April is Autism Awareness Month! At Shiloh House, we work every day to meet our students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) where they are and provide them with the tools they need to thrive. At the Family Resource Pavilion, Shiloh Academy has educational programming and classrooms specifically designed for students with ASD.
When new students come to Shiloh House’s ASD classroom, our special education teachers conduct an assessment to find out what kind of interests the students have and figure out ways to make deeper and more meaningful connections.
The video below exemplifies the way Shiloh Academy teachers do this. When Collin shared his loved for Dr. Who (a sci-fi television series) during his initial assessment, our teachers went above and beyond to engage in his interest. They created a TARDIS—a time machine used in Dr. Who—out of cardboard and a drape resembling a telephone booth, which is the entrance of the TARDIS in the television series.
This “time machine” invited Collin to use his imagination to help in travel to safe places where he could feel comfortable navigating moments of frustration. It also opened up a way for Collin to engage in role play with other youth in the classroom and improve his social interactions in a way that’s comfortable and exciting for him.