Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH)

The goal of TEACCH is to allow children the opportunity to adapt better into school environments, home life, and, eventually, into the community itself. This program, established in the early 1970's, is based on the theory that "the child is provided with an environment designed to accommodate the characteristics of autistic children." (Cohen, 1998) A classroom designed from this program would have a tremendous number of visual aids, to allow substantial visual processing to minimize deficits in auditory processing. In addition, this type of program allows an autistic child's high visual ability to help him learn in his environment. The TEACCH model has four major components within a classroom setting. These components assist autistic children in carrying on daily activities as independently as possible. They include physical organization, work systems, schedules, and tasks organization.

• Physical organization includes the layout and structure of the learning environment. Classrooms are divided into different areas for activities such as independent work, teacher instruction, and community activities. Children know where these areas are and what is expected of them in these areas. Each area is organized to help the child focus on the task that is expected of him in that area.
• Schedules give children the opportunity to understand what is coming when and in what order. The schedules are accommodated to the child's developmental level (Panerai, 1999) and can be in the form of objects, pictures, or more abstract objects on cards. Children learn to associate each object or picture to an activity and a specific area of the room where that activity is to take place.
• Work sessions usually consist of individual work. The work session is organized in such a way that children understand what is expected of them within their work areas. Children understand that they must work top to bottom or left to right (depending on the system which can also be color-coded or alphabetical or numerical) until each task is completed in the proper order. When they have finished all of the tasks in order, then they are finished with their work session and need to look at the next activity on their schedule.
• Task organization also occurs during the work session. Each specific task must be organized in such a way that the student can visually understand what is expected of him. Some children use folder activities where they must match up cutouts with images on a pocket folder. This system is completely visual and children understand what is expected of them without even needing directions.

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Additional Resources:

Strategies for Teaching Students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (Adapted from TEACCH)
http://members.aol.com/Room5/strat.html
Retrieved from the World Wide Web March 21, 2003
Synopsis: This site is very helpful for any teacher who would like to either implement or gain understanding into a TEACCH classroom. For any teacher or parent with a child with autism, TEACCH methods can provide insight about facilitating communication in a visual manner. This website's authors explain practical concepts in simple terms and provide pictures to help readers visualize the ideas they are trying to portray. This page is a personal website and is probably not regularly updated nor is it affiliated with any specific organization.

TEACCH Homepage
Affiliated with the University of North Carolina
http://www.teacch.com/mainpage.htm
Retrieved from the World Wide Web March 21, 2003
Synopsis: This site is the "official" TEACCH website. The program was developed through the University of North Carolina, and they believe that it is the most beneficial to its students. It is regularly updated, and contains a good theoretical basis for the program, as well as information, different approaches, research, and training opportunities. The site also provides a model for a typical TEACCH preschool, using pictures and specific examples for additional information.

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