ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the challenges and the opportunities within the environment and work through how health professionals can adapt their setting to best support a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The free flow curriculum can mean that children with ASD can become more self–directed, focusing for long periods on activities of their own choosing. The strengths of children with ASD is a great way to support them in the early years environment. Visual supports can be objects, pictures, photos, and miniature objects. The key part is that they are permanent, unlike a spoken word or gesture which once spoken or signed disappears. The most portable and easily accessible ways to provide visuals is to use a wipe–clean whiteboard and draw the visual supports. Routines can be comforting for children with ASD and supportive to learning. TEACCH® stands for ‘Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication – Handicapped Children’.
