Establish, reinforce, and expect the basic "learning/ attending protocol." Persons with autism have difficulty attending to what is important. Frequently they are paying attention to irrelevant aspects of what we are saying or doing or distracted by their own interests, actions, or sensory needs. In order to effectively teach the person with autism, we must first gain their attention.

[Mr Heffner's] first few exposures to autism came when [he] was assigned to assess children for eligibility for an early intervention program. My attempts to assess the children with autism would be comical if it weren't for the serious nature of their condition. I would pull out my blocks and puzzles and the chase was on! My report went something like this: "The child stacked two blocks on the couch, three blocks on the table, and stacked four blocks inside the refrigerator." This may be okay for testing purposes, but teaching is something different. In order to teach a child, you must have their attention. That means they are in one spot in the room, preferably sitting down, and looking at you. The child's hands are not waving in the air, playing with something, or rubbing their body. Their hands are ready to work. That is exactly what the "learning/ attending protocol" is.

The Learning/ Attending Protocol

a. Give the command: "Sit on the chair." If the child does not sit, make it happen and praise the child for "Good sitting."

b. Give the command: "Hands on the table." or "Hands ready." If the child does not place hands on the table, make it happen and praise the child for "Good hands ready." or "Good following directions."

c. Give the command: "Look at me." If the child does not look at you, wait him or her out, and when you get even a brief eye contact, praise the child for "Good looking" and present a pleasant activity or food reward. Occasionally it is necessary to hold a bit of food or a desired toy up near your eyes to get eye contact. Once eye contact is more regular, fade from holding the desired item near your eye.

Make sure you get these three things to occur before presenting an instruction, activity, or reward. This prepares the child to learn, helps to control extraneous stimuli, and teaches the child the habit of learning and what teaching is all about.