Underlying principles

The underlying principles described here apply to many children with special needs; they are not unique to those who have visual impairment and autism. However, they are considered to be of particular significance by practitioners working with this group of children.

Select a specific strategy from the list to go straight to it.

Summary of strategies

• Team approach
• Knowing the child really well
• Ensuring close contact with the child's parents
• Viewing the whole child
• Providing additional support
• Promoting consistency between staff
• Building trust with the child
• Building a close relationship with the child
• Ensuring that all events the child is informed of in advance do actually happen
• Providing clear boundaries which inform the child of what is acceptable behaviour
• Providing an effective greeting; saying "goodbye"
• Obtaining the child's attention by saying his / her name first, before saying anything else
• Avoiding requests and instructions to make eye contact / look at you
• Waiting for the child to complete the task before speaking to him / her
• Minimising change
• Keeping to the child's usual routine
• Informing the child of impending changes in the usual routine
• Supporting the child to cope with transitions
• Tailoring provision to meet the child's needs
• Supporting the child with the hand-under-hand approach