Teaching english to autistic children: a total physical response route

Abstract

Autism is a multifactorial disorder, which is also considered a behavioural disorder, that compromises social interaction, communication and it presents repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behaviours, with restricted interest in many activities. This paper aims to discuss the possibilities to teach English as a Foreign Language to autistic children from 4 to 5 years- old in Regular Schools. One of the main reasons is because it is crucial for every teacher to know what this disorder is and how to deal with students in this condition. There are many approaches, methods, activities and strategies to work with an autistic child, and the one focused on this paper is the Total Physical Response (TPR) methodology, where there are many available activities to help develop and aid the autistic learner with their communication and others difficulties that they may have. In order to deep in the study of the subject, interviews were made with people who had the experience working with or contact with autistic children. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]