language mindfully!
• Keep instructions clear, concise and explicit
• Use non-verbal communication

Step 5: Incorporate Special Interests

I’m sure this is the one you have all been waiting for, as it is the advise that is most commonly given when discussing rapport building strategies.

Although, there is a reason I left it until last.

After many years of trying to build rapport with students with autism, i used to always START here. And it generally fell short and sometimes our relationship went backwards.

This is because I hadn’t built the foundations of trust.

Once our students trust that you and the classroom are a safe and supportive environment they will start to relax and lower their barriers. This is when true trust in the relationship begins and we start building rapport!

Incorporating students interests and likes into our lessons, engaging in conversations around their interests not only develops rapport and conversation skills, it will also make them more likely to WANT to come to class and engage in learning! And this is when the real success begins.

Actionable Strategies

• Incorporate their interests into teaching, classroom themes and projects
• Adapt assessments to incorporate interests
• Encourage appropriate social skills by facilitating conversations between peers around their interests