Mathematics and autism spectrum disorder at P level 8

This section refers to high-functioning autism and Asperger’s syndrome. Begin by reading about the main challenges for children with autism and Asperger’s syndrome across subject areas.

At P level 8 an element of creativity and imagination is needed in making estimates, talking about patterns and solving simple problems. The child may have difficulties with the concept of time, both the vocabulary and its abstract nature

You can:

Support estimating or problem solving tasks.  Break the task into steps. The child may prefer to test something practically, than to guess.  For example in estimating how many bricks will fit in a box the steps could be:

• Take one cube and look at the length of the sides, measuring it against the box
• Ask how many cubes fit along the side?
• And how many, standing on top of each other, will match the height?
• Discuss the steps with the child and give clues
• For concepts to do with time, help the child rote learn the days of the week and terms such as tomorrow and yesterday. Use a visual timetable; one with removable Velcro tabs will help the child practise sequencing and see which day comes next. Try to relate the concept of a day to the things that happen - from getting up to going to bed
• Understanding the qualities of different shapes will need lots of examples. Look at the same shapes in different colours, otherwise the child may focus on the colour rather than the shape - colour is an easier concept to grasp

Now you might like to look at:

• Mathematics and autism spectrum disorder at P level 7
• Mathematics and autism spectrum at key stage 1